International
IFFI announces international jury comprising eminent filmmakers
NEW DELHI: The 51st edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), to be held in Goa from 16-24 January, has announced its international jury. The panel comprises eminent filmmakers from across the world, like Pablo Cesar (Argentina) as chairman, Prasanna Vithanage (Sri Lanka), Abu Bakr Shawky (Austria), Priyadarshan (India), and Rubaiyat Hossain (Bangladesh).
Pablo Cesar is an Argentine filmmaker. He has contributed to the African cinema by making the critically acclaimed films, Equinox, the Garden of the Roses, Los dioses de agua and Aphrodite, the Garden of the Perfumes.
Prasanna Vithanage is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. He is considered one of the pioneers of the third generation of Sri Lankan cinema. He has directed eight feature films including Death on a Full Moon Day (1997), August Sun (2003), Flowers of the Sky (2008) & With You, Without You (2012). His films have won many prestigious national and international awards and also enjoyed commercial success in his country. In Vithanage’s early theatre work, he translated and produced plays by international writers, adapted works of world literature to film. He has battled against censorship in Sri Lanka and worked as an educator of cinema who has conducted many master classes in the subcontinent for young filmmakers and enthusiasts.
Abu Bakr Shawkyor ‘A.B.’ Shawky is an Egyptian-Austrian writer and director. His first feature film, Yomeddine, was selected to participate in the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened in the main competition section and competed for the Palme d'Or.
Rubaiyat Hossain is a Bangladeshi film director, writer and producer. She is notable for the films Meherjaan, Under Construction and Made in Bangladesh.
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer. In a career spanning over three decades, he has directed more than 95 films in various Indian languages, predominantly in Malayalam and Hindi, while also having done six films in Tamil and two in Telugu.
A total of 224 films will be screened under different sections at the 51st IFFI, which will be organised in a hybrid format in the wake of the pandemic. Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, starring actor Mads Mikkelsen, will be the opening film. Japanese historical drama Wife of a Spy, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, will also have its India premiere at the upcoming nine-day film gala.
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.
