Guido Callegari, an AI filmmaker and director at GRAiL, has become a pivotal figure in the Italian creative community through his role as the first official Runway Creative Partner in Italy. Alongside his co-host Giuliano Ambrosio, he has organized a series of sold-out meetups across major cities like Turin, Milan, Naples, Florence, Bologna, and Palermo since September 2023. These gatherings aim to promote a philosophy that emphasizes storytelling over technology, challenging the pervasive hype surrounding artificial intelligence.
Callegari attributes his career and artistic vision to Runway, a platform that he believes fundamentally reshapes the way creatives approach AI. “It’s the tool that helped me create my mindset and approach to AI,” he states, wearing a hoodie from his first Runway Creative Partners Program kit during a recent Zoom call. His commitment to fostering a community that prioritizes meaningful narratives over mere technological advancements is evident in his work and the meetups he’s organized. “A lot of people talk about AI and tools,” he notes, “but no one makes something interesting with quality, with ethical concepts.”
These meetups, supported by the Art Directors Club Italia (ADCI), serve as a counter to what Callegari describes as “fuffa guru,” or fake gurus who exploit the AI trend by offering courses without genuine understanding. With thousands in attendance, Callegari and Ambrosio advocate for a shift in focus: “It’s not ‘we make cool things, we move something.’ It’s ‘tell stories.’ This is the difference.” For Callegari, the essence of any project lies in its narrative, suggesting that without a story, any technological demonstration lacks substance.
This philosophy culminates in one of Callegari’s most impactful projects, Pulsee Memor.ia, which aims to facilitate emotional healing through storytelling. Collaborating with fellow Runway Creative Partners, Callegari generated short films featuring transgender and disabled individuals, guiding them to re-experience positive memories to heal from past traumas. These films were screened at darkened studios on 12-meter screens, an immersive experience designed to place emotions at the forefront. “When Bryan saw his video—[Bryan is the participant Guido generated for]—I was there. It’s a lot of emotion and a lot of gratitude for recreating this moment,” Callegari recalls, highlighting the deep emotional connections made through the project.
The films were later showcased at Milan’s Gay Pride event, marking a cultural milestone rather than a technological one. “It was impossible to create something without AI for this project. But nobody talked about AI. They talked only about emotions. That’s the shift,” Callegari emphasizes, illustrating how the focus on technology can overshadow the human experiences it seeks to enhance.
As a professor at several of Italy’s leading creative schools, Callegari is committed to empowering the next generation of creators to embrace risks and learn from mistakes. Drawing parallels between generative AI and the early days of jazz, he promotes the idea that “an error is an opportunity. You have an error? Keep the error and make something great with it.” This message resonates profoundly in his educational endeavors, where he strives to inspire creativity through storytelling.
As each meetup continues to sell out, Callegari’s vision of community built on narrative rather than spectacle gains traction. He believes that prioritizing stories fosters a fertile ground for creativity and collaboration, as evidenced by the growing enthusiasm for his initiatives. “One story, one student, one meetup at a time,” he concludes, underscoring that when the focus shifts from technology to storytelling, both community and creativity flourish.
Guido Callegari is an AI filmmaker and director at GRAiL, a prominent entertainment studio based in Los Angeles, collaborating with notable brands like Coca-Cola, Meta, and Microsoft. Giuliano Ambrosio, the Founder and CEO of ThinkingHat, an innovation studio in Italy, has worked with major names such as Bulgari and Red Bull, and is also a professor in multiple marketing and communication master’s programs.
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