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A 75-minute drama about January’s crackdown in Iran, Dreams of Violets, will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 10.
Directed by Iranian-British filmmaker Ash Koosha, the film is notable for being a fully AI-generated live-action feature — every image and character was produced with artificial intelligence.
Koosha, who co-founded AI studio Claigrid, says he completed the project in roughly 2½ months for under $2,000, using AI tools to create visuals and a chatbot (Claude) to refine language while composing and editing the score himself without AI. The film draws on journalism, video and eyewitness accounts; rights groups cite thousands killed and tens of thousands arrested during the protests.
Tribeca co-founder Jane Rosenthal defended the festival’s decision amid online backlash, publishing Koosha’s statement that AI was the only viable way to make the film given security, access and safety constraints.
The premiere marks a rare major-festival acceptance of an AI-generated live-action feature and has sparked debate on representation, ethics and the future economics of filmmaking.


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