As AI technology dominated the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market this week, the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) new School of Future Media turned the spotlight on Run to the West – South Korea’s first AI film – at the FILMART 2026 panel discussion on March 18, where AI film pioneers explored how AI is reshaping the future of filmmaking.
Hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, FILMART 2026 turned its expanded AI Hub into a showcase of major technology companies and generative AI tools as the city bids to cement its status as a global AI hub for film, television, animation and commercial work.
HKU’s School of Future Media, established in 2025, plugged directly into that push by bringing together School of Future Media Director Ruby Yang, AI creative director Ulrich Gaulke, Run to the West director Yunsung Kang, Studio Freewillusion CEO Hansl Kwon and Utopai Studios co‑founder Jie Yang to discuss how AI is accelerating change across the industry.
AI as an Accelerator, not Replacement
For the AI director for Run to the West Hansl Kwon, AI’s biggest promise is opening the door for newcomers shut out by high costs. “It was difficult for young new creators to express their ideas because of the limitations of capital, but those parts can be created freely using Generative AI… so I think we can see a lot of new content that is different from previous content in the established industry,” he said, arguing that low-budget independent filmmakers can now publish fresh, original work on social platforms.
The film, screened at HKU on March 17, offered tangible proof of AI’s financial impact. Director Kang shared that the film cost about US$1 million to produce and that if he were to “make it in traditional CGI, it would have been five times more,” suggesting AI pipelines can bring blockbuster‑scale visuals within reach of smaller studios.
Kang stated that AI is also bringing efficiency to the traditional production method of movies while reducing time and other sources of inefficiency, further suggesting that the industry will naturally gravitate to AI technology. Kwon stressed that the shift to AI does not erase people, but simply changes their roles: “AI does not replace humans, but AI is used as a tool, and occupations that utilize it are created,” adding that society will “gradually flow” toward a model where existing jobs adapt around AI rather than disappear overnight.
Ethics and the Limits of Machine Imagination
Yet the panel repeatedly returned to what AI cannot do in creative filmmaking. Kwon identified storytelling and learning as two areas where human creativity remains irreplaceable. “If you look at the two things that AI cannot deal with, you can say that making a story and learning,” Kwon said. “Without humans creating stories directly, only those made by humans will exist as very special and unique stories among the many AI‑made stories.”
The general audience reception of AI‑generated films remains largely cautious and critical, with many viewers still reluctant to fully embrace them. Marketed as South Korea’s first AI film, Run to the West has drawn critically low ratings from the South Korean audience with critics stating that the AI-generated visuals still have “awkward and disproportionate” elements and that the movie suffers from “lack of storytelling and world-building.”
Official teaser trailer for the “Run to the West” announced its release in South Korean cinemas for Oct. 15, 2025.
A Bold yet Contested Start
The panelists framed Run to the West as an early stress test rather than the finished product. Despite its flaws, the film represents a bold, disruptive step in integrating AI into filmmaking, positioning it as a prototype for what future Korean, Hong Kong and global productions might refine in the years ahead.
By putting that experiment at the centre of FILMART’s AI agenda and HKU’s AI & Filmmaking Week, Hong Kong signalled it’s readiness to host, and not hide the messy yet promising first drafts of AI cinema. Whether audiences will ultimately embrace AI‑assisted films may hinge on the balance these pioneers are trying to strike: using the new technology to cut costs and open doors, while keeping the heart of cinema, human‑made stories, firmly in human hands.