AGC International, the sales and distribution arm of Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, is adding Gods Don’t Give Gifts to its distribution slate and will introduce the feature length AI-generated sci-fi epic to buyers at the American Film Market.
The feature debut from creator and YouTuber Zack London (aka Gossip Goblin) has been lined up as one of the first fully AI-generated movies to get a theatrical release and producers are also pushing an awards campaign targeted at the Academy’s animation category. The film is set for a U.S. release on December 4th via producers Fable and Gossip Goblin. WME Independent is consulting on the global release strategy.
The synopsis reads: “On NiiroCradle, where bodies are disposable and consciousness has been commoditized, four interconnected stories collide with the horrifying consequences of humanity’s attempt to transcend the flesh.” The characters are voiced by actors including Ben Kersley, Victor ‘Goshfather’ Tapia, Sam Dale, Richard Cotton, Oscar Merry, Ayça Özkan, Mark Lewis, Mike Majlak, Sarah Lockett, and Oyinkansola Yusuff.
London’s Gossip Goblin YouTube channel has 1.4 million subscribers with previous shorts crossing more than one billion views. Since its launch on October 6th, the Gods Don’t Give Gifts trailer has passed 15 million views and is one of Fandango’s most viewed trailers on X.
The indie science-fiction, horror-tinged film “explores the world of ‘Second Cycle of Humanity’ where transhumanism has accelerated to the point that humanity looks very different”. London added: “The core of Gods Don’t Give Gifts is really about what happens to ordinary human hungers and instincts when the physical limits around humanity start to disappear. The four stories in Gods Don’t Give Gifts live inside that unease. They follow people using strange tools to satisfy very primal needs, exploring the strange interplay and growing disconnect between the body and the mind.”
The film is written by London and Jacob Batchelor, produced by London and Edward Saatchi and executive produced by Abhi Som, Ravi Bhaskaran, Todd Terrazas and Gino Bautista.
Ford stated: “Zack London is a genuine auteur, and Gods Don’t Give Gifts is a bold, original piece of cinema: a richly imagined world, sharp and unsettling storytelling, and a filmmaker using new tools to say something urgent about our moment. AGC has always backed distinctive voices and bet early on where audiences are going. A creator who built a devoted global fanbase on YouTube and is now bringing that vision to cinema screens is exactly the kind of talent we want to champion. We’re proud to stand behind Zack and this film as it heads to theaters and into the awards conversation.”
Producer Edward Saatchi added: “AGC has a track record for taking singular, filmmaker-driven projects to audiences around the world, and the studio’s global reach and distribution expertise give Gods Don’t Give Gifts the strongest possible launch. Having a studio of AGC’s stature believe in the film is a powerful signal to exhibitors and audiences that AI-driven filmmaking when it’s executed in the right way belongs on the big screen.”
On the awards campaign, he said: “We have already started on FYC screenings with top directors, animators and writers and the response has been enthusiastic for something genuinely new in animation.”
London added: “Excited to have AGC coming on board to help our film get shown to fans around the world. Gods Don’t Give Gifts is the culmination of 10+ months of intense work across a full team of writers, artists, animators, voice actors, musicians, and a trad postproduction crew — AI was a tool to help us tell our story at scale, while still being able to maintain our core artistic vision without having to compromise or answer to other parties”
Other key production creatives include Editor Răzvan Ilinca; Cinematographer Alexandru Mihai; Visual Lead Manuel Mac Donnell; Animation Leads Alexandru Mihai, Benjamín Muñoz Alonso; Animation Alberto Alepuz Fernandez, Zack London, Sergio Lopes; Visual Design Alexandru Mihai, Benjamín Muñoz Alonso, Zack London, Nowell Englund; Additional Editing by Alberto Alepuz Fernandez, Benjamín Muñoz Alonso; Post Production Supervisor Răzvan Ilinca; Colour Grading Ştefania Grigorescu; Sound Design, Mix And Foley Marian Bălan; Additional Sound Florian Ardelean, Mihai Cosmin Popa, Răzvan Ilinca. The original score is by Anne-Sophie Versnaeyen, Juan Torán, Nikita Andrei Dembinski, Sebastian Furrer, and Mathilda Skonare Kåverud.
AGC has also invested in and is handling worldwide sales on Critterz, Vertigo Films and Native Foreign’s family feature created with AI integrated throughout the production.