Talya Lotan’s The City Between Them: Runner-Up in the Long Form Category at the MetaMorph Award 2026

What was the original creative spark behind your film, and why did you choose to tell this story using AI?

Talya Lotan: The City Between Them has roots that go back many years, long before AI entered my creative life.I began my career as a conventional film editor, working on historical documentaries and television productions. One of the stories that fascinated me most involved the relationships that developed between British policemen and officers serving in Mandatory Palestine and young local women. The human complexity of those relationships captivated me.While working on documentary projects connected to that period, I had the privilege of meeting veterans of the Palestine Police during filming in London. They left a profound impression on me. Their stories, personalities and memories stayed with me long after the projects ended, and I always felt that one day I would return to that world.The City Between Them was that return.The film combines my love of history with a deep fascination for the final years of the British Mandate in Jerusalem. At its heart, it is a story about love, loyalty, identity and impossible choices. AI made it possible to bring that lost world back to life. It allowed me to recreate a Jerusalem that no longer exists and to tell a story that had been waiting with me for many years.

How did working with AI change your role as a filmmaker, artist or storyteller during the process?

Talya Lotan: For me, AI is not the story. It is the tool that allows the story to exist.What excites me most about AI is its ability to revive lost worlds, forgotten places and historical narratives that would otherwise be impossible for an independent filmmaker to recreate. As a traditional editor, I often dreamed of telling stories set in other eras, but the practical limitations were enormous. AI changed that completely. Suddenly I could build historical environments, reconstruct vanished streets, recreate uniforms, architecture and atmosphere, and explore stories that would previously have required resources far beyond my reach. It has given me an extraordinary creative freedom.Rather than replacing traditional filmmaking skills, AI expanded them. It allowed me to move beyond editing and become simultaneously a writer, director, visual designer, researcher and storyteller, bringing forgotten worlds back into view for modern audiences.

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

Talya Lotan: I felt most in control during the writing, editing and overall narrative construction of the film.The biggest surprises came when the technology occasionally produced moments of unexpected emotional truth: a glance, a gesture, a particular expression or atmosphere that perfectly captured the feeling I was searching for.Those moments felt less like programming and more like discovering something hidden within the creative process.

What part of the film feels most personal to you?

Talya Lotan: Without question, the character of James.Although the film is set against a historical backdrop, the emotional heart of the story rests with him. James is a man of contradictions: a British intelligence officer serving the Mandate, yet emotionally drawn toward a world he is expected to keep at a distance. He is loyal, reserved, compassionate and deeply conflicted.I think he became such a strong character because he draws inspiration from several sources. Part of him comes from the Palestine Police veterans I met years ago in London. Their stories, dignity and humanity stayed with me. Part of him also comes from remarkable people I have encountered throughout my own life. In many ways, James became more than a historical character. He became a bridge between the past and the present, between memory and imagination. Of all the people in the film, he is the one who stayed with me the longest.

What does being part of MetaMorph 2026 mean to you at this moment in the evolution of AI storytelling?

Talya Lotan: MetaMorph represents something very important to me. Many conversations around AI focus primarily on technology. What impressed me about MetaMorph is its commitment to storytelling, emotion and artistic voice. Being recognized by a festival that values films not only for how they are made, but for what they make audiences feel, is incredibly meaningful. At this stage in the evolution of AI storytelling, I believe the most exciting question is no longer what the technology can do, but what stories we choose to tell with it. For that reason, receiving this recognition from MetaMorph is particularly special. It feels like recognition not only of the tools used to create the film, but of the story itself and the people at its heart. Thank you again for your kindness, encouragement and support throughout this journey. I am incredibly proud to be part of MetaMorph 2026 and look forward to staying connected.