Film Screening: A Stranger Quest
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Intended Audience: GIS User, GIS Builder, GIS Developer, GIS Instructor, Student, Management, Other
Abstract
The description of the film by the Vancouver Int. Film Festival (@viffest): “David Rumsey has dedicated himself to collecting historical maps. A leading figure in the cartography world, he has shared this love with others by opening up vast digital archives and building an impressive map centre. Haunted by the recent loss of a teacher, Rumsey ponders his legacy and wonders how his maps will live on after his death. As he looks back on his life, he revisits various versions of himself: the film student who made surrealist films; the financier; and the virtual avatar in Second Life. Accompanying his quest is an AI companion who navigates road trips and who philosophically wonders about the strangeness of humans. We spend time with Rumsey as his life draws to a close, a very gentle man looking out to the ocean from the coast of both California and Cape Breton. This allows the film to meditate on mortality and change: how the world was represented in the past, and how it might be in the future, as we stand on the edge of a new AI-empowered multiverse. It’s also a reflection for all of us on our place in the world, and what our collections might mean, with all those practical and spiritual implications.” The film is 90 minutes long. Follow up discussion may occur in the GeoLounge.
Presenter
Meagan Briganti
GIS Director, Kendall County, IL
Meagan Briganti is the GIS Director for Kendall County, known for turning curiosity and strategic chaos into better outcomes for her community. Passionate about empowering women and challenging the status quo, she isn’t afraid to question the system and believes real change comes from pushing boundaries.