As in his award-winning short film “White Cloud / 白云”, which exists at the intersection of science fiction and documentary, nearly all of the images and sequences in Emmanuel Van der Auwera’s “Saturn” were generated by artificial intelligence.
The work focuses on active shooter drills inside American schools, and their strange relationship to reality: these drills are a simulation, sometimes bordering on the theatrical, but they are intended to prepare for reality in the event of an emergency; ironically, the fact that these staged drills exist is sometimes enough to fuel conspiracy theories in the wake of real tragedies.

“Saturn” draws upon real photographs: stock images of Newtown, Connecticut; photos of active shooter drills, which the artist expanded into video using AI, so it appears that the participants are recreating some sort of “mannequin challenge” – frozen in position but still breathing, slightly twitching. Some of the commentary overlaying these images is drawn from real testimony. Some is synthetic, drawn from interaction with conspiracy movements. By merging AI-generated imagery, archival footage, and fragments of real events, "Saturn" destabilizes perception and challenges the status of the archive itself: when documents can be generated, what authority does their narrative retain?

Referencing the myth of Saturn, a figure of cruelty and repetition, the work considers cycles of power, control, and mediation. "Saturn" positions Van der Auwera at the forefront of contemporary media practice, addressing how technology shapes both the construction and consumption of reality.