Moonvalley founders (L to R) Mikolaj Binkowski, Bryn Mooser, Mateusz Malinowski, John Thomas, Naeem … More
In a landmark collaboration for the generative media industry, Asteria and Moonvalley have officially launched Marey, a foundational AI video model purpose-built for professional film and television production. The tool is designed to give filmmakers unprecedented creative control while avoiding the legal and ethical pitfalls that have plagued many AI systems trained on scraped, unlicensed content.
“We built Marey because the industry told us existing AI video tools don’t work for serious production,” said Naeem Talukdar, co-founder and CEO of Moonvalley. “Directors need precise control over every creative decision, plus legal confidence for commercial use. Today we’re delivering both, and proving that the most powerful AI comes from partnership with creators, not exploitation of their work”.
Developed over a year-long partnership between Moonvalley’s technical team and Asteria’s filmmakers, Marey was trained entirely on licensed high-definition footage sourced by XTR, Asteria’s documentary studio. This approach, the companies say, not only mitigates legal risk but establishes a higher standard for the ethical use of AI in media.
“AI is a powerful tool for the future of Hollywood, but it’s not usable until a clean model is built that’s not trained on other people’s stolen data,” said Bryn Mooser, co-founder and CEO of Asteria.
The model was designed with professional filmmakers in mind. Marey includes production-grade features such as Motion Direction, Pose Control, Motion Transfer, Camera Control, and Inpainting—tools that allow users to edit specific parts of a frame without regenerating the entire video. The system outputs native 1080p video at 24 frames per second for clips up to 10 seconds long and supports aspect ratios from vertical to widescreen.
Example of Marey-generated animated AI image.
“Traditional AI video often reduces filmmakers to consumers typing prompts into black box systems with little creative control over generations,” said Mateusz Malinowski, Moonvalley’s Chief Scientific Officer and former DeepMind researcher. “With Marey we aim to give directors the same level of control they expect on set”.
Marey represents the first production-grade AI model built to meet the standards of world-class cinematography. Trained entirely on native 1080p video and never on user-generated content, Marey delivers sharper footage up to 10 seconds at 24 FPS with consistent quality throughout, supporting aspect ratios from widescreen to vertical. Directors gain unprecedented control through features including Motion Direction for precise object movement, Camera Control for cinematic storytelling, Motion Transfer to adapt performance across scenes, Pose Control for nuanced performances, and Inpainting to modify specific elements without regenerating.
For studios and brands, Marey enables faster iteration on complex sequences while maintaining complete creative authority. For independent filmmakers, it means Hollywood-quality visuals previously reserved for massive budgets.
“Marey isn’t just another model—it’s a creative unlock,” said Hussein Dembel Sow, an independent filmmaker and screenwriter from Senegal. “It gives filmmakers like me the freedom to experiment and innovate without the financial burden or scarcity of production opportunities. What excites me most is not just the technical leap this model represents, but the cultural one. It opens a door to a new kind of cinema—something hybrid, something deeply local yet globally legible.”
Asteria, which also operates the streaming platform DOCUMENTARY+, has positioned itself as a filmmaker-led studio navigating the frontier of generative production. “Together, we are building an AI company that Hollywood can trust,” said Talukdar. “Marey will not only be the best video model, but it will be the only one that can be used inside Hollywood”.
With deep ties to both technical research and Hollywood production, the Asteria–Moonvalley partnership may serve as a blueprint for how generative tools can be ethically and effectively deployed across the entertainment industry.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/charliefink/2025/07/08/asteria-and-moonvalley-release-marey-a-clean-production-grade-ai-video-model/