(Yicai) May 15 -- The Shanghai International Film Festival, which will take place in the Chinese city next month, is getting into artificial intelligence-powered filmmaking with the launch of its AI Backlot.

The new studio’s first four creative teams were introduced at an inauguration ceremony on May 13. Together, they bring together 22 AI super creators and film and television professionals from a wide range of backgrounds, including directors, screenwriters, AI directors, and digital artists.

The SIFF’s AI Backlot issued an invitation to global creators in March. It received nearly 500 applications from film and AI creators across seven countries and regions, with industry professionals ultimately selecting the team members from among the candidates.

The teams need to produce AI short films for presentation at the SIFF, which will run from June 12 to 21. There is no fixed theme, but the works must convey “true feelings,” according to an announcement on the festival’s website.

AI is fundamentally reshaping how film and television content is made, Tong Ying, deputy director of the Shanghai International Film and TV Events Center, which organizes the SIFF, said at the inauguration ceremony.

The AI Backlot will create a real production environment that will fully document the entire process of an AI film project, from creative conception and team collaboration to completion, forming a practical reference sample for the industry, Tong added. The process will also be presented during the SIFF.

“What we focus on is how creativity is generated in the process of making an AI video, how tasks are divided, how traditional experiences, such as those of directors, screenwriters, and cinematographers, enter the new creative chain, and which problems still require human judgment and experience to solve,” Tong noted.

Editor: Futura Costaglione