International
Rober DeNiro to head Cannes jury
MUMBAI: Actor, producer and director, Robert DeNiro will head the Jury of the 64th Festival de Cannes. The 2011 edition of the festival will take place from 11 to 22 May.
The organizers will also pay a tribute to the co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2011. DeNiro, co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002.
Accepting the invitation, DeNiro said, “The Cannes Film Festival is a rare opportunity for me as it is one of the oldest and one of the best in the world.”
DeNiro rose to recognition with Martin Scorsese‘s Mean Streets (1973) and Coppola‘s The Godfather Part II for which he won the Academy Award for best supporting actor in 1974. In 1980, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for Raging Bull (1980), directed by Martin Scorsese.
To his credit are films like Bernardo Bertoulucci‘s Novecento (1976), Elia Kazan‘s Last Tycoon (1976), Michael Cimino‘s The Deer Hunter (1978), Sergio Leone‘s Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Brian de Palma‘s The Untouchables (1987), Martin Scorsese‘s Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995), Terry Gilliam‘s Brazil (1985) and Michael Mann‘s Heat (1995) among others.
The actor also wore the director‘s cap in A Bronx Tale, The Good Shepherd, Analyze This, Meet the Parents and Little Fockers.
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.
