AF FFF26 - Q&A on Chien 51

This Q&A will explore the representation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Cédric Jimenez’s 2025 thriller Chien 51 / Dog 51 which was screened at the 2026 Alliance Française French Film Festival.

Based on the 2022 novel by Laurent Gaudé, the film presents a dystopian future world in which AI has manifested itself in human form and faceless corporations dominate the existence of the masses, who are segregated according to class.

Paul Egré, Associate Professor of Philosophy at France’s Ecole Normale Supérieure, and Andrew McGregor, Associate Professor of French (Cinema) at the University of Melbourne, will discuss the potential implications for our world, today and tomorrow, of the AI represented in the film. In so doing, they will discuss the place of philosophy in the sciences, and the place of science-fiction in cinema.