Trace Project, a 64-minute movie created entirely with artificial intelligence, had its sole public screening at Golden Village VivoCity on National Day, drawing polarising views. Set in a fictionalised version of Singapore, it tells the story of Lin Jia Jun, the Republic’s first astronaut to set foot on Mars, and asks: "Is humanity’s future found in escaping Earth, or in learning to protect the home we already have?” Produced by FizzDragon, a studio branding itself as the “world’s first Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) film production company”, the movie stirred controversy before its screening. Writer and director Arvind Jay posted on Instagram on Aug 7, calling it “Singapore’s unadulterated lust for AI” and “a total farce and slap in the face to the thousands of artists in Singapore”, concluding that AI filmmakers “create nothing but s***”. Instagram page @socialstudies.textbook shared a post on Aug 3 mocking it as the end of local cinema. TikTok user @squashyboy2 reviewed the film on Aug 9, saying it was “worse than I could ever imagine” and “completely unwatchable”, citing issues like a man drinking through his nose, eight concurrent story lines, “disfigured” Singapore flags with more than five stars, mismatched dialogue and subtitles, and inconsistent accents. Another user, Simi, urged audiences not to watch