RAPHAEL, a South Korean feature film entirely AI-generated, presented by Kling AI at Cannes

South Korean sci-fi film RAPHAEL, made with Kling AI by Mateo AI studio and MBC C&I, debuted at Cannes as the first feature entirely produced with AI.

RAPHAEL is presented as the first South Korean feature film produced entirely with generative AI, without filming or real actors. This approximately eighty-minute science fiction film blends action, drama, and religious questioning. It follows a war android designed in the youthful image of an aging dictator, who commands troops in a refugee district. Its encounter with a Catholic priest initiates a journey toward faith and redemption, set against a dystopian backdrop that questions humanity and the concept of an artificial soul.

The project originates from Mateo AI studio and MBC C&I's AI Content Lab, which was behind the short film Mateo, awarded at the Korea International AI Film Festival. It is led by director Yang Eekjun and his team, reduced to approximately seven people, with a budget ranging between several hundred thousand and two million dollars, whereas a comparable production would mobilize hundreds of people and significantly higher sums.

The film relies on the Kling video model, used since its earliest versions for visual effects, emotional expression, and 4K resolution deemed essential for theatrical release, targeted for this year. Excerpts were shown during a Kling AI session at the Marché du Film (Film Market), dedicated to the tool's use in film production pipelines, alongside two other projects: an American series and a Chinese animated film.