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‘Light Pillar’ Director Xu Zao Readies AI-Themed Follow-Up ‘Easy, My Friend’
Xu Zao’s animated feature *Light Pillar*, screening in the Hidden Dragons section at the Pingyao film festival, is still seeking distribution in China. It follows a film-studio worker who falls for a woman he meets in a virtual game and is drawn into a failed journey to the moon. Xu uses the story to explore changing forms of storytelling as AI advances, while arguing that the quality of the film itself matters most.
The film sets its virtual world in live action and depicts the real world through 2D animation, a choice Xu says saved time; the live-action scenes were shot in five days. Actor Da Peng plays and voices the lead, Zha, and also co-produced the film. Xu’s next project, *Easy, My Friend*, is at the script stage: it follows an illustrator who loses her drawing skills and job to AI, then rebuilds her life through rooftop gardening in northern China. Xu aims to finish the script by next July.
In short
- *Light Pillar* is competing at Pingyao and still seeks Chinese distribution.
- Its live-action virtual world and animated real world helped speed production.
- Xu’s next film follows an illustrator whose work is displaced by AI.
Explained simply
Xu Zao is a Chinese film director exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping storytelling and creative work. His animated film Light Pillar, currently screening at the Pingyao film festival, examines these themes through the story of a studio worker who falls in love with a woman he meets in a virtual game and becomes caught up in an ill-fated journey to the moon. The director uses this narrative to consider what happens to filmmaking as AI technology advances.
The film employs an unusual visual approach, portraying the virtual world through live-action footage whilst depicting the real world as 2D animation. Actor Da Peng, who plays the lead character Zha, also co-produced the project. This stylistic choice allowed Xu to explore his thematic concerns whilst working efficiently, with the live-action scenes completed in five days.
The broader context for Xu's work is the growing role of artificial intelligence in creative professions. As AI tools become more sophisticated, they are increasingly affecting how stories are conceived, produced and consumed, prompting filmmakers and artists to reconsider their practices and the future of their crafts.