With two films already released through film festivals this year, the feature documentary The Femme Fatales of West Australian Wrestling and the short film Through the Lens, filmmaker and educator Zeke Morgan-Hind is set to premiere his latest film, Prompt: Make a Documentary, which explores one of the most talked-about topics in modern filmmaking: artificial intelligence.

As AI continues to reshape the creative industries, Prompt examines how the technology is changing the way films are written, edited, marketed and even imagined. Rather than taking sides, Zeke brings together filmmakers, educators and industry professionals to discuss the opportunities and challenges AI presents, from questions of creativity and authorship to its impact on jobs and film education.

I, Robot, Dark City and The Crow filmmaker Alex Proyas offers his opinions on AI filmmaking throughout the documentary along with Ben Young (Hounds of Love), documentarian and filmmaker Glen Stasiuk (Wadjemup: Black Prison White Playground), producer Kate Separovich (Proclivitas), industry creative Damian Fasolo (Broken), educator and artist Basil Psanoudakis, and educator and filmmaker John McMullan.

For Morgan-Hind, the project was driven by both his passion for filmmaking and his work as a high school media teacher. Wanting to better understand where the industry is heading, he set out to create a balanced conversation that encourages audiences to think beyond the headlines, Reels and TikToks.

Based in Perth, Morgan-Hind is rapidly building an impressive filmography across documentary, narrative and educational media, with a focus on stories that explore identity, resilience and the people who shape their communities. Prompt continues that approach while tackling a subject that is rapidly changing the future of cinema.

Cinema Australia recently spoke with Morgan-Hind about the making of Prompt: Make a Documentary, the importance of education in the AI debate, working with leading filmmakers including Alex Proyas and Ben Young, and why he believes the human experience will always remain at the heart of great filmmaking.

“If I can get a human to do a job, then I’m always going to get a human to do that job.”

Interview by Matthew Eeles

You have both The Femme Fatales of West Australian Wrestling and Prompt: Make a Documentary screening at festivals this year. How has that experience been for you so far?

If there was an area that I feel I’ve learned the most about in a very short period of time, it’s the film festival space. As a filmmaker, you’re constantly growing. Whenever someone watches something of mine, I always ask for feedback because I’ve found this space very daunting, and I’ve really built myself up to feel confident in what I’m delivering. That started earlier this year at the WA Made Film Festival, with The Femme Fatales of West Australian Wrestling screening there, and it was awesome. Then to see it get into Revelation was amazing. It taught me how to communicate with film festivals over East and how to promote my film. I used to find those processes really intimidating. I think I’m still learning and growing in that area, to be honest, because it can be tricky sometimes. You have an idea, and all you want to do is make it, grow, develop it, and present it to audiences, not for any sort of affirmation, but because there are such unique stories out there that deserve to be showcased. It couldn’t be further from an ego trip. I just want people to watch my stuff and feel like they’re learning because I love documentaries for that.

Do you utilise a film festival plan, or are you happy to submit anywhere?

So this is actually a really good question. I studied film. I really like making films, but to be a filmmaker, you really need a stable income away from filmmaking. So I became a high school media teacher, and I love that space very much. I love being able to take real examples of my filmmaking into the classroom, along with my filmmaking friends’ work. I recently invited Dylan Randall into the classroom to speak with my students about his film and winning Best Film at WA Made. With Femme Fatales, I didn’t have a festival plan, but I’d made this film about female professional wrestlers that included these absolutely amazing stories that deserved to be showcased, so I submitted it everywhere. Moving on to Prompt: Make a Documentary, I thought a lot about its marketability and will submit it where I think it will play best.

Going back to Femme Fatales, what impact has that film had on the local wrestling industry, if any, since it screened publicly? Has there been an uptake in participation?

So we made Femme Fatales, and we also made The Spark of a Dream: A Wrestling Story, which was a documentary series. People are already talking about wanting to do a second series because there are new female wrestlers joining the sport, and they think that the exposure it gets helps fuel their participation. There’s also talk of potentially doing a follow-up to Femme Fatales too.

Do you consider yourself purely a documentary filmmaker, or would you like to explore narrative filmmaking throughout your career as well?

I have written narrative films. Back in 2023, I set myself the task of writing a feature film because I wasn’t making anything at the time. I really think it’s important to keep being creative in any space. The feature is set around four guys having dinner after their ten-year high school reunion. It was sitting on the shelf for a while, so over the last 12 to 18 months, I developed it into a novella called Four Courses. I was really proud of that because I really wanted to get the story out there. Maybe one day I’ll return to make it as a feature film. I’ve always really liked the idea of doing one of those Richard Linklater-type films in one location, with dialogue-driven scenes. That’s always been something I’ve really wanted to do. So I think documentaries are where I have built my confidence, but I would love to explore the feature film space if the opportunity arose.

Speaking of confidence, did you feel more confident going into Prompt: Make a Documentary having The Femme Fatales of West Australian Wrestling under your belt?

Oh, absolutely. A lot of those who worked on Femme Fatales also worked on Prompt. By the time we got to Prompt, after having screened Femme Fatales and my short film Through the Lens at WA Made, I definitely felt more confident. Those experiences were huge for my self-confidence. I was also more confident in my ability to reach out to far more talented and experienced filmmakers to be a part of Prompt. That confidence did not exist 18 months ago, whereas now I’m much more relaxed about just firing off emails for potential documentaries and stories that I can explore. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned about being a producer, it’s that you do have to have the confidence to reach out to anyone at any time. It’s almost an aggressive confidence in a way, but it’s an appreciated one, and it’s worth it. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there, and it’s something that I’m trying to teach my students. With Femme Fatales, I built so much confidence through run-and-gun interviews. I had to build my confidence to sit down with my subjects, start an interview with them, and talk about difficult subject matters. With Prompt, it was having the confidence to reach out to very famous filmmakers and ask them, “Do you want to be a part of this?” There were people who said no, and there were people who said yes, but the beauty is that nothing changes in the world. [Laughs.] The world doesn’t get better or worse if someone tells you no.

Before we move on to Prompt, how do you go about choosing your documentary subjects? What inspires you to settle on a particular topic?

I get a lot of help from my co-producer, Lucinda Spence, who’s also the narrator of Prompt. We do a lot of back-and-forth with ideas, and even Instagram Reels. For example, Through the Lens came about because Lucinda sent me a Reel of these backpackers who had gone to this camera museum in Meckering, which we thought was fascinating. When it came to Prompt, I really wanted to understand where this industry is heading in regard to AI. As a teacher, I want to be able to tell my students where it’s going because I’ve met so many people who have such polarising opinions. I really, really enjoy diving into that sort of space. Or if I see something that’s absolutely a human experience, like the first time I saw wrestling here in WA. To see the way people were reacting to it, and the whole performance art of it, I was enamoured and drawn in by that human experience, and the documentary snowballed from there.

I wish we spoke about AI more in terms of curing cancer or addressing social and environmental issues, but most of the conversation seems to centre on AI in filmmaking. Why was Prompt: Make a Documentary the right film for you to make at this time?

I think education on any topic is crucial, and too much of the world right now jumps to absolute conclusions because of things such as quick media. This particular space has become a great disruption. We see these bouts of technology, and we live in an era of disruption, so we need to decode what that means for this particular space. You hit the nail on the head with the idea of why we don’t actually focus on so many other issues. We tend to go straight to art and creativity, which I believe is arguably the easiest way of identifying a human experience because it’s raw and there’s no algorithmic thinking. We simply create, dig deep, and find things that allow us to connect or express. I think the immediate reaction is that this is being taken away from us. It comes back to the Blade Runner question: “What is it actually to be human?” That is so important to explore, but we also need to take a breath and really dive into all aspects of it.

Prompt: Make a Documentary opens with a brief history of technology in cinema. It got me wondering if there’s an era of cinema that interests you most.

A few years ago, while I was at university, my colleague Jake De Agrela and I made a film podcast called The Cinema Sideshow Podcast. We’d watch films from every decade and look at the evolution of filmmaking because I think it is so important to better yourself as a filmmaker. Regarding my favourite decade, I always default to the ’70s. It’s just the old man in me, I guess. [Laughs.] I think every decade has lessons and important aspects, but the ’70s were so important for the technological feats filmmakers achieved at that time. Every decade has a rich lesson within it.

Now I’m curious to know if there’s a decade that you consider to be the worst for cinema?

In all honesty, I’m not big on the 2000s.

I respect that, but I think the 2000s had some gems. I rarely hear people reference the 2000s when it comes to their favourite decade for films, but I think it’s under-appreciated.

I guess. When it comes to Australian cinema, I think the decades would be slightly different too. I think the 1990s were one of the best decades for Australian cinema. Australian films had so much more character in the 1990s, which I think we are starting to get back now. I would love to sit down and explore what happened in that decade alone to produce so many quality films. The 2020s have become this great revival of Australian cinema too. We’re really starting to see those expressive voices come back because we’re allowing so many more creative voices to flourish in their own space.

And also because young people who were watching those films in the ’90s, and who were inspired by them, are now making their own films.

That’s such a good pickup. It was such an important decade, with iconic films like Muriel’s Wedding, Priscilla, and The Castle.

Prompt is mostly a talking-heads documentary, but there is also some commentary throughout via Lucinda Spence’s narration. How much of your own research went into the making of this film?

I take research very seriously. For example, a portion of this film is about understanding what creative and factual democratisation of data is, so I looked deeply into that space. Cultural flattening was something that I thought was absolutely imperative to explore in this film. After doing the interviews, I’d spend a week or two researching and understanding what it was all about to ensure the representation of this subject was accurate. It is important that the audience is informed, but not overwhelmed.

How did you settle on your talking heads?

Firstly, I always wanted to highlight Perth filmmakers. Ben Young was someone I definitely wanted to feature because he’s at the forefront of this new wave of Australian cinema incorporating AI. The first time I heard of Ben Young was when I was studying, after he’d made Hounds of Love. So I reached out to Ben, and he was so quick to jump on board. From the tertiary education point of view, I knew I had to include Glen Stasiuk, John McMullan, and Damian Fasolo from Murdoch University. They were so important because they’ve got such scholarly knowledge. They’ve also got fair and balanced personal opinions, which is important because they all teach at the same university. Basil Psanoudakis has been one of the most important people when it comes to Information and Communication Technology in the Western Australian education space. He’s also an artist, so he has that perfect pairing of being a mixed-media creative and a teacher.

I did have one gripe with this film in that there is a lack of contribution from emerging filmmakers, much like yourself, and female filmmakers, excluding the great Kate Separovich, who does feature in the film briefly. Can you comment on that?

I’m happy to. I did reach out to many more female filmmakers, and they just never got back to me. There always comes a point with any film when you have to stop reaching out to people and just get on with making your film. I obviously wanted to have as many perspectives in this film as possible, and I did follow up with people I didn’t hear back from. I’m also still pretty new in this space and, let’s be real, my name is microscopic in the grand scheme of things. I was basically reaching out to people and saying, “Hey, we’ve never met before. Do you want to be a part of my new film?” I will agree, though, that your gripe regarding the lack of emerging filmmakers is very fair. Glen and John speak about their students, how they teach in their tertiary and secondary classrooms, and their students’ reactions to AI. There are some pretty good anecdotes in there. Having said all that, I would love all filmmakers to come to a screening and offer their perspectives because everyone’s point of view, whether you’re on camera or not, is important. We’re all in this creative space together, and we all deserve to have a platform to express an opinion.

Having interviewed so many student filmmakers myself, I’ve noticed that there is a level of shame when it comes to using AI. I know of one filmmaker who obviously used AI in their film but was too ashamed to admit it publicly, although they admitted to using it off the record. Is this something you’ve picked up on with younger filmmakers?

Oh, one hundred percent. What I always ask whenever this comes up is, “Is your opinion informed by others, or is your opinion informed by your authentic feelings?” Because when you’re young and emerging, of course you’d consider it cheating to use AI. That’s why it’s so important to really explore why you feel this way without referring to the default bullet points that you’ve heard in the media because that’s not actually research. That’s just agendas fuelling other agendas. But it is interesting that you bring that up because I do think people who are open to using AI tend to be a little bit older, which is almost the reverse of what we’re used to when it comes to technology and innovation.

Speaking of older filmmakers, I don’t think a documentary about AI could be made without the perspective of Alex Proyas, who has made his opinion on the subject very public. He’s also so willing to argue with anyone whose opinion differs from his. How important was it for you to include Alex in Prompt?

Very. I reached out to Alex, and he was very intrigued. As a personal fan of his, to sit down and chat with him was a real thrill. I think our interview ran for nearly 90 minutes all up. It was a surreal experience. This is the guy who directed Dark City, I, Robot, and The Crow, which I watched growing up. Some of these films I analysed in high school. I think he’s very educated in his perspective. We were able to really discuss things in great detail beyond just the headlines. His opinions have rationale. This is someone who has lived through multiple filmmaking technologies and innovations. He focused a lot of our discussion on I, Robot, which was such a monumental feat at the time. His was certainly a perspective that needed to feature in Prompt because his actual industry experience is just so important.

Does it ever surprise you that celebrated filmmakers like Alex Proyas and Ben Young are so encouraging of AI, considering they’ve made such great films and television without it?

Not so much, no. I just think the most important thing about filmmaking is that people go and see the films. Time will tell whether AI filmmaking will truly be accepted by the number of people these films reach. These filmmakers are very, very talented at capturing the human experience in their work, but they’re willing to accept that technology is going to keep changing. I’ll admit, though, that it was probably more surprising to me how much Ben Young incorporates AI into his filmmaking process than Alex. Ben’s ethos around this new technology is that it means nothing if you don’t have a good story or you’re not able to tap into the human experience, which he’s so, so good at.

How much AI was used in Prompt itself, and how did you find using the technology?

Well, using AI was vital to my understanding of this space. There will be other documentaries that come along with an agenda to sensationalise their perspective, made by filmmakers who aren’t willing to even remotely touch AI itself. If you’re going to understand how these tools affect a micro-budget production, then you have to understand exactly how they can be used on those films. Prompt definitely has a good amount of AI-generated B-roll that complements its narrative. It uses excerpts from artists like Masonic, who uses AI extensively in music video production, and we’ve also included some of Alex Proyas’ work that’s available online. It obviously juxtaposes that with real filmmaking, where people are going out and making films the traditional way. At the end of the day, I can’t wait to see how the use of AI affects the overall viewing experience. Can I hold your attention for 90 minutes? Can I engage you? Can I draw you in in a way that you may not have noticed? Or are you coming in explicitly looking for it? And if so, are you coming in for the right reasons, or are you coming in with your own perspective?

Filmmaking is a tough business. It’s not easy, and it takes a toll on one’s mental health. I was interested to hear Ben Young’s comments about using the technology almost as a psychologist. Can you sympathise with Ben, and have you heard from other filmmakers who use AI in a similar capacity?

I have. That’s mostly due to the fact that they can’t afford healthcare, which is worth a documentary of its own. AI simplifies emails, decides what people are making for dinner, it’s being used to upskill workers, and it can be beneficial if we’re stressed. But it can also be quite daunting, and everyone should be cautious.

Has this experience changed your opinion of AI? Can you see yourself incorporating it into your filmmaking going forward?

I think Basil offers a really good insight on this in the film. He says that if you have the means and the resources to use a person, you should always use a person. I really do believe that. If I had a million dollars to make a film, I would only use people because the human experience is genuinely the most important part of filmmaking. That feeling of celebrating with the cast and crew after you’ve made a film together is exciting. We only really love what we do because we’re affecting people, whether that’s the people who worked on the film or the people watching it. People are why films work. People are why film festivals work. Being part of panels and discussions, going to workshops, sitting in a cinema with people watching their work while they’re watching yours. But the cautionary tale here is that, yes, we might have films that are made more cheaply, but we will lose an aspect of humanity. There will be a little more disconnect, bit by bit. AI is now just another one of those factors that can rob films of their humanity. For me, making films going forward will always come down to context. If I can get a human to do a job, then I’m always going to get a human to do that job.

The Femme Fatales of West Australian Wrestling and Prompt: Make a Documentary will both screen at the Revelation Film Festival which opens this Wednesday, 8 July. Details here. 

Prompt: Make a Documentary has also been nominated for Best Feature Documentary / Non Fiction at the WA Screen Culture Awards, along with The Spark of a Dream: A Wrestling Story which has been nominated for Web Series or Online Content. Details here. 

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