AI-generated film Dreams of Violets to debut at Tribeca Festival

At a glance:

• Dreams of Violets, a 75-minute AI-generated film, will premiere at the Tribeca Festival on June 10th.
• The film cost $2,000 to produce and uses AI tools including Google's Nano Banana, Kling AI, and Anthropic's Claude.
• Created by Iranian brothers Ash and Pooya Koosha, it dramatizes the 2022 Iranian government's crackdown on protesters.

The making of Dreams of Violets

The film Dreams of Violets represents a milestone in AI-driven storytelling. At 75 minutes long, it is a fictional dramatization of the Iranian government's violent suppression of protests in January 2022, with all characters and visuals generated entirely by artificial intelligence. According to the creators, the project drew from journalistic reports, photographs, and eyewitness accounts to construct its narrative. The film was developed by Fountain 0, a company co-founded by Pooya Koosha, with his brother Ash serving as CEO. Both brothers fled Iran in 2009, bringing their technical expertise to bear on this politically charged project.

AI tools behind the film

Fountain 0 utilized a suite of commercial AI tools to create Dreams of Violets. Google's Nano Banana was employed for image generation, while Kling AI handled video production. Anthropic's Claude model assisted with language editing, refining scripts and dialogue. These tools allowed the brothers to produce a full-length film on a shoestring budget of $2,000—a fraction of traditional production costs. The use of such accessible AI platforms underscores how democratized technology is reshaping creative industries, enabling independent creators to challenge conventional filmmaking barriers.

Industry implications and concerns

Fountain 0 claims Dreams of Violets is the first full-length, live-action AI-generated film accepted into a major film festival's main program. While another AI film, Hell Grind, screened at Cannes, it did so at a side event rather than the official lineup. The Kooshas acknowledge industry concerns about AI's impact on livelihoods, stating, "We fully understand the very genuine sensitivities of those individuals working in the movie industry... But the reality is that this film never would have been made if it were not for the AI capabilities that we were able to develop."

Brothers' perspective on AI and art

The Koosha brothers frame their work as both an artistic and technological experiment. Their personal history—having left Iran during political upheaval—infuses the film with emotional weight. By leveraging AI, they aimed to tell a story that might otherwise remain untold due to financial or logistical constraints. However, their approach raises questions about the ethics of AI-generated content, particularly when depicting real-world tragedies. The film's Tribeca premiere signals growing acceptance of AI as a creative tool, even as debates continue over its implications for human artists.

What to watch next

The Tribeca screening will likely spark discussions about AI's role in cinema, from production efficiency to ethical boundaries. As AI tools become more sophisticated, festivals and studios may grapple with how to categorize and evaluate such works. For Fountain 0, this debut could pave the way for future projects, though the brothers have not disclosed specific plans. Meanwhile, the broader film industry watches closely, weighing innovation against tradition.