International
Michelle Carey is artistic director of MIFF
MUMBAI: Michelle Carey, head of programming of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) has been promoted as its artistic director.
Since the last four years Carey has been working with MIFF executive director Richard Moore as co-coordinator of the accelerator programme and also as head of programming at Australia’s largest film festival.
Earlier this year, Moore announced that he was stepping down from his position at MIFF, after the Board of the festival said that it would split the role into two. It later appointed Petrina Dorrington as general manager at the beginning of this year‘s festival late July and also announced Carey’s appointment.
Dorrington said, “We are thrilled to appoint Michelle as the artistic director – she has extensive experience in film programming, and has been a member of the MIFF programming team for the last four years. She understands both the festival’s diverse audiences and the ethos of the festival as a whole.”
Besides her role in the MIFF, Carey is currently the president of the long-running Melbourne Cinémath?que and editor for film festivals at online film journal Senses of Cinema.
Moore will now relocate to Brisbane this month where he will join Screen Queensland as the organization’s new head of screen culture.
In Moore’s four-year tenure MIFF’s Premiere Film Fund, supported by the Victorian government was introduced and its 37° south market and accelerator programme were expanded for emerging filmmakers.
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.
