International
Abbas Kiarostami to lead AFF to Pusan fest
MUMBAI: Acclaimed Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami will lead the Asian Film Academy (AFA) in a series of film workshops, master classes and special seminars designed to share knowledge on the present film production environment offered by Pusan International Film Festival that starts on 7 October.
Other faculty members of the AFA will include Japanese director Ogiganami Naoko and Korean cinematographer Kim Hyung-gu.
In the past years were celebrated directors including Taiwan‘s Hou Hsiao-Hsien (2005), Im Kown-taek (2006) and Japan‘s Kurosawa Kiyoshi (2009).
Kiarostami gained international recognition when he won the Bronze Leopard award at the Locarno International Film Festival in 1989 with his film Where is the Friend‘s Home (1987). His film Certified Copy was invited to this year‘s Cannes for which the film‘s heroine Juliette Binoche won the Best Actress award.
The Asian Film Academy started in 2005 in cooperation with PIFF and Dongseo University. Since then, the AFA has produced 123 graduates from 24 different Asian countries including emerging directors such as Boo Jun-Feng whose film Sandcastle was invited to this year‘s Cannes Film Festival.
International
Utopai Studios unveils 4K three-minute video generation for PAI platform
New Story Agent and editing tools aim to streamline AI-led filmmaking workflows
MUMBAI: Utopai Studios has announced a major upgrade to its PAI storytelling AI platform, introducing what it claims is an industry-first capability to generate three-minute videos in 4K resolution, alongside enhancements to its Story Agent feature.
The update, rolling out from April 15, expands the platform’s capabilities across the filmmaking process, from early concept development to post-production. The company said the new features are designed to help filmmakers maintain continuity across characters, scenes and visual styles, a key challenge in AI-driven storytelling.
At the heart of the release is a next-generation model that enables more structured narrative development, allowing creators to move more seamlessly from idea to execution. With tools such as multi-shot sequencing and multi-turn editing, the platform aims to give both studios and independent creators greater control over complex storytelling workflows.
Commenting on the launch, Utopai Studios co-founder and CTO Jie Yang said, “The next phase of AI in media will not be defined by isolated tools, but by systems that can carry story, continuity and collaboration across the full creative process.” He added that the update is a step towards enabling more practical, end-to-end narrative development at a professional level.
Echoing this, Utopai Studios co-founder and chief scientific officer Zijian He said, “Generative video is opening the door to a new production model, where creative ambition is less constrained by traditional cost and complexity.” He noted that the platform combines multimodal models with iterative editing to give creators more speed, control and consistency.
The company said PAI is already being used in professional film and television productions, particularly in Hollywood, for tasks such as pre-visualisation, scene design and post-production refinements. The latest update adds features including improved voice options, character consistency, unlimited editing and more flexible asset management.
Utopai also emphasised that its models are not trained on copyrighted material, positioning the platform as a cleaner alternative for creators and rights holders navigating the evolving AI landscape.
As AI continues to reshape content creation, Utopai’s latest push signals a shift from standalone tools to integrated systems, aiming to make high-quality filmmaking faster, more flexible and increasingly accessible.
