Cinemagic is Kuwait’s first film school and some of you might recognize the name from their rooftop movie nights they used to host every weekend. For over 20 years they’ve worked in storytelling, filmmaking and production, so when AI started becoming a bigger part of the creative industry, they started asking what would happen if filmmakers were the ones building the tools instead of just using them. That’s what led to MagicMaker, a platform they created that combines filmmaking knowledge with AI production tools. This move into AI has also meant rebranding as Cinemagic AI.
Unlike most AI tools flooding the market right now, MagicMaker wasn’t built by tech people experimenting with video. It was built by filmmakers who understand storytelling, camera language, lighting, lenses, and what actually makes something feel cinematic. The idea is to give creators and brands more control over the final result instead of leaving everything up to the AI and ending up with visuals that feel generic.
In addition to that, the platform is also built Arabic first so it understands our regional culture, aesthetics, environments, and visual identity. A Kuwaiti campaign, for example, shouldn’t look like a Saudi one and a Gulf character shouldn’t feel generic. MagicMaker was designed with that understanding from day one. This also isn’t just a concept btw, it’s a platform you can sign up for and access today and is already being used locally by brands like KPC, Kuwait Airways, KDD and even the Ministry of Interior.
Earlier this month, Cinemagic AI also presented at the Cannes Film Festival alongside ByteDance (the company behind TikTok), where they showcased cinematic work created using MagicMaker. They were also invited to join NVIDIA’s Inception Program, an international program that supports startups and companies building AI products and technologies. So it’s pretty cool seeing a local filmmaking and production company evolve into an AI company and start getting recognized internationally.
If you want to try out MagicMaker, head to www.cinemagicmaker.ai