CRIANDO PONTES — Lena AI-Assisted Narrative Short Film

This piece is part of Criando Pontes, a short film built around four real stories of women living with HIV.

Because the women’s identities needed to be protected, the project required a visual language capable of preserving the emotional truth of each story without exposing the real people behind it. With limited time and budget, I proposed an AI-assisted approach that allowed us to create cinematic visual worlds from scratch while maintaining anonymity and emotional depth.

I initially joined the project as an editor, but my role quickly expanded into the full visual and creative development of the film. Working from the original stories and scripts, I handled the creative concept, narrative adaptation, visual direction, character and scene development, image generation, video generation, sound design, editing and final post-production.

Lena’s story is based on the real experience of a woman living with HIV who lost her partner while pregnant with their child. It is a deeply emotional story shaped by grief, memory, motherhood and transformation. Set in the heart of the Amazon, surrounded by rivers and dense forest, her world needed to feel intimate, raw and alive at the same time.

For this piece, I developed a visual language that blends realism with watercolor textures. I wanted the imagery to hold both the physical reality of Lena’s life and the emotional softness of a story about pain, love and rebirth. The natural environment was especially important here, not just as a backdrop, but as part of the emotional landscape of the film. The rivers, vegetation and atmosphere of the Amazon help carry the sense of mourning, resilience and renewal that defines her journey.

Like the rest of Criando Pontes, this project reflects the way I approach AI filmmaking: using technology in service of story, symbolism and emotional experience rather than spectacle.

The entire visual production was executed by me, working alongside the project’s writer and producer.

Criando Pontes has since been screened at festivals and HIV-focused events, including a UNAIDS event in Rio de Janeiro in 2026. More importantly, the film continues to be used as an educational resource for young people and adults, helping create conversations around HIV through real human stories.

My role: Creative Direction, Narrative Adaptation, AI Filmmaking, Visual Development, Character & Scene Development, Image Generation, Video Generation, Sound Design, Editing & Post-Production

Creating and spreading awareness is highly appreciable. Kudos for the well directed film and the thematic audio to go with the watercolor/oil painting look. Character's and their emotions look really. Well done @Jessica Leonel 🙌