GeneMate
// Speculative Design
Director, App Designer, Screenwriter
Histories and Futures of Technology, Design Informatics
In a dystopian future defined by gene-editing technology, societal divides have reached an all-time high. The film navigates this complex landscape through an innovative storytelling format, inspired by the screen-captured narrative technique used in films like 'Searching.' Our protagonist, a naturally gifted individual untouched by genetic editing, keeps her true identity hidden from her boyfriend, who is from the affluent and edited W family. As the drama unfolds exclusively through the lens of desktop screens and a gene-based dating app called GeneMate, the boyfriend discovers her secret. Feeling deceived, he threatens dire consequences. By the end of the film, her unique genetic code is seized by the Gene Agency, ominously indicating her grim future.