Xuhui "AI Innovation Hub" Session 4 Explores How AI Films Can Reach Mass Entertainment

Today (the 30th), the fourth installment of the Xuhui District AI Creation Hub series of events—the themed event "AI Film: From Creative Experiment to Mass Entertainment"—was held. The event brought together more than a hundred industry professionals, including film practitioners, AI content creators, platform representatives, IP holders, film and television production companies, cinema chains and film investment firms, industrial investment institutions, and representatives of film and television academies, who engaged in in-depth discussion on core topics such as AI film technology iteration, content creation, creative workflows, market feedback, and commercialization, helping Xuhui's AI + micro-drama industry ecosystem extend and expand toward long-form narrative and cinematic forms. With the rapid iteration of video generation models and AI creation tools, AI content creation is developing toward long-form narrative. In the film sector, both overseas and domestically, multiple AI films have already been released online, and cases of AI films entering theatrical screening have also emerged. Whether AI films have the opportunity to move from "super-creator" creative experiments to mass entertainment where "audiences buy tickets" has become a question of common concern for the industry today. Against this backdrop, the fourth installment of the AI Creation Hub event focused on "AI films," building a platform for exchange and co-creation to jointly explore the key breakthrough points for AI films to move toward mass entertainment. As a core carrier area of Shanghai's artificial intelligence industry and an important source of inheritance and innovation for Shanghai-style culture, the Xuhui District established the AI + Micro-Drama Industry Service Center early this year and is making every effort to build a domestically first-class, distinctly characterized AI + micro-drama industry cluster. As a flagship series of brand events created by the Service Center, "AI Creation Hub" gathers outstanding talent and industrial forces in AI content creation and responds to the development trends of the AI content industry, having already covered tracks such as AI short comic dramas, AI film and television, and AI interactive film games. This event, focusing on the theme of AI films, also aims to build a co-creation platform for Xuhui's AI + micro-drama and AI industry ecosystem to extend toward long-form narrative and cinematic forms. The event featured multiple segments including the technology session, content session, workflow session, and roundtable dialogue, continuously helping AI creators connect with resources. At the venue, Wu Jing, head of pan-internet sales for Kling AI in China, introduced the comprehensive performance of Kling AI after its 4.0 upgrade, stating that at this "big-screen moment" for AI films, Kling is committed to enabling more creators to have director-level expression and professional directors to have a digital studio they can dispatch at any time. Zhai Qian, COO of Shanghai Zhiling Xinjing Technology Co., Ltd., proposed in her sharing that IP incubation is forming a new paradigm moving from community to theatrical film. She stated that content can be generated infinitely, but IP remains extremely scarce; the truly vital IP of the future may be born among "super creators." Chen Junda, head of the IP Operations Center at Qianji Pictures, drawing on the Qianji team's creative experience in AI online films and AI animated films, shared around the story themes of AI films and IP film development opportunities based on the global market, exploring a path toward AI theatrical films centered on IP building. The roundtable dialogue "Everything Is Ready, AI Films Move Toward Mass Entertainment" was moderated by Dongxi Entertainment and gathered heavyweight guests from across the film and television industry chain. Jiang Yuanxin, co-founder, director, and CEO of Shanghai Xingyi Cinema Management Co., Ltd.; Chen Hongjia, senior vice president of iQIYI; Gu Xiaojiang, vice president and board secretary of Bona Film Group; and Liu Linhe, board secretary and general manager of the Strategic Investment Department of Shanghai Film Co., Ltd., appeared on the same stage, discussing from multiple perspectives including cinema chains, film companies, and platforms such key market-oriented issues as audience acceptance of AI films, marketing and distribution paths, IP derivative development, and cultivation of the industrial atmosphere, jointly discussing the path of AI films toward mass entertainment. At the venue, the "Hui Mou" AI + Content Project Solicitation Program was launched. The head of the Xuhui District AI + Micro-Drama Industry Service Center stated that the original intention of establishing this solicitation program is to support premium works and cultivate a batch of outstanding benchmark projects so that good ideas are not buried; subsequently, dedicated roadshow times and segments will be set up in the "AI Creation Hub" series of events to provide creators with a stage to showcase themselves and connect with resources.