Existential Narratives in Cinema: Deconstruction and Creative Practices with Artificial Intelligence
The course is an interdisciplinary research and practice module that integrates existentialist philosophy, film narratology theory, and generative artificial intelligence methods. The goal of the course is to develop students’ competencies in analysing and creating narrative structures that represent themes of human existence (freedom, self-identity, existential choice, the search for meaning, etc.), as well as to cultivate skills of creative expression through the use of generative AI tools. The course structure consists of three sequential modules that provide a synthesis of theoretical training and practical application of knowledge.
Module 1, “Analysis and Deconstruction of Existential Narrative,” is devoted to studying the key concepts of existentialist philosophy and their embodiment in cinema. Using films selected for the prominence of their existential themes, students master methods of narrative analysis – character arcs, the transformation of the protagonist, points of existential choice, as well as visual language, editing, and sound dramaturgy as means of representing philosophical categories. Special attention is given to points of choice and the structure of crisis, as well as to the analysis of cinematographic plasticity, metric montage, and sound dramaturgy that heighten the existential effect.
Module 2, “Interpretation and Reconstruction of Narrative,” focuses on practising the use of methodology - semantic analysis of films, identifying narrative patterns, generating hypotheses about explicit and implicit meanings, constructing maps of meaning correlations, and experimental reallocation of plot structures. Students develop skills in semantic film analysis, identifying narrative patterns, generating hypotheses about hidden meanings, constructing maps of meaning correlations, and experimentally transforming plot structures. Practical assignments are aimed at deconstructing the ideas and concepts of selected films, as well as at interpreting and variably reconstructing existential arcs and scenes, which helps consolidate understanding of their mechanisms.
Module 3, “Project Work: Creating an Authorial Narrative,” is dedicated to project work in which students form teams and work on creating their own existential narratives - script projects (script concepts, storyboards, synopses, video essays, “prototype scripts,” etc.) with AI as a co‑author or assistant. Within the project work, the task is to demonstrate the acquisition of knowledge through arc reconstruction, creative expression, and the use of visual tools (short film as a creative product).
