Digital Grief: AI Wife Becomes Business

In Alvin Lee's debut feature, "Talk to Me When You Are Dead," a programmer named Yong Yi creates a digital version of his deceased wife to cope with his grief. This personal coping mechanism evolves into a startup that offers AI grief-bots to the bereaved.

Yong Yi is then commissioned to build a replica of a celebrated, terminally ill architect, Mr. Yun. While secretly recording Mr. Yun's memories, Yong Yi develops a paternal bond. As Mr. Yun's health declines, Yong Yi must decide between completing his lucrative contract and safeguarding the fragile man he has come to care for, a crisis that ultimately compels him to confront the truth about his wife's fate.

The film, presented as a black dramedy, explores the boundaries between genuine human connection and digital preservation. Lee was inspired to write the script four years ago while grieving his best friend and simultaneously assisting a relative with an AI-generated video of a lost loved one. He noted the paradox of creating comfort through a non-existent entity, a contradiction that became the film's genesis.

Producers Anthony Chen and Gina Tan have supported Lee's vision, emphasizing its personal roots and universal appeal. The project is currently seeking co-producers and financiers at the Busan International Film Festival's Asian Contents & Film Market. Lee is also developing a supernatural project addressing contemporary Singaporean issues like low birth rates and land scarcity.