AI-Powered Short Films Are Breaking China's Studio Gatekeeping

A new wave of young Chinese filmmakers with no formal training is using AI tools to produce short films on minimal budgets—and winning major festival recognition in the process. Liu Ziyu, a vocational school graduate working in real estate, released "Zombie Scavenger," which surpassed 100 million views and earned him a Hollywood producer inquiry. Meng Ke, born in 2004, won "Best AIGC Director" at the Beijing International Film Festival for "Mold," a short film he made in an internet café. iQiyi CEO Gong Yu has said AI has reduced production costs by "an order of magnitude."

The breakouts are forcing China's film industry to confront deeply entrenched barriers to entry—traditionally requiring elite academy credentials, industry connections, and access to expensive talent whose fees can consume more than a quarter of an entire production budget. As AI lowers those thresholds, established studios and producers are increasingly uneasy about who gets to make movies, and the displacement of traditional crew roles is becoming harder to dismiss.