International
Turkish film Hayde Bre wins top Shanghai fest award
MUMBAI: Turkish film Hayde Bre won the Golden Goblet for best feature film, at the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) that concluded on Sunday.
The Chinese film Mr. Tree won its director Han Jie the best director award and also the Jury Grand Prix award at the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) that concluded on Sunday.
While the SIFF award for best screenplay went to Zhang Ming for The Young Man Sings Folk Songs in the Opposite Door, which also took home the best actress and the award for best music.
The award for best actor went to Sevket Emrulla in Hayde Bre.
While the award for best cinematography was bagged by Thai D.P. Tiwa Moeithaisong for his photography of Friday Killeram.
A gangster film paying tribute to Yuthlert Sippapak, which was directed by Quentin Tarantino took home the SIFF Jury Prize.
SIFF also awarded 10 winners in the event‘s inaugural cell phone short films competition that was launched to highlight a new media platform and provide young directors with international exposure.
Acclaimed Hong director Tsui Hark chaired the jury along with Chinese actress Zhao Tao and Thai film director Nonzee Nimibutr.
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.
