Obi Emelonye who was speaking during a Filmmakers Forum discussion on artificial intelligence and the future of filmmaking, explained that his use of AI evolved considerably when he began working on Out of Breath.

The 121-minute thriller, which stars Jide Kene Achufusi, Nonso Ekemezie and Kanayo O. Kanayo, tells the story of an Igbo elder who challenges an ancient tradition of burying servants alongside their masters. IMDb lists Emelonye as the film’s director and one of its writers, and records its Nigerian release as November 8, 2024.

Emelonye recalled that as he refined his prompts, he began generating not only cinematographic ideas but also concepts for film sets, lighting and camera movements.

By the time he worked on Out of Breath, that experimentation had developed into a much broader visual-development process. The AI-generated material helped him communicate the intended world of the film to his production crew, effectively giving different departments a visual blueprint for the environment they needed to construct.

Emelonye said the results were subsequently reflected in the recognition the film received for its production design. In his account of the production, he joked that AI itself should have collected the award. “And he ended up winning an AMMA award for production design. Literally AI should take that credit, should have come to the stage to collect that award. But I did,” he said.

The production-design recognition was significant because Out of Breath was not simply an exercise in using AI to generate isolated images. The technology was being used as part of the process of translating a historical and culturally specific world from a filmmaker’s imagination into something that could be understood and built by a production team. Emelonye’s experience also illustrates his broader argument that AI should be viewed as an enhancement to filmmaking rather than a substitute for filmmaking skill.

He stressed that artificial intelligence does not automatically make someone a better filmmaker. According to him, filmmakers still need to understand storytelling, directing, cinematography, production and the management of actors and crews before AI can meaningfully enhance their work. For Emelonye, the technology’s greatest value is therefore not simply in producing spectacular images but in helping filmmakers develop and communicate ideas.

That distinction is particularly relevant as AI-generated imagery becomes increasingly accessible. The director argued that visual spectacle is becoming less powerful because audiences are now exposed to increasingly sophisticated digital imagery on their phones and social media. In such an environment, he said, filmmakers will need to return to strong storytelling while using AI as a tool to enhance their craft rather than replace it.

Out of Breath provides a practical example of what that approach can look like, a filmmaker using generative AI not to make the film for him, but to see a world before building it. For an industry such as Nollywood, where filmmakers frequently work within tight production constraints, the approach could offer another way of developing ambitious visual concepts before committing resources to sets, locations and other production requirements.

Emelonye’s experience suggests that one of AI’s most immediate roles in African filmmaking may therefore be behind the camera. To help filmmakers imagine, plan and communicate worlds that audiences eventually see on screen.