International
Vietnam Film Fest from 17 to 21 October
MUMBAI: The organisers of the Vietnam International Film Festival (VNIFF) have announced that the first edition of the festival will be held in Hanoi from 17 to 21 October this year.
At a news conference in Cannes, the organisers asked the press to help them zero in on five to seven French films for a special section in the 60-film programme in which films from Vietnamese filmmakers will also be screened.
The festival that will showcase the old spirit of Vietnam and the development of the country will include short films, documentaries and narrative features along with Vietnamese features with English subtitles and some of the most important local films.
The VNIFF will have Technicolor sponsoring a $25,000 Asia Award for post-production on the best Vietnamese film. A $10,000 UniFrance & K+ award will also be presented to the best French film selected by the Vietnamese spectators.
Hanoi‘s Opera House will host the festival screenings and its National Convention Center will be used for the opening and closing ceremonies.
While the deadline for the submissions of the festival has been fixed for 8 August, the lineup of films to be screened at the festival would be revealed in early September.
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.
