International
Celestial Pictures announces result of screenplay competition
MUMBAI: Celestial Pictures, the diversified entertainment company, has announced the result of its Shaw Brothers remake screenplay competition that was held along with the Beijing Film Academy (BFA) and Youth Film Studio (YFS).
The screenplay competition was part of Celestial Pictures‘ New Directors Workshop (NDW) program that was created to discover and nurture new Chinese filmmakers through mentorships and production opportunities utilizing the world-renowned film library of Shaw Brothers.
“Celestial Pictures is proud to announce the winners of the New Directors Workshop and we look forward to nurturing the unique visions of these talented writers and directors with the help of Sylvia, the Beijing Film Academy and Youth Film Studio,” said Celestial Pictures CEO Ross Pollack.
“This is just the beginning of a program which we hope will lead to more collaboration among the three parties to provide opportunities for promising directors to have their visions realized,” he added.
The winner of the Shaw Brothers remake screenplay competition was Tian Li‘s re-interpretation of Love with the Perfect Stranger (which won the Hong Kong Film Award‘s Best Screenplay and Best Actress in 1995). The second and third runner-ups were Huang Huang‘s version of Loving You (originally directed by Johnnie To) and Wang Mengyuan‘s update on The Lady is the Boss (which originally starred Shaw icon Kara Hui).
Award-winning producer and director Sylvia Chang presented the awards to the winners and shared valuable directorial insights with the attending guests.
The Shaw Brothers remake screenplay competition, launched in 2011, was open to BFA‘s 2011 graduating class as well past graduates of BFA‘s directors program.
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.
