Documentary on AI's Physical Supply Chain Heads to Taipei
A documentary that follows the physical trail behind artificial intelligence is heading to the Taiwan Creative Content Fest in Taipei, Variety reported on 6 November 2026.
The film, The Technological Sublime, is directed by Jannes Callens. It starts at quartz mines in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. From there it follows the materials and labour that AI depends on, including chip plants in Taiwan, lithium fields in Chile, undersea cables, and Kenyan click-workers, the people who label and check data used to train AI systems.
The Taiwan Creative Content Fest runs from 6 to 9 November at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center. It is organised by the Taiwan Creative Content Agency, known as TAICCA.
The production is a co-production between four companies: Visualantics, Cobra Films, Tag Film and Reel Asia Pictures. Reel Asia Pictures is the film team's partner in Taiwan, working through James Chia-Hao Hsu. Belgian broadcaster VRT has come on board the project. Steven Dhoedt is credited as delegate producer.
Callens' previous documentary, Dor (Longing), won Best Belgian Film at the Brussels Independent Film Festival, according to Variety.
The film's official page on Callens' website describes the journey it traces as running from raw material to synthetic intelligence. That phrase sums up the film's route, from the ground up to the machines.
Festivals like the one in Taipei are where projects of this kind meet the partners who can finish them. Broadcasters, co-producers and regional partners often make their connections at events of this sort, long before a film reaches a screen.
The fest is in its run this weekend, so the next few days will show who turns up to talk about the project. No release or broadcast dates have been announced so far.
