KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 — Local cinemagoers will soon be able to catch the first Malaysian artificial intelligence (AI)-generated film on the big screen, starting January 1.
The 76-minute historical epic Pirate Queen: Zheng Yi Sao, produced by Future Studio in collaboration with Singapore’s FizzDragon, is also aiming to achieve a global milestone as the first AI-generated film to secure a theatrical release.
According to Future Studio president and executive producer Professor Yoki Chin, the film, based on one of the world’s most successful pirates, will be released at major cinema chains nationwide, including TGV and GSC.
“As we saw in the 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, the filmmakers depicted the pirate queen in a very negative light.
“We actually want to showcase that this figure is a symbol of women empowerment — someone who came from a poor fishing village, endured life as a comfort girl, and later became the wife of the pirate king Zheng Yi.
“She eventually united all the pirates and even fought against the British in the Opium Wars,” Chin said.
He added that with the film being fully AI-generated content (AIGC), production costs were significantly lower, especially for large-scale battle scenes involving ships and soldiers, compared with traditional filmmaking that requires props, extras, and other expenses.
Although the film was completed in April this year, the release was pushed to January 1 to allow for improvements and to undergo checks with the local censorship board.
The film’s visuals employ multiple AI core technologies, including machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing.
“One year ago, the software wasn’t even this advanced. In fact, if we waited for the software to be perfect and upgraded every day, the film might never have been released.
“It’s more important to finish the real work, claim the achievement of being the first theatrically released AI-generated movie, and continue improving for future projects.
“We wanted to be the first to set an example for the rest of the world, and pull Malaysia ahead of the US and China in the race of AIGC,” he said.
Chin emphasised that despite the film being AI-generated, human input remains crucial to ensure a cohesive final product.
He also expressed gratitude for being appointed by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to train over 100 businesses, including animation, film and game development companies, on using AI creative tools.
Future Studio has also been appointed by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) to train local students in creating short films using AI, as well as teaching them how to leverage AI for marketing, outreach, and even producing short AI-generated dramas.
This initiative aligns with the Malaysian government’s push for AI, which has allocated RM5.9 billion for AI training in the country.
