International
Screen Australia initiates funding round with new docu
MUMBAI: Screen Australia has initiated funding for documentaries with a four-part SBS series. The funding would be worth $1.8 million across six one-off documentaries and one series and is expected to trigger $4.8m worth of production.
Following on from SBS‘s four part series Once Upon a Time in Cabramatta, which aired earlier this year and took 0.850m viewers across SBS1 in English and SBS 2 in Vietnamese will be Once Upon A Time in Punchbowl. The series will examine the Lebanese migrant settlement in Western Sydney and produced by Tim Toni and executive produced by Sue Clothier.
“I‘m thrilled to announce investment in the SBS series Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl. This important series will again strongly resonate with the local community,” Screen Australia‘s documentary manager Liz Stevens said.
Also receiving funding will be one-off documentaries about punk band The Sunny Boys, a floating hospital that visits poor nations, ten years on from four teen mums who stayed in school, the relationship between Judith Wright and HC ‘Nugget‘ Coombs, Licence to Kill about the events that take place after police use their firearms in the line of duty and Grey Man about Australian-led raids on the Thai sex trade.
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.
