The Russo Brothers-founded studio AGBO is sending its top executives to Japan to discuss how artists should work with AI. Partner Chris Brearton and chief scientific officer Dominic Hughes will speak at TIFFCOM, the Tokyo content market held alongside the film festival. Their session, titled “Technology and Storytelling,” takes place on Oct. 29. It will be moderated by Naman Ramachandran, Asia editor at Variety.
Brearton comes from corporate strategy work at Amazon MGM Studios, where he ran the merger of MGM into Amazon. Hughes directs AGBO’s creative teams on algorithms, machine learning and AI. The session centers on how artists and technologists can team up to push storytelling forward using AI and machine learning.
“Technology and Storytelling”
The irony is that AGBO is itself a major beneficiary of industrial-scale filmmaking. The Russo Brothers and the studio have generated more than $7 billion at the global box office and produced 17 No. 1 worldwide debuts, including Endgame. The studio is currently in post-production on Avengers: Doomsday, set for release Dec. 18.
Keynote Presenters
Dominic Hughes and Chris Brearton are scheduled to present at the Oct. 29 gathering. Brearton formerly oversaw corporate strategy at Amazon MGM Studios, handling the combination of MGM into Amazon along the way. Hughes serves as an authority on algorithms, machine learning and AI, working with AGBO’s creative and innovation groups.
Naman Ramachandran, Asia editor at Variety, will moderate the session.
Conference Lineup
The keynote leads TIFFCOM’s second wave of confirmed conferences. The Association of Japanese Animations presents a special session on “Japanese Animation’s Global Expansion” on Oct. 30, unveiling the first public data from its 2025 industry survey. Overseas strategy presentations come from Nippon Animation and Production I.G.
The panel features a pair of industry executives: Hitomi Hiratsuka, the international sales director for Nippon Animation, and Yoko Ueda, corporate administration and IP director at Production I.G. The event opens with remarks from Kazuko Ishikawa, president of the Association of Japanese Animations.
A co-production conference, “Anime’s New Frontier: Structuring and Financing International Co-Productions,” runs Oct. 29. It features Ervin Han, director of the Annecy-winning The Violinist and co-founder of Robot Playground Media, alongside Salamander CEO Taiki Sakurai and Foliascope CEO Ilan Urroz.
Full Schedule
TIFFCOM runs Oct. 28-30 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center Hamamatsucho-kan, alongside the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 26-Nov. 4.
- Oct. 28: Linmon Pictures showcases its 2026-2027 drama slate. The Taiwan originals project showcase from the Taiwan Drama Production Industry Federation also runs that day.
- Oct. 29: AGBO’s keynote on “Technology and Storytelling.” The “Japan’s IP Frontier” session spotlights six companies, including TV Tokyo, Fuji Television and Hokkaido Television Broadcasting. Nippon TV and Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings each present separate sessions on their global strategies.
- Oct. 30: The Association of Japanese Animations presents “Japanese Animation’s Global Expansion,” with data from its 2025 industry survey.
Two new companies have joined the Tokyo IP Market: Comisma, a digital comics publisher, and Takaratomy, a toy maker. The group now stands at 10 IP holders, with Amuse Creative Studio, Kadokawa, Nihon Bungeisha, Nippon Animation, Shochiku, Shufu to Seikatsu Sha, Square Enix and Toei all part of it.
The Session’s Focus
The keynote from AGBO will look into how artists and technologists can work together to push storytelling forward using AI and machine learning. It will be guided by Naman Ramachandran, who serves as Asia editor at Variety.
It’s worth noting the timing here. AGBO has brought in over $7 billion at the global box office and stands behind 17 No. 1 openings around the world, with Endgame among them. Right now, its slate features Doomsday, which remains in post-production.
AGBO’s keynote gives the studio a platform to show where it believes creative production is headed. It has already demonstrated its capacity to produce major box office successes. What it is now doing is encouraging artists to consider how AI might assist them in telling their stories more effectively.
The question is whether AGBO’s own practice matches its rhetoric.
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