International
La Chimera to open the 29th European Union Film Festival
Mumbai: The 29th European Union Film Festival (EUFF) will open with La Chimera, screening on 7 November 2024 in New Delhi. Written and directed by Alice Rohrwacher, the film follows an Englishman exploring Italy’s historical treasures with an eccentric group. La Chimera touches on themes of lost love, relationships, life, and death. Yile Yara Vianello, the film’s lead actress, will attend the opening night in India.
Writer-director Alice Rohrwacher said, “The proximity of sacred and profane, of death and life, that characterised the years in which I was growing up has always fascinated me and given a measure to my way of seeing. This is why I decided at last to make a film that tells this layered story, this relationship between two worlds, the last part in a triptych about a local area whose attention is focused on one central question: what should it do with its past? As some grave-robbers say, down our way it’s the dead that give life.”
The European Union Film Festival (EUFF) will run in New Delhi from 7 to 16 November 2024, showcasing 26 European films in 31 languages, providing insights into European society, culture, and people. Organised by the European Union in partnership with EU Member States and regional partners, the festival strengthens EU-India cultural ties and fosters cross-cultural understanding.
The festival will take place at three venues in New Delhi: India Habitat Centre, Instituto Cervantes, and Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan. It features films exploring diverse themes, including relationships, gender identity, sisterhood, and self-discovery. The lineup includes several India premieres, such as What A Feeling, Because I Love Bad Weather, Stairway To Heaven, Death is a Problem for the Living, Jim’s Story, Without Air, Black Velvet, The Last Ashes, Blood on the Crown, Baan, Horia, and The Man Without Guilt.
All films will have English subtitles and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Some films are rated 18-plus; please check ratings before attending.
EUFF 2024 film line-up by country:
● Austria: What a Feeling
● Belgium: Employee of the Month (L’employée Du Mois)
● Bulgaria: Because I Love Bad Weather (Защото обичам лошото време)
● Cyprus: Embryo Larva Butterfly
● Czech Republic: Restore Point (Bod Obnovy)
● Denmark: Sons (Vogter)
● Estonia: Stairway To Heaven (Taevatrepp)
● Finland: Death is a Problem for the Living (Peluri- Kuolema on Elävien Ongelma)
● France: Jim’s Story (Le roman de Jim)
● Germany: Afire (Roter Himmel)
● Greece: Animal
● Hungary: Without Air
● Ireland: An Irish Goodbye
● Italy: La Chimera
● Latvia: Black Velvet (Melnais Samts)
● Lithuania: Five And A Half Love Stories In An Apartment In Vilnius (Penkios su puse meilės istorijos, nutikusios viename Vilniaus bute)
● Luxembourg: The Last Ashes (Läif a Séil)
● Malta: Blood on the Crown
● Netherlands: Como el Viento
● Poland: Dangerous Men (Niebezpieczni dżentelmeni)
● Portugal: Baan
● Romania: Horia
● Slovenia: The Man Without Guilt (L’uomo senza colpa)
● Spain: The Teacher Who Promised The Sea (El maestro que prometió el mar)
● Sweden: UFO Sweden
● Ukraine: How is Katia? (Yak Tam Katia?)
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.
