Neill Blomkamp Debuts AI Short Film Nightborne Using ByteDance Technology

By Charles Pulliam-Moore · The Verge · 2026-07-21

Director Neill Blomkamp has released a 13-minute sci-fi short titled Nightborne through his new startup, Barley Studios. According to reporting from The Verge, the project relies on ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 text-to-video generator for every shot, marking a significant departure f

Director Neill Blomkamp has released a 13-minute sci-fi short titled Nightborne through his new startup, Barley Studios. According to reporting from The Verge, the project relies on ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 text-to-video generator for every shot, marking a significant departure f