International
Swedish actor Erland Josephson expires
MUMBAI: Swedish actor Swedish actor Erland Josephson, best known for his many collaborations with director Ingmar Bergman, expired on 25 February in Stockholm after a lengthy battle with Parkinson‘s disease. He was 88.
In his long career, Josephson, the self-trained actor appeared in nearly 100 films and TV series as well as countless stage productions. His best-known work was with Bergman, whom he met during the late 1930s when he just 16 years old, was cast in a production of The Merchant of Venice that Bergman was directing at the age of 21.
It was the beginning of a lifelong collaboration that saw the actor and director work together on 40 films and stage plays including classics like Scenes From a Marriage (1973) and Fanny and Alexander (1982).
Though he was invited by Hollywood, Josephson preferred the European film and theatre scene. He reportedly turned down Richard Dreyfuss‘ role in Jaws 2 saying that he‘d prefer to have “intellectual battles with Liv Ullmann than fight with some shark.
In addition to his acting, Josephson was creative director of Sweden‘s Royal Dramatic Theater from 1966-75 — a position he took over from Bergman. He was a prolific writer of plays, novels and memoirs. He also directed Marmalade Revolution (1980) that was screened in the competition section at the Berlin International Film Festival.
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.
