Inc
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A 110-minute feature film has been made entirely with AI, in just four weeks and with a 28-person team.
Higgsfield AI Just Debuted the First Fully AI-Generated Feature Film.
Creators See a New Way to Get Paid
Author: Victoria Salves
AI-generated content has rapidly infiltrated every domain—from social media feeds to advertisements. However, one company is now altering how movies are made.
Higgsfield AI recently debuted The Cully Hill Boys, the world’s first fully AI-generated feature film to star some of the biggest athletes and internet stars, to a private audience in New York City.
The 110-minute comedy-action movie features the AI verisons of MMA star Israel Adesanya; former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson; livestream creator N3on, whose real name is Mikyle Rafiq; and streetball and digital creator Matt “MK” Kiatipis.
It took a 28-person team, including nine directors led by Aitore Zholdaskali and Adilet Abish, to adapt Timothy Planagan’s original award-winning screenplay into the film.
In just four weeks, the group—40 percent of which had no prior AI experience—reportedly produced nearly 1,000 assets, as well as 100 AI-generated locations. The project cost a total of $2 million.
The film portrays an East London-based UK rap trio—Cal, Horace, and Oli—who get caught between two rival organized crime syndicates after accidentally discovering millions of British pound sterling inside of a boat.
The premiere test
More often than not, the idea of AI implementation within creative domains has resulted in heated discourse. That wasn’t necessarily the reality at the premiere.
Eric Ford, a media and marketing industry professional, told Inc. they came into the event with an “open mind.”
“I didn’t know what to expect knowing that there were AI tools being used to create this movie,” said Ford. “I wanted to leave my mind open to the possibilities of what could be and I think it kind of exceeded my expectations of what it could [eventually] be too.”
Cono Rocovelli, a popular digital creator and podcaster, was more critical in regard to the technical execution of the film.
“I can tell as a video editor, some of the frames, they’re almost a little glitchy. Some of the frames aren’t like 30 FPS,” Rocovelli told Inc.
A noticeable cinematography pattern throughout the film was the use of close-up shots on character’s faces for dramatic effect. While such a choice emulates styles commonly used in traditional cinema, Rocovelli said that, in this case, it often hurt the product, noting that the AI-generated faces came off as “a little too perfect.”
However, overall, Rocavelli praised the film’s color grading, audio, and graphics.
“Everything about it looked and felt great. It’s just those minor little things. Maybe I’m too much of a critic because I do this myself. But for the average person, I think it was great, especially for the first-ever fully AI movie,” he said.
Why creators are licensing their likeness
Higgsfield is setting a new precedent for AI companies looking to recreate the likeness of high-profile figures with generative tools. Some creators are welcoming the shift.
“People are making AI things about you and you’re not getting paid off this. So [this is] a way to get paid,” Rafiq said.
The streamer said that Higgsfield accurately recreated his movements and mannerisms when building his character, Horace.
“It’s a big company doing big things and they’re really good at it. They’re not going to just halfway do it. They’re going to fully go all into it. So I trusted them,” he added.
Kiatipis shared a similar sentiment, noting that he trusted the Higgsfield team with his likeness.
“I play one-on-one basketball around the world, but I can’t do a back flip 360 as lightning strikes down while dunking, but AI can,” he said. “If you blend those worlds together, you can only go up from there. So you really have to embrace it.”
The billion-dollar bet on AI video
Higgsfield’s aspirations go beyond simply making an AI film.
CEO Alex Mashrabov recently shared on LinkedIn how the platform’s all-in-one technology helped a South Korean-based advertising company decrease its production costs by 97 percent.
“Our goal is to inspire people to try this new technology and see that it unlocks new visuals, new media formats, which help them to tell their stories and very often helps to elevate their brands and sell their product,” he wrote.
The company has primarily positioned its selling point as accelerating production times, slashing production costs, and a way for those public figures to monetize their likeness. Doing so, Mashrabov said, will also make it possible to tell “stories” that might not be made otherwise.
“We are fortunate to partner with four really large sports and streaming influencers. They come from quite different worlds. And here we could make them collaborate with each other in this kind of new way, which we just didn’t exist before,” he added.
Mashrabov said generative video creation could also alleviate content creation burnout, something creators like Mr. Beast has openly spoken on.
“These new forms of creativity and media are something which truly inspires me to keep improving the technology,” Mashrabov added.
Founded in October 2023, Higgsfield publicly launched its end-to-end AI platform to users in March 2025. The San Francisco-based company achieved a $1.3 billion valuation in January.
Credits: TCA, LLC.