China's AI Short Plays Take Cannes: Hangzhou's New Model for Global Tech-Content Expansion

Chinese AI-generated short dramas made a significant impact at the 79th Cannes International Film Festival. Two fully AI-produced series from Hangzhou, "The Dream of the Heavenly Mechanism" and "E-Tower," were selected for the Cannes Vertical Drama Exhibition from over 1,000 submissions representing 120 countries. This marks the first inclusion of fully AI-produced Chinese short dramas in the festival’s official screening lineup, demonstrating that Chinese AI film productions now hold competitive strength in the international mainstream market.

1. Hangzhou’s AI Short Dramas: “Made in Hangzhou” Goes Global

"The Dream of the Heavenly Mechanism": Built on the world-building framework provided by acclaimed author Tian Xia Ba Chang, this series continues his signature suspense-adventure style, seamlessly blending Eastern folklore, tomb culture, and modern suspense. The project has already prepared nearly 30 episodes, establishing an initial model for series development.

"E-Tower": Adapted from the Galaxy Award-winning science fiction novel of the same name by Pan Haitian, the drama explores survival in a post-apocalyptic world. It skillfully combines Eastern fantasy imagery with Western classic narrative archetypes, showcasing a high level of cross-cultural storytelling capability.

2. Hangzhou: The Industrial Foundation for the “AI-First City”

This selection is not an isolated incident. Leveraging its deep digital cultural heritage and forward-looking industrial layout, Hangzhou has emerged as a hub for China’s AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) industry:

Industrial Scale: By 2025, Hangzhou’s core AI industry revenue exceeded 390 billion yuan, supported by more than 700 large-scale core enterprises and related industry funds totaling over 100 billion yuan.

Policy and Talent Support: Various regions in Hangzhou have introduced specialized policies to support the AIGC sector, while building talent training systems through university-enterprise cooperation. Institutions such as the Hangzhou University College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing Industry College continuously provide high-level technical talents with interdisciplinary skills, achieving a full-cycle closed loop from “creative experiments” to “industrial success.”

A Flourishing Industrial Ecosystem: From “Youshan Ling,” which achieved tens of millions of views and won international awards, to “My Master Is a Crane” and “Jiu Zhou Mu Yun Lu,” which frequently gain traction, Hangzhou has formed a multi-dimensional short drama ecosystem covering production, distribution, technology, and platforms. This has attracted major players like Maida Media and Chinese Online to deeply cultivate the industry here.

3. Industry Insights: From “Selling Traffic” to “Creating Value”

This overseas success proves a new path for cultural exports driven by “technology + content.” AI production has significantly shortened the production cycle of TV dramas by over 80%, enabling small teams to create content with cinematic quality. As industry analysts note, AI films represent not only a technological revolution but also a reshaping of the revenue model—shifting from traditional “selling traffic duration” to “creating value through efficiency and creativity.”

The prominent presence of Hangzhou’s AI short dramas at Cannes symbolizes the deep integration of Chinese culture with cutting-edge AI technology, indicating that China’s film industry is increasingly securing a strategic position in the global digital cultural creation field through an “AI-led” approach.