A feature-length film produced in two weeks for less than $500,000 just screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Most of that budget didn’t go to actors, sets, or catering trucks. It went to GPUs.
Higgsfield AI, a San Francisco-based generative video company, premiered Hell Grind at Cinema Olympia in Cannes on May 21. The 95-minute sci-fi heist film is being positioned as the first complete AI-native feature to demonstrate that long-form narrative filmmaking, the kind with consistent characters, coherent world-building, and an actual plot, can be done entirely with generative AI tools.
The numbers that matter
A traditional film production of comparable length and genre typically runs around $50 million. Hell Grind came in under $500K. That’s roughly a 99% cost reduction.
About 80% of that budget went directly to AI compute costs. The production team consisted of just 15 people, including directors and editors who used Higgsfield’s proprietary suite of AI tools: Dreamina-Seedance 2.0, Soul Cinema, and Soul Cast.
