International
UK, Brazil sign film co-production treaty
MUMBAI: The UK and Brazilian Governments have signed a co-production treaty.
The terms were negotiated by BFI, a UK organisation for film, and Ancine, the National Cinema Agency of Brazil. The treaty was signed in Brasilia by Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint.
The treaty is expected to take two years to come into force.
Film and TV productions that qualify under the terms of the treaty will be able to access the benefits of national status in each country.
In Brazil these include tax incentives, all federal public funds and access to favourable TV terms, while in the UK qualifying productions will be able to access the UK public film fund with a current allocation of ?18 million per year to invest in the development, production and completion of feature films.
This is set to increase to ?24 million by 2017 when the BFI launches its five year plan for film in October.
The announcement follows a number of initiatives to foster greater creative collaboration between the UK and Brazil. The most recent example came at the Rio Content Market in March 2012, where Pact and the ABPITV, the trade bodies representing independent producers in the UK and Brazil respectively, signed an agreement to promote closer ties between the independent production sectors in both countries.
Further cultural collaboration between the UK and Brazil will come later in 2012 with the British Council Transform event, a cultural programme of cross arts and transformative arts activity spanning the four years between London and Rio Olympic Games.
Transform kicks off at the Rio International Film Festival in October 2012 with a retrospective of the works of Brazilian director, Alberto Cavalcanti, from the BFI National Archive and a high profile screening of legendary British director Alfred Hitchock‘s The Pleasure Garden at an outdoor gala on the Copacabana Beach. The film has been restored by the BFI as part of its Genius of Hitchcock summer blockbuster project, and will be screened in Brazil accompanied by live music performed by the Brazilian Youth Orchestra from a score composed by British composer, Daniel Patrick Cohen.
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.
