How AI Is Redefining Filmmaking: From Festival Shorts to Feature Films

AI Films at Busan Film Festival

During the 30th Busan International Film Festival, an AI film summit titled “Future Imaging” showcased five short films created primarily with AI tools such as Seedream, Seedance and Jimo AI, drawing attention from scholars, directors and cinematographers.

Judges and Perspectives

Panelists including sociologist Li Yinhe, director Kim Tae‑yong, cinematographer Xia Yongkang and representatives from Volcano Engine and Jimo AI debated whether AI can understand love, convey subtle emotional tension, and master visual language.

AI‑Generated Shots that Impress

Highlights include the long‑take temple scene in “Beopche” with stable micro‑expressions, and the transformative apple transition in “The Tale of Power”, demonstrating what the author calls “AI’s lens thinking”.

Two Paths for AI in Cinema

According to BONA’s deputy GM Qu Jixiao, “AI+” means AI as a core technology co‑creating with humans (e.g., the first season of “Sanxingdui” short series), while “+AI” integrates AI invisibly into the entire production pipeline for feature‑length films.

Technical Advances

Seedream 4.0 solves image‑quality bottlenecks with a multi‑image reference function, enabling consistent style and 4K resolution suitable for big screens. Seedance 1.0 Pro adds long‑take scheduling, multi‑character motion and seamless scene changes, allowing stable facial and motion continuity.

From Short to Big Screen

The second season of “Sanxingdui” aims to become China’s first AI‑native feature film, requiring every generated frame to meet theatrical standards of realism, lighting and physics.

Why Now?

Lowered technical barriers, advances in image‑to‑video models, and integrated platforms like Jimo AI make it possible for individual creators to produce cinema‑quality content without massive budgets.

Future Outlook

AI is not replacing directors but amplifying human expression; the real challenge is what stories creators choose to tell and how they tell them in this new AI‑augmented era.