International
DIFF opens with MI: Ghost Protocol
MUMBAI: the 8th Dubai International Film Festival opened with the screening of the Tom Cruise starrer Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.
Cruise, who shot some of the key events including a daredevil stunt hanging from the Burj Khalifa in the movie, attended the screening making him the biggest Hollywood star to attend the festival.
Also present were Anil Kapoor and music director A R Rahman. Kapoor plays a cameo of an Indian playboy in the film.
Said Cruise, “It is easy to climb a building and jump out of it but I am scared of falling. I trained with helmets and pads but when I had to shoot actually at the Burj Khalifa I told myself ‘Ok, this is the moment of truth‘ but it is very entertaining for the audience,” Cruise said, adding that he likes to celebrate locations through his movies.
For the knowledge of Indian fans, most of the shots depicting Mumbai in the film were actually shot in Dubai. “Locations add to the film and we try to shoot there but one of the magic of movies is that you can create that environment,” Cruise said about creating Mumbai outside India.
The festival, which is screening 171 films from over 56 countries, has a special section ‘Celebrate India‘ dedicated to the films from the country.
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.
