AI-assisted Short Film | 00:03:44 | 2026

Lin Shen, an AI-dependent video editor, felt controlled by his AI system after choosing its editing proposal one night. He failed to shut down the computer and later learned he was an AI creation.
The AI creator who made Lin Shen also found their actions mirrored by a higher system, suggesting they too might be a generated character. This short film explores how we define "reality" when creation and imitation blur, conveying that our urge to break free, even in vain, proves we are more than code.

Xi Ma and Yihan Liu are M.A. candidates in Theatre and Film at Communication University of Zhejiang. Their creative practices span short film, AI-assisted moving-image production, and cinematic storytelling.

Xi Ma’s Little Kid, Big Lies was shortlisted for the College Student Original Short Film Drama Award at the 1st Hengdian Film Festival, while her AI work Red Tech Detective Agency: Missing Intimacy received First Prize at the 2026 College Student Advertising Art Competition. Yihan Liu’s Tang Palace Ladies’ Dream received Third Prize at the 2nd China Postgraduate “Cultural China” Innovation Competition, and Degradation was shortlisted for the Environmental Unit of the 31st Beijing Film Festival.