A documentary film on the use of robots in war may not seem like a Saskatchewan film but 'Remote Control War' is among the finalists for the Ruth Shaw Award for Best Saskatchewan film at the Yorkton Film Festival.
The film is one investigating the cutting edge of warfare where robots are on the first line of battle.
"We are in the middle of a radical change in how we wage warfare - the US military is going to be one third unmanned in under five years," said film producer Leslea Mair of Zoot Pictures Inc.. "We are removing the soldier from the war zone.
"There are a lot of good reasons for making the change, but there are also some troubling questions:
Who gets to use robotics and how?
Who is responsible when a robot makes a tragic error?
Will robots be self-directed before the artificial intelligence is fully developed?
And now that robotics are arriving, inevitably, into the realm of consumer electronics, will that mean that they can be used against us?
* How will that shape human conflict in the future?
"Some of the answers to those questions are utterly terrifying."
While not a film you might expect to originate in the heart of the Canadian Prairies Mair said the idea just happened, and was one she had to pursue.
When asked about the seed of the idea for the film Mair said it's never easy to pinpoint the moment of inspiration.
"It's always difficult to answer that question," she said. "I'm never entirely sure how they get there.
"We got a Roomba - a robot vacuum cleaner," she continued. "It was a sort of 'Jetsons' moment, having a robot cleaning your house. Then we started talking about how robotics have started to come into our lives and looking at the uses of robots today, and the military use of robotics seemed like one of the really big changes. When you scratch the surface, we were amazed at how many different shapes and sizes of robots were in military use or development and how that is really changing the way we deal with conflict zones, how we view war and what that will mean for the future."
The unique vision for the documentary was one which did help finding the dollars to make it.
Mair said it did not take long to put a financing package in place. "It was a subject that the broadcaster immediately saw potential in," she said.
One might expect researching and filming what are cutting edge military technologies might have created some barriers to the filmmakers, but Mair said it was not much different than for any other film.
"We researched the film the same way we would any other," she said "Once the initial research was done, we attended a huge robotics trade show that allowed us to make contact with a lot of people on the industry side and gave us a better idea of the scope of development the field of robotics was - and still is - going through."
With contacts, Mair said access proved easier than expected.
"We didn't have too difficult a time gaining access," she said. "Our production manager, Linda Payeur, was great at approaching people and making them comfortable.
"Certainly some of the manufacturers asked us not to shoot some parts of their facilities, which we complied with, although they were quite open with us and eager to talk about some of the work that they are doing and to have some profile and exposure in media.
"I'm pretty sure that the American military checked us out carefully before we were granted access to General Deptula, and we had to have security clearances for several of the sites we shot in."
Mair added in most cases those involved with the emergence of robotic technology in the theatre of war see it as a progressive step and are more willing to talk about it on that basis.
"The thing is, people who are for the use of robots feel that what they are doing is a good thing, and they're anxious to talk about that," she said, adding those opposed want their voices heard too.
"People who think there are problems with robots in war zones also want their point of view heard."
The film did offer the challenge of logistics in terms of travel.
Mair termed it simply "a lot.
"We were in many different sites in the U.S., including a naval air base in Maryland, the Pentagon, Colorado, the Air Force Research Lab in Ohio, New York, England and Israel.
"We tried to cover as broad a base as we could, but really the U.S. and Israel are the early adopters where this technology is concerned."
Mair said the documentary which had its Canadian premiere on Doc Zone on CBC in February, is a film they are "very proud of."
Doc Zone CBC commissioned the project, and it is being distributed in the rest of the world by PBS International, said Mair.
"PBS tells us that there is a lot of interest in the project," she said.
The Ruth Shaw Award and other Golden Sheaf awards will be presented at the Festival gala May 28.
