Higgsfield Debuts 95-Minute AI Film Hell Grind

Higgsfield AI presented a 95-minute feature called Hell Grind in May, produced on its platform with generative video tools, according to TechNode, the Wall Street Journal, and Business Insider. The film was shown around the Marche du Film in Cannes.

The screenings were not part of the official Festival de Cannes program. Organizers told Futurism that Hell Grind was not in the Official Selection and instead appeared at industry and commercial-cinema events in the city. Coverage from CineD and AV Club similarly stresses that the film premiered in Cannes the city, not the festival.

TechNode reports a 15-person team completed the film in 14 days for under $500,000. The Wall Street Journal reports roughly $400,000 of that budget went to AI compute, underscoring that infrastructure - not labor - is the dominant cost in this production model. (Outlets differ on which models were used; TechNode attributes it to ByteDance's Seedance 2.0.)

A Business Insider reviewer described feeling brief, genuine emotion during a New York screening, alongside clear uncanny-valley moments - a mixed reaction suggesting quality is improving but not yet indistinguishable from traditional cinema. Business Insider also notes SAG-AFTRA approved new contract language this period requiring bargaining over the use of synthetic performers, a sign the industry is moving to govern AI-generated acting.