That Time Is Now

Sci-fi short That Time Is Now tackles humanity’s irrepressible obsession with technologies that threaten to destroy us. In this case, AI, and its environmental impact on plant life. Made over 48 hours and on a shoestring budget, it is an impressive example of how to set out stakes in a film and explore these through engaging characters.

Doctor Wokozi (Marion Githegi) is sent back 30 years from 2060 to 2030, on a mission that is essential for human life to continue. Extinction is a real threat in Wokozi’s future, due to the loss of plant life around the world. Wokozi has one final journey to the past using her advanced AI model, but it is a meeting with target Professor Seva (Bhasker Patel) that inspires her to bring a message forward instead.

The environmental impact of new technologies is an under-discussed danger that is usually left out of the ethical debates around their use. Much like Bitcoin, AI needs enormous data centres to run, which can out-do those of small countries at times even in this early stage of its widespread use. It is this issue which That Time Is Now is focused on, and its consequences which it envisages.

The film’s opening monologue from Wokozi is an excellent example of how to quickly set out the stakes and context of a film. She explains the world she has been sent from and how it came to be, as well as the purpose of her journey and the importance of achieving her goal. The mention that her time in the ‘past’ is limited and unpredictable, meaning she could be pulled back to the future at any moment, is a particularly clever touch which makes every interaction she has with the professor meaningful.

Wokozi and Seva share great mentor-mentee chemistry, with Seva already in mourning for a world he feels may be beyond saving. It is Seva who has identified AI as the culprit, and senses that nothing now can change how humanity thinks. Marion Githegi delivers a more hopeful performance as the younger Wokozi, someone who, like younger people today, have to act now on threats like climate change. Much of the pair’s relationship is left to the imagination and context is left for the viewer to fill in – which helps the film build a wider world in some respects but also leaves open some plot holes, such as why the Professor has never communicated his feelings before if he is a previous target of the Doctor.

For a lower budget, the film looks great. It doesn’t feature a ton of futuristic technology, however the time-travel elements such as Wokozi’s goggles looks authentic and convincing. The majority of the film is set in an empty London at sunset – with a haunting ambiance that perfectly matches the film’s tone. Director Henry Chebaane’s staging of the story is also strong, with slow lingering shots of his leading pair. It is somewhat the opposite of the urgency implied by the title, but the Professor’s insistence that it is the message that matters comes through loud and clear.

That Time Is Now has a determined message and clear aim that long pre-dates its rapid creation time. It can afford to leave some of its details vague to get this across and does so successfully, on the strength of a well imagined world, threat and characters. This is definitely one to make the time for, now.