International
Blue is Warmest Colour gets Palme d’Or at Cannes
NEW DELHI: Blue Is The Warmest Colour (France) directed by Abdellatif Kechiche with Ad?le Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux has won the Palme d‘Or at the 66th Cannes Film Festival in France.
The Grand Prix went to Inside Llewyn Davis (USA) directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, while Amat Escalante got the best Director Award for Heli (S).
The jury prize went to Japanese film Soshite Chichi Ni Naru (Like Father, Like Son / Tel P?re, Tel Fils) directed by Kore-Eda Hirokazu. The best screenplay award went to Jia Zhangke for Tian Zhu Ding (A Touch of Sin) from China.
The best actor and actress awards went to Bérénice Bejo in Le Passé (The Past) directed by Asghar Farhadi and Bruce Dern in Nebraska directed by Alexander Payne respectively.
L‘image Manquante (The Missing Picture) directed by Rithy Panh received the Un Certain Regard award, while the Camera d‘Or went to Ilo Ilo directed by Anthony Chen (Quinzaine Des Réalisateurs).
In short films, the Palme d‘Or went to Safe director by Moon Byoung-Gon and the Special Mention was for Ex-?quo Hvalfjordur (Whale Valley / Le Fjord Des Baleines) directed By Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson and 37°4 S Directed by Adriano Valerio.
The jury prize for short films went to Omar by Hany Abu-Assad while the director award went to Alain Guiraudie Pour Son for L‘inconnu Du Lac.
A certain talent prize went to the whole cast of La Jaula De Oro by Diego Quemada-Diez and the AVenir prize went to Fruitvale Station directed by Ryan Coogler.
The Cinéfondation Premier Prix went to Needle directed by Anahita Ghazvinizadeh and Deuxi?me Prix went to En Attendant le Dégel directed by Sarah Hirtt, while Troisi?me Prix went to Ex-?quo În Acvariu (In The Fishbowl) directed by Tudor Cristian Jurgiu and Pandy (Pandas) directed by Matúš Vizár.
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.
