Acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun is not worried about AI taking over cinema — but he draws a hard line on what it should touch. Speaking at the Singapore International Film Festival, the director of “Comrades: Almost a Love Story” and “The Warlords” said he will probably use AI in his filmmaking, but “definitely not AIGC,” or AI-generated content.
Peter Chan (Credits: Variety)
The Two-Hour Feature Will Survive, Chan Says
Chan also pushed back against the idea that short-form and vertical dramas will kill the feature film. “This is probably the toughest time for film,” he admitted, before adding that he does not believe the medium will be lost to short-form entertainment — at least in his lifetime.
The distinction he drew was between AI as a tool and AI as a creator. Using AI somewhere in the filmmaking process is fine; handing the content itself over to generative AI is where he draws the line. It is a stance that mirrors the broader industry divide as studios weigh cost-cutting automation against the artistic identity of cinema.
Vertical Dramas Are the New Battleground
Vertical dramas — the bite-sized, phone-first series exploding across apps in Asia and beyond — have become the clearest rival to traditional theatrical features for younger audiences. Chan’s confidence that the two-hour feature will hold its ground is a bet on the enduring power of the cinematic experience: the dark room, the big screen, the long-form story that cannot be swiped past.
It is an optimistic note from a veteran who has spent decades navigating the industry’s shifts, and one that festival audiences in Singapore clearly came to hear.
Also Read: Tom Skerritt, Alien’s Captain Dallas and Top Gun’s Viper, Dies at 93
Source: Variety — read the full story there.
