MANUK TUNDUNG
AI Film | Atmospheric Folklore Horror | Indonesia

Manuk Tundung is an atmospheric folklore horror film about an unintentional mistake that slowly awakens something that should have been left dormant.

The story centers on a seemingly peaceful village, until a tree behind the local school is cut down for the safety of the children. There is no ill intent. There is no warning. Yet the falling tree strikes a sacred one beside it—a symbol of an unspoken boundary between humans and nature.

After the incident, black birds begin to arrive. They do not attack. They do not directly disturb. They simply remain—watching, observing, and filling the village with an unnatural silence.

Amid this unease, Pak Mulyadi, a village resident, returns home in a state of quiet anxiety. That night, the house becomes a fragile refuge. Through a simple conversation between husband and wife, fragments of what has happened slowly surface: children at school drawing black birds from their dreams, the drawings being burned, and the emergence of a belief that something is “claiming” a price for human negligence.

The tension does not come from explicit terror, but from denial—the adults’ attempt to convince themselves that everything is still under control. Yet inside their child Raka’s room, a transformation has already begun. His body changes slowly, not as a personal punishment, but as part of a natural mechanism seeking to restore balance.

Morning arrives with beautiful light and a false calm. The birds are gone. The village appears peaceful once more. But that calm collapses when the absence of the children becomes undeniable. What remains are black feathers, a silence that blankets the village, and the realization that what has been forgotten never truly disappears—it merely waits to return.

 

AI CREATIVE STATEMENT

Manuk Tundung was created using a fully AI-driven filmmaking pipeline, where artificial intelligence functioned as the primary creative medium rather than a visual gimmick.

AI played a central role in story development, visual generation, cinematic composition, sound design creation, music generation, and post-production workflows. More than 70% of the creative process relied on AI technologies, integrated deliberately to shape atmosphere, pacing, and narrative cohesion.

The film treats AI as a storytelling partner—allowing silence, repetition, and restrained imagery to emerge through iterative generative processes—while maintaining a cohesive cinematic language.

Tools used in the production:

• Script Writing: ChatGPT
• Image Generation: Freepik – Seedream
• Video Generation: Freepik – Kling AI
• Voice Over: ElevenLabs & Sora (voice only)
• Lip Sync: Dzine AI
• Music: Suno AI
• Editing & Final Assembly: CapCut

All creative decisions, direction, and final production were executed independently by the filmmaker.

PRODUCTION & SUPPORT DISCLOSURE

This film was developed with production support from Videoin, provided as part of their initiative to support selected AI-driven storytelling concepts. The support was given in the form of production funding for the chosen story idea.

All creative direction, execution, and authorship of Manuk Tundung remain entirely with the filmmaker.

A Film by B.K. Sillo
© 2025

 

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Creator