Middle Eastern Filmmakers Showcase Generative AI in Live Productions at Cinema Night

At the annual Cinema Night event, filmmakers and technologists shared concrete examples of generative AI being deployed in active productions. Highlights included AI-generated secondary characters in the series Alaska—where a teaser was assembled in a single day using Unreal Engine and LED screens displaying AI-generated Alaskan landscapes—and the hybrid live-action/generative production Kaifsk: City of Gnomes, which combined filmed human actors with AI-generated gnomes and environments for streamer Okko. Soyuzmultfilm also described using AI to generate character prototypes, costumes, and locations for productions featuring classic characters like Cheburashka.

Beyond on-screen content, the event spotlighted workflow automation: Magic Studio co-founders demonstrated a script breakdown tool that analyses over 100 parameters—including characters, camera movement, and lighting—to decompose a script into individual shots in 1.5 seconds. Speakers framed AI as a cost- and time-reduction tool that keeps filmmakers in creative control, with applications seen as particularly suited to trailers, vertical series, and large-scale background work. The showcase reflects growing regional momentum, with Dubai's Expo City AI Film Festival and its $1 million AI Film Award drawing additional attention to the space.