International
Swiss govt sets Polanski free
MUMBAI: The Swiss government‘s reported decision not to extradite film director Roman Polanski has the US government disappointed. In spite of the decision, a state department spokesman said that it would continue to seek Polanski‘s arrest on charges he had sex with an underage girl in 1977.
Freeing the director,the Swiss justice ministry said the US had not made a convincing argument for Polanski‘s extradition and hence he was being freed. Yesterday Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf announced that “the measures taken to restrict the freedom of Polanski had been lifted.
Polanski has reportedly left his chalet in the Alpine resort of Gstaad where he was held under house arrest for eight months.
The Swiss justice ministry said that the US had failed to disprove Polanski‘s argument that he fled before sentencing in 1978 because he believed the judge would renege on a plea agreement.
Polanski was originally charged with six offences including rape and sodomy over the 1977 case. In 1978, he pleaded guilty to unlawful sex following a plea bargain. He then served 42 days in prison. The director was taken into custody in Switzerland in September while collecting a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival.
Polanski, whose films include Rosemary‘s Baby and The Pianist, was moved from prison and placed under house arrest in early December.
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.
