Shekhar Kapur & Tricia Tuttle’s IFFI Face-off!

By Pickle November 22, 2025

AI may write scripts, but only humans can write history. At IFFI ,Shekhar Kapur & Berlinale’s Tricia Tuttle prove that in the cinema of the future, heart always gets top billing.

When the worlds of creativity and technology collide, sparks fly—especially if you’re Shekhar Kapur or Tricia Tuttle. At the 56th International Film Festival of India, these two festival trailblazers— Shekhar Kapur, the visionary helmer of IFFI, and Tricia Tuttle, the Berlin International Film Festival’s director—took center stage for a conversation that felt more like a cinematic double act than a panel.

Their session, cheekily titled “An Eurasian Festival Frontier: Do We Need to Redefine Cinema in the World of AI?”, was a witty, warm, and sometimes irreverent deep-dive into whether artificial intelligence is the new villain or secret weapon of cinema.

Shekhar Kapur opened with a playful nod to eco-friendliness, celebrating the festival’s ban on plastic bottles. Tricia Tuttle, meanwhile, reminisced about her own cinematic coming-of-age—attending Shekhar Kapur’s masterclass on Elizabeth in 1998. “It feels full circle,” she quipped, setting the tone for a dialogue that would weave nostalgia with visions of the future.

Both speakers were quick to reassure the audience: technology may change, but the power of a story is timeless. Shekhar Kapur, with his trademark blend of gravitas and humour, insisted that no tool—not even AI—can outshine human imagination. “AI doesn’t understand pupils,” he declared, explaining how only a real actor can convey the subtle emotional shifts that make cinema magical.

Tricia Tuttle echoed his sentiment, recalling the panic over digital filmmaking’s rise, only to see storytelling and craftsmanship endure.

The conversation took a delightfully quirky turn when Shekhar Kapur recounted his cook’s unexpected use of AI: “He came to me with a meal and a script for Mr India 2—thanks to ChatGPT! I didn’t know what to praise more.” The anecdote got laughs but also highlighted the democratizing power of technology—creative tools are now in everyone’s hands.

Both festival heads underscored the irreplaceable social experience of cinema. As Shekhar Kapur put it, “Even with home delivery, people still go to restaurants.” Festivals and theatres, they agreed, remain sanctuaries for adventurous films and collective joy.

Concerns about shrinking crews and the fate of film-set camaraderie surfaced, with Tricia Tuttle sharing her son’s wish to join a crew just to soak in the magic. Shekhar Kapur, too, worried about losing the human rituals—those iconic calls of “action” and “cut”—that bind filmmakers together.

Audience questions brought the conversation full circle: is AI the end of artistic legitimacy? Shekhar Kapur’s answer was as sharp as it was optimistic: “AI is not magic. It’s not chaos. It’s change. But real storytelling is unpredictable. AI cannot predict the future; it can only imitate the past.”

As the session wrapped and the applause rose, both Shekhar Kapur and Tricia Tuttle agreed: the heart of cinema—imagination, emotion, and the spark of humanity—will always outlast the latest technology.