Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I entered the Higgsfield Global Film Festival, a $1,000,000 AI filmmaking competition, with my sci-fi short film Manifest!
🎬 WATCH & SUPPORT MANIFEST ON HIGGSFIELD 🎬
higgsfield.ai/@jcunliffeuk/projects/manifest-higgsfield-global-film-festival
In this video, I’m breaking down how I made the film, from the original concept and character design through to the worldbuilding, AI-generated visuals, creatures, sound, editing and the symbolism hidden throughout the story.
Manifest follows Mara and Elias, two couriers travelling through a climate-ravaged solarpunk world to deliver a restoration unit capable of slowly turning the mineralised Jade Sea back into water.
But underneath the sci-fi story, the film is really about work, burnout, creativity, technology, generational responsibility and the difficult question of how much of your life you should sacrifice in service of something bigger than yourself.
I’ll also take you through some of the thinking behind:
• The Desert, Pallid Forest and Jade Sea
• Mara and Elias
• The Falsewings, Root Listener, Jadewing and other creatures
• The Resonance Shepherd
• The restoration unit and Jade Sea
• The film's three-act visual structure
• AI filmmaking inside Higgsfield
• Building a coherent world with generative video
• The symbolism and psychology behind the story
• What I learned making a complete AI short film
The film was created for the 2026 Higgsfield Global Film Festival, in Higgsfield Cinema Studio 4 using AI-generated assets alongside my own scripting, direction and editing.
If you're currently making your own Higgsfield Global Film Festival entry, hopefully this breakdown gives you a few ideas for developing your story, worldbuilding and filmmaking process.
And if you've entered the competition yourself, drop your film below, I'd genuinely like to see what everyone else has been making.
#Higgsfield #AIFilm #AIFilmmaking
◆ CHAPTERS ◆
00:00 - The Trailer & Competition
00:34 - Manifest
05:49 - The Characters
06:51 - The Story
08:03 - The Universe
10:00 - World Building Limitations
11:12 - Three Acts
13:11 - Act 1: Breakdown
14:16 - Act 1: Mara’s Desire
15:43 - Act 1: The Warning
16:28 - Act 1: The Shepherd
18:29 - Act 1: The Crossroad
18:54: - The Jungian Connection
19:52 - Act 2: Entering the Unknown
21:00 - Act 2: Elias’ Mistake
21:30 - Act 2: The AI Filmmaking Metaphor
23:24 - Act 2: The Root Listener
26:40 - Act 2: Mara Develops
27:09 - Act 3: Clarity
28:01 - Act 3: The Failed Mission
28:47 - Act 3: Undervalued
30:14 - Act 3: Mara Quits
32:28 - Act 3: Elias’ Struggle
34:05 - Finding Balance
◆ THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT ◆
Building a channel takes a lot of work and I wouldn't be able to do it without all the support, so it's much appreciated!
◆ LINKS ◆
📜 Books, Apps, Courses, Music, Resources 📜
skool.com/the-hidden-archive-4393
✒️ Thoughts, Experiments, News, Updates ✒️
jcunliffeuk.substack.com
🎥 Credits, Accolades, Movies, Games 🎥
imdb.com/name/nm6382359/?ref_=fn_al_nm_3
💬 Socials 💬
https://x.com/jcunliffeuk
instagram.com/JCunliffeUK
https://bsky.app/profile/jcunliffeuk.bsky.social
⚙️ Everything Else ⚙️
https://linktr.ee/JCunliffeUK
◆ HELP THE CHANNEL ◆
I'd like to put more time into the channel but have a very limited amount of time to do it. If you're enjoying the work, get subscribed, share it around social media. The higher the view and sub count goes, the higher the chance this channel will keep ticking along.
I entered the Higgsfield Global Film Festival, a $1,000,000 AI filmmaking competition, with my sci-fi short film Manifest!
🎬 WATCH & SUPPORT MANIFEST ON HIGGSFIELD 🎬
higgsfield.ai/@jcunliffeuk/projects/manifest-higgsfield-global-film-festival
In this video, I’m breaking down how I made the film, from the original concept and character design through to the worldbuilding, AI-generated visuals, creatures, sound, editing and the symbolism hidden throughout the story.
Manifest follows Mara and Elias, two couriers travelling through a climate-ravaged solarpunk world to deliver a restoration unit capable of slowly turning the mineralised Jade Sea back into water.
But underneath the sci-fi story, the film is really about work, burnout, creativity, technology, generational responsibility and the difficult question of how much of your life you should sacrifice in service of something bigger than yourself.
I’ll also take you through some of the thinking behind:
• The Desert, Pallid Forest and Jade Sea
• Mara and Elias
• The Falsewings, Root Listener, Jadewing and other creatures
• The Resonance Shepherd
• The restoration unit and Jade Sea
• The film's three-act visual structure
• AI filmmaking inside Higgsfield
• Building a coherent world with generative video
• The symbolism and psychology behind the story
• What I learned making a complete AI short film
The film was created for the 2026 Higgsfield Global Film Festival, in Higgsfield Cinema Studio 4 using AI-generated assets alongside my own scripting, direction and editing.
If you're currently making your own Higgsfield Global Film Festival entry, hopefully this breakdown gives you a few ideas for developing your story, worldbuilding and filmmaking process.
And if you've entered the competition yourself, drop your film below, I'd genuinely like to see what everyone else has been making.
#Higgsfield #AIFilm #AIFilmmaking
◆ CHAPTERS ◆
00:00 - The Trailer & Competition
00:34 - Manifest
05:49 - The Characters
06:51 - The Story
08:03 - The Universe
10:00 - World Building Limitations
11:12 - Three Acts
13:11 - Act 1: Breakdown
14:16 - Act 1: Mara’s Desire
15:43 - Act 1: The Warning
16:28 - Act 1: The Shepherd
18:29 - Act 1: The Crossroad
18:54: - The Jungian Connection
19:52 - Act 2: Entering the Unknown
21:00 - Act 2: Elias’ Mistake
21:30 - Act 2: The AI Filmmaking Metaphor
23:24 - Act 2: The Root Listener
26:40 - Act 2: Mara Develops
27:09 - Act 3: Clarity
28:01 - Act 3: The Failed Mission
28:47 - Act 3: Undervalued
30:14 - Act 3: Mara Quits
32:28 - Act 3: Elias’ Struggle
34:05 - Finding Balance
◆ THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT ◆
Building a channel takes a lot of work and I wouldn't be able to do it without all the support, so it's much appreciated!
◆ LINKS ◆
📜 Books, Apps, Courses, Music, Resources 📜
skool.com/the-hidden-archive-4393
✒️ Thoughts, Experiments, News, Updates ✒️
jcunliffeuk.substack.com
🎥 Credits, Accolades, Movies, Games 🎥
imdb.com/name/nm6382359/?ref_=fn_al_nm_3
💬 Socials 💬
https://x.com/jcunliffeuk
instagram.com/JCunliffeUK
https://bsky.app/profile/jcunliffeuk.bsky.social
⚙️ Everything Else ⚙️
https://linktr.ee/JCunliffeUK
◆ HELP THE CHANNEL ◆
I'd like to put more time into the channel but have a very limited amount of time to do it. If you're enjoying the work, get subscribed, share it around social media. The higher the view and sub count goes, the higher the chance this channel will keep ticking along.
