The Last Mortal
Directed by Jiaqi Yao
China · 2026 · 12 min
Submitted to RTV International Film Festival 2026Synopsis
Set in a future where humanity has undergone modifications to achieve immortality, the short film tells the story of a modified human who sets out to rescue an old friend who remains entirely biological.
About the film
The AI short film The Last Human is a cyberpunk fable exploring the intertwining themes of dignity and death. In a distant future, humanity has achieved immortality through cybernetic enhancement, coexisting seamlessly with machines. The sole remaining pure carbon based human in the world is tethered to a labyrinth of life support tubes, worshipped as the Creator, a deified prisoner. One day, a cyborg infiltrates the sacred temple disguised as a tourist to kidnap the Creator. The truth soon unfolds. They are estranged old friends, driven apart decades ago by their conflicting choices over cybernetic ascension. His act is not one of sacrilege, but of salvation, liberating his friend from a mummified divinity and granting him the ultimate dignity, the right to choose death. Far beyond the steel metropolis, the last human passes away in peace, leaving this world as a man, at the side of his oldest friend. Beneath its cold science fiction exterior, the film confronts the ultimate existential question of an immortal age, asking what it truly means to be human.
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RTV International Film Festival — Inaugural Online Edition · 2026