International
Directors quit film festival in protest against Kadeer screening
MUMBAI: Chinese directors Jia Zhangke and Tang Xiaobai have quit the biggest film festival in Australia because of personal beliefs – not because of any pressure from their government.
Their decision came after the planned airing of a documentary about Uygur separatist Rebiya Kadeer, who the Chinese government believes was the cause of the deadly ethnic riot in Urumqi on July 5.
“We think it is emotionally unacceptable and beyond the bottom line to share a stage so politicized with Kadeer,” said Jia in an e-mail to China Daily. “Therefore,” he said, “my company has decided to quit the festival to express our personal position.”
Tang – as well as director Zhao Liang – said she quit the festival for the same reason.
It is said that Tang received telephone calls several days ago from the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT) in which they informed her about the Kadeer documentary. Tang denied, however, that the two institutions pressured her to quit the festival.
Tang said she has no regrets in losing the opportunity to publicize her film, which won the Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema in the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2008. “The film has been screened at many good festivals,” she said.
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.
