Marc Wacholz, winner of the Trailer Category for 'Children of a Dead Star', on AI, Visual Storytelling, and the Future of Filmmaking

What was the original creative spark behind your film, and why did

you choose to tell this story using AI?

Marc Wacholz: Growing up in East Germany, I was fortunate enough to discover science fiction from both sides of the Iron Curtain. Watching the first "StarTrek" movie or "E.T." in an East German theatre at an early age, and reading GDR and Soviet science fiction, made a deep impression on me. But especially in cinema, East Germany (and even the Soviet Union)produced relatively few science fiction films, and even fewer that were actually set inside the countries of the Eastern Bloc. I always wanted to tell a sci-fi story that takes place in this specific time and space."Children of a Dead Star" is set in Germany in 1979. It tells the story of a memetic infection taking hold of a regime in power, at the height of the Cold War.

Creating an AI trailer for the concept of this limited series was essential for me because it allowed me to move the project into its next stage: to make others feel what an alien invasion story without visible aliens, unfolding inside a historical setting, could actually look and feel like.

Recreating the historical setting, the atmosphere of East Germany, and the Cold War scope of a world on the brink of World War III would have been impossible for me at this stage -- especially to just create a concept trailer first. AI was the only way I could achieve this and share the idea with the world.

How did working with AI change your role as a filmmaker, artist, or

storyteller during the process?

Marc Wacholz: Although I am the creator and writer of this show, there were still many open questions for me in terms of mood, characters, settings, and the overall cinematic language of the story.

The thing is: I had all of this quite deeply in my mind, but expressing it to others -- or even to myself -- in a way that is precise enough, without losing many of its layers in the process, is often harder than we think.

Creating an AI concept trailer removes this obstacle. It creates not a linguistic representation, but a visual one -- something much closer and much richer to the feeling of the idea itself.

It also creates a feedback loop for me as a creator. As I co-create the trailer with AI, I am influenced by the final result myself. Many details only emerge during the process, and those details then inspire me further as a writer and filmmaker.

Where did you feel most in control of the work, and where did the

technology surprise you?

Marc Wacholz: I am very drawn to the concept of "AI co-creation" -- the idea of deliberately giving the models more space during the brainstorming and creation of a work.

So "control" is always something I try to give up to some extent, or at least not pursue to the point where I lock in too much and lose the AI's serendipitous creativity. In a way, my control lies in finding ways to make the AI surprise me -- to prompt and direct in a way that creates openness, chance, and images I would never have thought of on my own.

Where I feel most in control is in curation, selection, rhythm, and overall taste. Even when I allow for a large creative space in the process, the final work is still curated by me. Every shot, every cut, every moment in the trailer has ultimately been chosen and shaped by me.

And then there are two very concrete areas of control: the beginning, where I create the trailer music as a kind of emotional and rhythmic foil for the edit, and the very end, where I cut everything down to a single frame. That final stage of editing gives me all the control I need to shape the result.

What part of the film feels most personal to you?

Marc Wacholz: The most personal aspect of "Children of a Dead Star" is the way it combines my cultural birthplace with my love for science fiction, my interest in systemic critique, and a reckoning with both the historical dictatorship of East Germany and the current power of memetic warfare.

It is a speculative story, but it comes from very real memories, fears, textures, and historical contradictions that shaped the world I grew up in.

What does being part of MetaMorph 2026 mean to you at this moment in

the evolution of AI storytelling?

Marc Wacholz: This is my second time being selected for the trailer category, after being a runner-up last year with my AI concept trailer for "Copernicus".So I already feel a deep connection to MetaMorph as a festival where my work is genuinely seen and appreciated.

The fact that these awards come from a jury that includes Hollywood veterans such as John Rhys-Davies or art its like Timbaland adds another layer of gratification and encouragement.

On a broader level, MetaMorph 2026 has shown that the rise of AI storytelling in film is undeniable, especially when you look at the huge number of submissions this year.

Of course, everyone can upload their AI films online. But for me, cinema is more than just watching a movie. It is also a physical space, a screen, darkness, and a crowd. That is why I am so happy to see festivals like MetaMorph putting in the work to create a physical event, bring audiences and creators together, and give everyone the opportunity to experience AI films on the big screen.

My sincere hope is that, by doing this, our films and projects will slowly lose the label of being "AI films" and simply become powerful cinematic expressions in their own right.