At Cannes, filmmakers shift towards cautious acceptance of AI's inevitability

Cannes: If Xavier Gens had waited until now to make his 2024 Netflix hit "Under Paris" about a giant shark in the Seine, he could have cut the visual effects budget by half and finished up to eight months earlier, the French director told Reuters.

"I would do it ⁠in three months instead of one year," Gens said on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival, adding he would have spent only 2 million euros ($2.34 million) on ⁠visual effects instead of 4 million euros.

The difference? Artificial intelligence.

At Cannes, first held in the aftermath of World War ‌Two and for decades a showcase of traditional filmmaking, the ​emphasis this year has shifted from whether AI will be used to how, attendees say. Many have raised concerns about the risk to artistic values, but the appeal of saving time and money is powerful, especially as the industry seeks to rebuild audiences that have yet to equal those before the COVID pandemic.

Gens said he began exploring how to use the technology for a sequel, "Under Paris 2", after post-production editing of the first film, which ranks among the most watched films on Netflix, took nearly ​a year. He hopes "Under Paris 2" will be ⁠released next year.

AI tools can automate many of the most time-consuming post-production tasks, which is especially valuable in films such as "Under Paris" that rely heavily on visual effects - in this case superimposing images of a shark on real shots.

Morgan Stanley analysts in a report last year said generative AI could cut film and TV production costs by as much as 30%.

Meta becomes an official partner

In a sign of digital times, Meta became an official ⁠festival partner this year in ‌a multi-year deal. Its AI software was used in Steven Soderbergh's new documentary about John Lennon and Yoko Ono that was included in the festival's official selection, though not in competition.

Many films do not compete for the festival's top prize, ‌the Palme d'Or, for numerous reasons, one of which is now how they use AI. Organisers at Cannes have not banned AI outright, but they say they exclude films primarily driven by generative AI from competing ⁠for the Palme d'Or. That is broadly in line with rules issued by the Academy Awards this month according to which acting and writing must be done by humans.

Festival Director Thierry Fremaux told journalists AI could not ‌be a substitute for ability.

"To ride an electric bike, you have to know how to ride a normal bike," he said.

Innovators gather at film market

Beyond the main festival, at the Cannes Film Market, a hub for global film deals and ‌industry networking, startups have set up an "Innovation Village", overlooking the yacht-filled harbour.

In addition, the market is hosting two days of invite-only conference panels dedicated ‌to AI for a second year in a row. Representatives from Alphabet, Disney Accelerator, NVIDIA and OpenAI delivered presentations.

While directors agree the use of generative AI to create a script or film from a prompt should not be allowed, its use in production and post-production is increasingly accepted.

"In a very dishonest way, (AI is) all under the same name," Mexican director ⁠Guillermo del Toro told Reuters. "To ⁠have a proper discussion, you have to distinguish generative AI and any other function of AI." That is a clear shift from the 2025 Oscars, when the use of AI to enhance Adrien Brody's Hungarian dialogue in "The Brutalist" became a flashpoint.

Alex Serdiuk, CEO of Ukrainian firm Respeecher, which developed the voice technology used for "The Brutalist", said the use of AI in that case was an effective enhancement of human talent, and that needed to lose its stigma.

"They got the Oscar, right? So the Academy understood what exactly was done there," he said.

More and More uses for AI

How AI can be effectively used is evolving rapidly.

Startups pitching new uses include Largo, which offers audience insight tools, including simulated focus groups to help directors understand how different viewers - including critics - might respond ​to a film.

Still, some industry figures caution that success can be very hard for even the sharpest AI to analyse.

"Basically, every movie in ​Cannes is a prototype," said Elisha Karmitz, CEO of French sales ​agent, distributor and production company MK2.

There is no formula for selection, he said, beyond making the best possible film with the right intentions.

However, he admitted that AI could not be ignored.

"I don't know ​if AI in the future would give an advantage," Karmitz said. "What I'm kind of sure of is just rejecting AI by principle would give a disadvantage."