International
Michael Sarrazin no more
MUMBAI: Michael Sarrazin, remembered for his role opposite Jane Fonda in the 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Don‘t They? expired in Montreal after a brief encounter with Cancer. He was 70.
It may be remembered that Horses was nominated for nine Oscars and won a single statuette for Gig Young‘s supporting role in the film in which Fonda played a suicidal woman who heads to Hollywood and meets up with Sarrazin‘s character, an aspiring director. The two enter a grueling dance marathon during which she tries to convince him to shoot her and put her out of her misery.
Besides Tunisia, more than 12 countries took part in the festival, including Japan, Mexico and the United States. All films featured were categorised as writers‘ films or films belonging to the independent cinema as opposed to commercial films.
Sarrazin was born Jacques Michel Andre Sarrazin in Quebec City in 1940 and later moved with his family to Montreal.
In 1965, Sarrazin signed with Universal and became one of the last actors to come out of the studio. He went on to land a few roles, including playing a Confederate soldier 1968‘s Journey to Shiloh, opposite Harrison Ford and earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role as a slacker surfer in The Sweet Ride.
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.
