MBC C&I’s AI Content Lab is joining Hong Kong Filmart with its most ambitious production to date, anchored by the 80-minute feature film “Raphael,” touted as one of the world’s first fully AI-generated feature films, as the Seoul-based business expands its international footprint and explores co-production opportunities.
The company operates as an organization specializing in generated AI content under South Korean broadcaster MBC C&I, and bills itself as South Korea’s leading AI storyteller hub, with duties ranging from content planning, production, distribution, and ongoing AI creation research. Its content pipeline ranges from drama series, feature films, short anthology series, and AI-generated commercials.
Produced by Mateo AI Studio and AI Content Lab, “Raphael” is directed by Yang Ek-joon, Jung Joo-won, and Moon Shin-woo, the same creative team behind “Mateo,” which won the Grand Prix at the 2024 Korean International Film Festival. The AI Film Festival was selected from over 2,000 submissions. “Raphael” depicts an elite war android modeled after the younger version of an aging dictator who encounters a Catholic priest while commanding troops in a refugee district and begins a journey toward faith and salvation. The project is a blend of science fiction, religion, and action, and is scheduled to premiere in September.
The drama of shingles is similarly wide-ranging. The AI drama series “The Fire Breakers” (6 X 30 minutes), directed by Kim Won-jin and produced by Voyager1 Studio, tells the story of firefighters who die in the line of duty and are revived in a fantasy world to continue their rescue mission. “Whispering Animal Clinic,” co-directed by Lee Jeong-hoon and Song Eun-bi of “Mega Monster,” is a six-episode magical fantasy drama starring K-pop artist Yoon Ji-sung of Wanna One and Jin Ye-ah of Laboum and Unit. A 12-episode, 15-minute series directed by KimOO, “Memory Proverb Chronicle” takes place in a post-human AI society 1,247 years after the extinction of humanity, in a world where Korean proverbs act as laws of physics.
On the film side, Alice in Korea, which is said to be a 60-minute AI art musical film, is directed by IUM and features vocalist Lara Benito. The project imagines a Korean princess whose songs naturally evoke a magical land before a moonlit portal transports her to the mysterious palace of history’s greatest artist. Directed by Lee Jin-ho, “Art in the World 2: Judith” is a 13-minute AI drama set in the Uffizi Gallery’s Judith exhibit, bringing two famous paintings by Gustav Klimt and Artemisia Gentileschi to life. Directed by Oh Hae-jin and with voice performances handled by Eleven Labs’ AI, “Sentiment” is a 12-minute film set in a society where emotions have been outlawed. The short series “Lua” directed by Lee Jae-hyo is an anthology of 20 episodes of 2 minutes each and is said to be the world’s first AI-driven film series that explores the relationship between humans and virtual beings.
The results of this institute have already garnered international recognition. Beyond “Mateo’s” K-AIFF Grand Prix, “Witness,” directed by Yang Ek-jun and distributed by AI Content Lab, won the Grand Prix at the 2024 Busan International Film Festival. Wins $10,000 in prize money at AI Film Festival.
Lab’s production methodology leverages a wide range of generative AI tools, including Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and Flux for image generation. Runway Gen3, Kling, Luma, VEO3 for video. For audio, it’s Eleven Labs, Suno AI, and Udio. On the concept and planning side, the organization uses LLM-based development alongside Katalist AI for storyboarding.
Beyond original content, AI Content Lab also ventures into commercial production, such as AI-generated spots for LG Electronics and convenience chain CU produced in partnership with HSAD. The unit also collaborated with Korean streaming platform Wavve on “The Prompt: Next Drama,” an anthology series about the AI Festival winners.
