# A Tree Once Grew Here

- Date: 2023-09
- Type: film
- Credit: John Semerad & Dara Semerad
- Genre: Animation, Experimental
- Artists: [John Semerad](https://aifilmhistory.org/artist/john-semerad), [Dara Semerad](https://aifilmhistory.org/artist/dara-semerad)
- Award: Merit — Runway AIFF 2024 — Runway AI Film Festival 2024
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZW3CgMlHa0
- URL: https://aifilmhistory.org/entry/a-tree-once-grew-here

A wordless environmental fable that mixes animation with AI imagery and asks the viewer to care for the planet "because we can no longer afford not to." The Semerads deliberately left out anything tied to a single culture or period, so it could speak to anyone. It premiered at New York's Quad Cinema in September 2023, won a Merit award at [Runway's second AI Film Festival](https://aifilmhistory.org/entry/aiff-2024), and later screened at Short Shorts in Tokyo and Ars Electronica.

Links:
- AIFF 2024 winners: https://aiff.runwayml.com/2024
- Short Shorts Film Festival listing: https://shortshorts.org/2024/en/program/ai/a-tree-once-grew-here

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Source: https://aifilmhistory.org/entry/a-tree-once-grew-here
Era: 2023 · The Cambrian Explosion
Last updated: 2026-10-19