South African filmmakers are taking AI-generated storytelling onto the international stage, with DragonStudios.ai’s 10-episode vertical drama series Mountain of Graves selected as a finalist in the Topwave Vertical Films Competition at the third annual Neu Wave AI Film Festival in Los Angeles.
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The recognition places the South African AI-native production company among filmmakers and creators exploring how AI is changing the economics and creative possibilities of film and television production.
The festival, held as part of LA Tech Week, brings together filmmakers, technologists, studios and innovators working at the intersection of AI and entertainment.
Taking African stories into AI filmmaking
Mountain of Graves was commissioned by Buka Africa and written by DragonStudios.ai creative leads Donovan Marsh and Steven Cholerton in collaboration with creator and writer Phuti Lehong Buka.
Produced entirely using AI filmmaking platforms, the 10-episode vertical series centres on two brothers who find themselves fighting to prevent a mining company from taking the mountain where their ancestors are buried.
The project combines an African narrative with an emerging production model, as DragonStudios.ai looks to demonstrate how AI can be used to create original film and television content from the ground up.
The nomination follows international recognition for two other DragonStudios.ai projects in development, Dragon Hunter and Bad Muti, adding to the company's growing portfolio of AI-native productions.
DragonStudios.ai creative lead, Donovan Marsh. Image supplied
AI as a production tool
For Marsh, the recognition also reflects the potential for AI to change the economics of filmmaking, particularly for stories and filmmakers operating outside the traditional global production centres.
“Mountain of Graves is just the latest demonstration of what we’re able to produce by embracing the possibilities of creating cinematic stories entirely generated by artificial intelligence,” says Marsh.
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“We want to help take African stories and films to international audiences and believe that AI plays an important role in creating new films from scratch, supplementing the worlds filmmakers create with traditional locations and actors and providing essential components like visual effects to producers at a fraction of the traditional cost, to help our stories take their rightful place on the global stage.”
Marsh brings traditional filmmaking experience to the AI-native production model. He has written, directed and edited South African feature films including Spud, starring John Cleese and Troye Sivan, and iNumber Number, as well as the international action thriller Hunter Killer, starring Gary Oldman and Gerard Butler.
His move into AI filmmaking reflects the growing convergence between conventional film craft and emerging generative production tools.
From Hollywood to global AI production
The Neu Wave AI Film Festival has positioned itself as a meeting point for filmmakers and technology innovators exploring the future of AI-generated storytelling.
Its location in Los Angeles also places projects such as Mountain of Graves within the broader Hollywood ecosystem at a time when generative AI is increasingly being explored across the entertainment industry.
For DragonStudios.ai, the festival selection provides another international platform for demonstrating what an African production company can create using AI-native workflows.
The vertical format of Mountain of Graves is also aligned with the growing development of mobile-first storytelling, while its AI production process points to an emerging model in which smaller or independent production teams can experiment with cinematic content without relying exclusively on traditional production infrastructure.
The winners of the Topwave Vertical Films Competition will be announced on 14 October in Santa Monica, California.
