Today's Edition
ASILA AL BADI (ABU DHABI)
Artificial intelligence has been redefining how films are made and it is evolving far faster than most viewers realise. The distorted, easy-to-spot AI-generated clips now sit at the bottom of the creative hierarchy as the technology grows increasingly sophisticated. Speaking to Aletihad at the BRIDGE Summit, experts offered an in-depth look at how AI is transforming every stage of filmmaking, from concept development to post-production.
“What’s groundbreaking is that AI images now convey emotion – before, you could tell something was artificial. Now, the storytelling feels real,” said Daria Udalova, a creative director and luxury brand strategist known for her dramatic AI-enhanced aesthetics.
Udalova revealed that they have been “using AI a lot” in creating commercials, especially for high-end brands. “In luxury, 90% of decision-making is emotional, so we focus on sensory storytelling using sight, sound, touch, smell and taste within the visual experience. AI makes this possible because you can imagine anything, as far as your creativity and your prompts allow.”
She added that AI enables brands to create cinematic, high-impact visuals without complex logistics or ethical concerns such as using animals in shoots. “A commercial shoot that would take six to eight hours can now be built in two with strong prompting and editing. It saves enormous time and budgets.”
Pushing further into AI cinema, Alex Curson – a filmmaker who won the AI Film Award at the Cannes Film Festival for “The Perfect World” – has demonstrated that the technology can be a tool to convey complex narratives and large-scale ideas that might be difficult to capture through traditional filmmaking.
“We are at the forefront of AI film production. Our Cannes project explored unity and hope at a time when Earth faces destruction. My goal is to spread a message of love and prosperity – that there is enough for everyone,” said Curson, who is also the CEO of It’s Just Spazz LLC.
He said the rapid evolution of AI requires collaboration rather than fear. “Humans and AI must mutually respect each other. If we approach AI with fear, it will mirror that. But if we respect it, AI will respect us. We’re nearing a point where AI learns faster than humans.”
Adding a broadcasting perspective, Ahmed Yosry, Operations Director and Channels Lead at Rotana TV, highlighted how AI is transforming Arabic content localisation.
“AI is moving fast, and we took the initiative to collaborate with Alibaba to advance machine learning for automatic speech recognition across regional dialects – Egyptian, North African, Levant and more. It’s a major challenge because films contain noise, music, humour and overlapping dialogue. We are training the system using one of the largest movie libraries in the region, and once complete, we will publish it as a service – the first of its kind in the Arab world.”
Reflecting on the summit, Udalova said BRIDGE offers a unique space for global creative exchange. “Being here at BRIDGE in Abu Dhabi is incredible – the people, the networking, the ideas. You meet top professionals from around the world, and you stay on the frontline of what’s happening in creative technology,” she said.
For Curson and his team, the summit was also a platform to connect with global leaders and investors who would be interested to support their AI-driven projects.
“BRIDGE Summit brings together global leaders in tech, finance and media, and it’s important for them to understand how quickly AI is progressing. We’re here to raise investment for our new projects so we can scale our work and impact more people.”
