International
Maoz’s Lebanon wins Golden Lion award at Venice Fest
MUMBAI: Director Samuel Maoz‘s Lebanon set inside a tank stranded inside enemy territory on the first day of the Lebanon War in June 1982 has won the Venice the Golden Lion for Best Film award at the Venice Film Festival.
The director, who based the film on his own experiences, dedicated the award to “people all over the word who come back form the war safe and sound, they work, get married, have children but inside remain stuck in their souls.”
While the Coppa Volpi for best actor went to Colin Firth for his performance in fashion designer Tom Ford‘s directorial debut The Single Man, Russian born actress Ksenia Rappoport got the same for her role in Giuseppe Capotondi‘s The Double Hour.
The Silver Lion for best director was awarded to Iranian born, New York-based director Shirin Neshat for Women Without Men, a film dealing with the condition of women in Iran and the 1953 coup which toppled the democratically elected Mossadegh government.
Todd Solondz was awarded the Osella For Best Screenplay Life During War Time.” This is so much fun – to win a prize it makes you like an eleven year old again nothing‘s – I confess nothing‘s better,” he said from the stage.
Osella won an award for best technical contribution for Jaco Van Dormael‘s Mr. Nobody.
The $100,000 Luigi De Laurentiis Lion of the future award went to the Orizzonti title Clash (Engkwentro) by Filipino director Pepe Diokno while Jasmine Trinca was honoured with the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best young actor or actress for her role in Michele Placido‘s Il Grande Sogno.
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.
