Next week a groundbreaking 75-minute drama depicting the harsh suppression of anti-government demonstrators in Iran during January will debut at the Tribeca film festival in New York. Titled Dreams of Violets, the project draws from reports, video clips and direct testimonies. "Roughly 80 percent recreates real incidents," explains its Iranian-British filmmaker Ash Koosha. Yet the work remains fictional, tracing unrelated individuals swept into the demonstrations who cross paths in a narrow passage. How did Koosha assemble this account of the violence so rapidly?

The solution lies in artificial intelligence. All visuals and figures in Dreams of Violets stem from AI tools. Koosha built the figures by outlining their looks, drawing on past acquaintances for reference. Using living individuals from Iran would pose risks, he notes. "Security concerns mean the characters cannot even faintly echo anyone real."

Dreams of Violets stands out as the first complete AI live-action feature selected for a prominent festival. Momentum is building: last month the AI action film Hell Grind appeared at Cannes, though outside the main program. An entirely AI-animated title, Where the Robots Grow, arrived in 2024. Still, Dreams of Violets appears to be gaining genuine artistic notice, even if the process proved demanding. "Many established festivals avoid AI entirely," Koosha observes. "They refuse to discuss it. No one wants to lead the way."

Koosha speaks from a cafe close to the Guardian offices in King's Cross. Raised in Iran, he has lived in London for almost two decades. His path started in Tehran with music and performance; he spent two weeks in a high-security facility after arranging a concert featuring Arctic Monkeys covers. In London he kept creating music and launched the AI venture Claigrid alongside his brother Pooya. In 2018 he introduced the AI vocalist Yona, who generated and sang original songs. "It felt futuristic then." He also started Fountain 0, a studio focused on AI films.

Politics had never been his focus, Koosha says, until January when footage from Iran flooded his feeds ahead of the blackout. "For three days we witnessed horrifying scenes. It was carnage." Reports suggested over 30,000 deaths.

The events prompted action. "They politicized me. I decided to create the first film on this subject and harness technology to preserve the moment." He completed the project in two and a half months, working nights while leading Claigrid.

The screenplay was written manually, though he used Claude to refine wording and organize ideas. AI's strength, he explains, is the freedom to pivot the story instantly by opening a fresh session. "You multiply possibilities until the right direction emerges." He scored and cut the film without AI assistance.

For upcoming projects Koosha intends to base characters on real individuals now that face licensing is feasible. Actors could still provide voices and share revenue. "It opens fresh paths, especially around image rights."

Regarding performance, a trained actor might argue that presence exceeds mere appearance. "That concern is fair, and certain stories will always require traditional methods," he concedes. AI suits "unfeasible projects needing enormous budgets or off-world settings."

Koosha maintains Dreams of Violets could never have been realized conventionally. "Traditional CGI would have run into millions. My total spend stayed below $2,000." Financing and preparation would have stretched one or two years. "Creating films at the pace of current events fascinates me."

He envisions AI enabling modest teams to achieve large-scale results, lowering hurdles for independents. "Independent voices often prove more inventive than studio minds. Many big-budget tales would benefit from that perspective."

AI levels the field, he contends. "I picture the next Jodorowsky. Why wait years for approval and funding when a new arena can emerge? Fresh work will flourish apart from old structures."

Detractors label AI cinema empty. Yet figures such as Steven Soderbergh and Darren Aronofsky are exploring the tools. Recently Gareth Edwards called generative AI a "brilliant" aid, while Guillermo del Toro vowed he would "rather die" than adopt it.

Koosha admits he dislikes most AI productions. "Nearly everything created so far repels me. It feels crude and gives me headaches." He distances himself from those pushing low-quality output. "I aim for restraint and use the tool only to serve the narrative."

He supplied every voice himself, then applied AI to alter pitch and tone for different ages and genders. Other creators employ dedicated performers. "Each group finds its own workflow," he notes.

Will viewers accept synthetic characters? Koosha believes they will. "Consider Rick and Morty. I feel genuine emotion during Rick's remorseful moments even though he is fictional. Pixar films move me to tears."

Koosha foresees new employment at Fountain 0. "Entirely novel roles will appear. This studio alone will generate at least 200 positions that never existed before."

Rapid AI advances make outcomes uncertain. Asked about the industry a decade ahead, he replies: "Christopher Nolan will not helm another $300m production. Financing at that scale will lose its logic." He foresees many small studios where "every creator becomes their own studio," with fresh roles and shared earnings. "Money will redistribute more fairly, and AI will drive that shift."