Directors have to direct. And sometimes that produces work that is wildly, brilliantly outside the square. 1stAveMachine directing duo, Mathery, have written and directed and wildly, brilliantly outside the square film, A Feather and a Prayer, almost entirely with AI. Only the overlaid graphics, titles, music and sound design created by traditional means.

This is the plot: In a parallel universe where pigeon bikinis have become the must-have fashion item, a woman suffers a wardrobe malfunction and calls the customer care line for help. The bizarre plot is gripping, discomforting and humorous – and that weaves perfectly with the visual style of AI. Rich detail and intense colour capture attention. And all the while, the film shows off the hallmarks of Mathery’s style, abstract universes and visual flair.

The duo created the film with a variety of AI tools. The script was partially written by ChatGPT. The initial images were created using a mix of Runway’s Frames and Midjourney. The film footage was generated with Runway’s Gen-3 Alpha Turbo. The dialogue between the two protagonists was achieved with Runway’s Act-One tool, which uses a ‘driving’ performance to bring a character reference video to life. The narrator’s voice was created from Runway’s Generative Audio program. The film was produced by Stra Studio, with music and sound by Jawshy4eva.