Arthur Fuentes

AI  Filmmaking  artwork  created  using  Google  Gemini  and  Affinity  Photo.  Arthur  Fuentes,  ABS-CBN  News

Article (news)

AI  Filmmaking

Benise Balaoing

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1769224159385IMG_3309.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Filipino filmmakers Daryl Rapacon (left) and Redson Suarez (right) pose for photos after an exclusive screening for journalists of their short film “Portrait no. 72’, which made it to the Top 5 of the first-ever Global AI Film Awards. Benise Balaoing ABS-CBN News</div>MANILA -- Two Filipino filmmakers who made it to the top 5 of the world&#x27;s first AI filmmaking contest said the use of artificial intelligence gives more people the chance to make their own movies.Rodson Suarez and Daryll Rapacon are the filmmakers behind &quot;Portrait No. 72&quot;, a film that made the top 5 of the first-ever Global AI Film Awards. The film bested more than 3,500 entries globally. The two made the short film using Google&#x27;s Gemini, Nano Banana and Veo 3 AI tools.&quot;Portrait No. 72&quot; tells the story of Ruhan, a photographer of the dead, who is in turn preparing for his own death. His life is disrupted when a young boy enters the picture and inspires him to live again.<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y_O0QDNNiZg?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></div>&quot;Si Rodson (Suarez) yung AI master, siya yung nag-prompt and everything. Ako naman, I wrote the story and the creative direction of the film,&quot; Rapacon said of their project.&quot;Every shot of the film is created with intent,&quot; Suarez said. &quot;So alam talaga namin kung ano yung may background, emotion. Siguro it took around 1, 500 videos, generations to make it,&quot; he said.Suarez stressed, however, that making films using AI is more than just about writing prompts.&quot;I think of it as video editing,&quot; he said. &quot;We couldn&#x27;t have made this without our backgrounds in film, like yung close-up, yung focal length, kung anong gamit ng camera to shoot this,&quot; he noted.Rapacon, for his part, noted that the human element is still essential even in AI films. &quot;Sobrang tricky kasi yung emotions nga. Focus talaga kami sa emotions,&quot; he said.&quot;Na parang a couple of times when we were generating videos, if we feel that yung shot is too nice or like very cinematic or like yung andaming movements na cool movements, we wanted to like tone it down, make sure na parang kaya kung static lang, make people focus on the emotion and like just feel something sa scene,&quot; he added.Rapocon said the film was shaped by the loss of his mother and the death of Suarez&#x27;s grandmother.&quot;When she (mom) died, we were all surrounding her and we were all crying. My dad was emotional but he was slowly stretching the legs of my mom.
And he wrapped a cloth around her face,&quot; Rapacon recalled.&quot;So I was confused the whole time. What is he doing? So I realized that time na, sabi nila, you have a few minutes to prepare the body kasi mag-a-harden na siya, mahirap na for the more.
And I realized that time na he was actually trying to prepare her body and make sure that she looks beautiful. And everyone who sees her will remember her as this beautiful woman who lived a beautiful life.&quot;&quot;So, yun yung naging part ng film na parang si Ruhan was trying to create that portrait that he wants everyone to remember,&quot; he said.<div>Replacing the film industry?</div>At an intimate screening of their film for journalists, Rapocon and Suarez were pressed about what their AI film means for the industry. Would it hurt jobs, especially since film crews are made up of multiple lightsmen, crew, scriptwriters, and editors?&quot;I think I see beautiful moments po dito. Number one is it&#x27;s now easier for people. It makes the storytelling accessible,&quot; Suarez said. &quot;Lahat po tayo, since we&#x27;re given these tools, everybody has a story, kahit sino ba yan. So they are now able to make their own stories,&quot; he said.Rapacon added, &quot;I feel like AI will just empower these people and not replace them. So personally, I feel like, I know the fears and concerns about AI, but for me, the real enemy is not AI, but the humans and people who feel that AI can just replace humans.&quot;&quot;Kasi humans, you still need human touch to create something like this,&quot; he stressed. &quot;But with the tools, it will just empower you to, for example, like kung ano ka...part of the crew. I feel like for me, with AI tools, everyone [is a]creative [director] na parang lahat ng ideas mo pwede mo nang gawin, and you can create something, bring your stories to life.&quot;Rapocon added that filmmaking would not have been possible for him and Suarez without AI--both are full-time employees of a tech startup in Dubai.&quot;With this, it allowed us to create something, so I feel like other people can do the same thing, na parang use this to empower, upskill themselves rather than like replacing,&quot; he said.Suarez also noted that they respect the film industry.&quot;We dream of making a feature film one day. To us, this is just a product po ng lack of resources, lack of time. So there&#x27;s still beauty po dun sa industry na yun. We really respect it so much na it takes a village to make a film,&quot; he stressed.Still, Suarez said aspiring filmmakers should not be afraid of using AI in their work, despite misconceptions about the tool.&quot;It&#x27;s not about encouraging them to create films using AI, it&#x27;s more about being open to the idea of exploring these creative tools. Try it out and see how it can improve your process. Because in our case, it really made things efficient.&quot;&quot;Katulad ng mga dating tools before, like for example, Photoshop. A lot of people were against it, kasi parang sobrang speed up yung process and everything. Pero, it&#x27;s actually, to us, this is just a new tool of storytelling. So, we just be open,&quot; he said.

AI can empower more people to make their own movies, two Filipino filmmakers said.

AI can empower more people to make their own movies, two Filipino filmmakers said.

Making movies using just AI? Contest finalists say tech makes storytelling more 'accessible'

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Making movies using just AI? Contest finalists say tech makes storytelling more 'accessible'

Benise Balaoing,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 24, 2026 11:15 AM PHT

Read More:

AI

artificial intelligence

AI film

Portrait No. 72

Global AI Film Awards

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