International
Idris Elba to star in Beasts of No Nation
MUMBAI: The film financed by Red Crown Productions has roped in Elba, a prominent British actor who was recently seen in Pacific Rim as Stacker Pentecost. Cary Fukunaga will direct the adaptation of Uzodinma Iweala‘s bestselling novel.
Red Crown Productions‘ Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Riva Marker, Parliament of Owls‘ Fukunaga and Primary Productions‘ principal Amy Kaufman are producers while Daniel Crown and Bill Benenson will be executive producers.
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The story is about a young boy called Agu who turns to mercenary fighters when his west African country is engulfed by a war. He has to face the death of his father and the disappearance of his mother as
sister while fighting with a mute man he makes a friend. He will play the lead role of commander.
Beasts of No Nation was packaged by WME. IM Global‘s specialty label Acclaim will do international sales at Toronto Film Festival. Fukunaga has previously directed Jane Eyre and is currently on HBO‘s series True Detective.
Elba is to be seen as Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, releasing this November. Both Elba and Fukunaga are repped by WME and managed by Anonymous content.
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.
