Next week, a groundbreaking 75-minute drama about the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in Iran will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Titled Dreams of Violets, it is based on journalism, video footage, and eyewitness accounts. 'I would say 80% of it is a recreation of events that actually happened,' says Iranian-British director Ash Koosha. But Dreams of Violets is a work of fiction, not a documentary: a drama following a group of strangers caught up in the protests, who meet by chance in an alleyway.
How has Koosha managed to pull together a drama about the killings in less than six months? The answer is artificial intelligence. Every image and character in Dreams of Violets is AI-generated. Koosha says he created the characters by describing their physical appearances, using people he has known in the past as references. It would be too dangerous to base characters on living people in Iran, he explains. 'Because of the security issue, it would not be safe for the characters to even remotely resemble someone.'
First AI Live-Action Feature at a Major Festival
Dreams of Violets is the first fully AI live-action feature accepted at a major film festival. It joins a growing wave: last month, AI action-adventure Hell Grind screened at Cannes, though not in the official selection. An all-AI animated feature, Where the Robots Grow, was released in 2024. However, Dreams of Violets appears to be the first AI film gaining artistic and critical credibility. Using AI hasn't made things easy, says Koosha. 'A lot of the traditional festivals just don't want to touch AI. They don't want to even talk about it. What I've realised is that no one wants to be first.'
Director's Background and Motivation
Koosha, born in Iran, has been based in London for nearly 20 years. His career began in Tehran playing in bands and acting, and he was imprisoned for two weeks in an Iranian maximum-security prison for organising a music festival. After moving to London, he continued making music and co-founded an AI start-up called Claigrid with his brother Pooya. In 2018, he developed an AI singer named Yona. He has also co-founded a studio, Fountain 0, to produce AI-generated films.
Koosha had never done politics before, but that changed in January this year as he watched horrifying footage from Iran before the internet blackout. 'For 72 hours, we saw things that were just horrifying. It was a bloodbath.' Some estimates put the death toll at over 30,000. 'This made me political. This is where I drew the line. I thought: you know what, I'm going to make the first film about this. It's time to use technology to keep something alive.' It took him two-and-a-half months to make the film, working evenings at home while continuing his day job as CEO of Claigrid.
AI as a Creative Tool
The script was not AI-generated, but he used the chatbot Claude to improve language and structure his thoughts. The genius of working with AI, he says, is that a film-maker can change their mind at any point and take the plot in a different direction. 'You just open another session. You don't have to worry that you're rewriting. You multiply your imagination until something hits the right spot.' He composed the score and edited the film without AI.
For his next AI film project, Koosha plans to create characters using actual people. 'Because now you can license real faces.' When asked if the actor is not involved after selling their features, he says, 'They can voice act. And they take a share in the financial gain of the film. I think it's going to be a new world of opportunities for people. Especially face and image licensing.'
Addressing Concerns About Acting
Regarding a Rada-trained actor's potential objection that they bring more than just a face, Koosha acknowledges, 'That is a very valid point, and I think there are stories that I would never allow AI to touch, that we still need to do in the theatrical way.' The kind of films he'd make with AI are 'impossible movies, a film that requires a $300m budget, and it doesn't happen on this planet.'
Dreams of Violets would be '100% impossible' to bring to the screen traditionally. 'If you wanted to do it in CGI, it would cost millions. I spent under $2,000.' He also points out difficulties in raising finance and pre-production. 'It would take probably a year or two to get this right. The notion of making films at the speed of news itself is something I'm super interested in.'
Democratising Film-Making
Koosha sees a role for AI in producing movies that look like massive studio productions at a fraction of the cost, removing barriers for independent film-makers. 'An indie film-maker mind is often a lot more fresh and creative than an industrial film-maker mind. In my view, most stories that are told with $100m should be told through the lens of an indie film-maker.'
AI can democratise the industry, he argues. 'I'm thinking about the next Jodorowsky. How many years do they have to prove themselves to some bourgeois festival to get a $2m budget? I think a new space will separate from the old space. And these people will start doing interesting things.'
Mixed Reactions from Hollywood
Critics dismiss AI-generated film as soulless slop, but directors like Steven Soderbergh and Darren Aronofsky are beginning to engage with AI. Last week, Gareth Edwards described generative AI as a 'genius' tool, while Guillermo del Toro said he would 'rather die' than use it. Koosha says he's not generally a fan of AI films. 'So far, I hate anything made that is made with AI. It disgusts me. I don't want to look at it. It gives me a headache.' He also mistrusts some others on the scene. 'They want to make people get used to garbage. I'm somewhere in the middle trying to be the voice of reason. I used AI. I'm an artist. I tried not to use it in a crass way. I'm not selling AI. I'm just trying to use a tool to tell a story.'
Voice Acting and Audience Reception
Koosha voice-acted all roles for Dreams of Violets then used AI to modify them—to make one sound like a woman in her 20s, another like an older man. Other AI film-makers use voice actors: 'Each team will develop their own method.'
When asked if audiences will buy into AI characters, Koosha thinks so. 'Do you watch Rick and Morty? Sometimes I go so deep emotionally when Rick is regretful. But Rick doesn't exist. We want Rick to exist because we have the same feelings. Pixar movies make me cry.'
Job Creation and Future of the Industry
Koosha is convinced that jobs will be created at Fountain 0. 'There are so many areas that are new, that are basically unknown. I guarantee that this company will create at least 200 jobs that didn't exist.'
The lightning speed of AI film-making means no one knows how it will disrupt production. Asked what the industry will look like in 10 years, Koosha says, 'Well, I don't think Christopher Nolan will make another $300m movie. Underwriting a $200m to $300m movie will not make sense any more.' He paints an egalitarian picture of a boom in mini-studios: 'Every film-maker will become the studio.' Creatives will work in newly created jobs sharing profits. 'So, I see that in the next 10 years there will be a reshuffling of money, hopefully in a better way. AI is going to be a catalyst of that change.'
Dreams of Violets screens on 10 June at the Tribeca Film Festival.
