Article · AI translation
Racking up 30 million views
It's absolutely on fire!!!
Who would have thought that, 25 years after the first Harry Potter film premiered, a Chinese vocational school graduate would use AI to make it a global hit?
This time, Malfoy has become a blonde girl and even falls in love with her sworn enemy Harry, playing out a forbidden romance tangled with love and hate.
And this AI fan creation has racked up a whopping 30 million views on overseas platforms (shocked.jpg)!?
This radically reimagined fan creation has even drawn praise from a whole host of Western celebrities and Hollywood producers—
Western singer JVKE enthusiastically commented on the work to thank the creator for using his song as the soundtrack, then followed him all the way to Bilibili to interact in the comments:
Hollywood producer PJ Accetturo, who previously recommended Zombie Cleaner, also expressed admiration in the comments, declaring: “Another masterpiece!!”
Viewers in the United States, Brazil, Spain, South Korea and elsewhere were equally hooked, making their own reaction videos and following this AI version of Harry Potter across borders.
But who could have imagined that the creator of this runaway hit was a young Chinese man who never went to university and started out editing video?
His name is foyege, and he is also a director under contract with the AI creation platform LibTV.
Even more remarkable, this AI short drama that became a global sensation did not even have a formal script at first; it was almost entirely conceived by the creator as he went along.
One person, one computer and a few AI creation tools somehow produced a magical love story that had tens of millions of overseas viewers clamoring for more.
So the question is—
How on earth did this AI fan creation become such a huge hit overseas???
Vocational school graduate radically reimagines Malfoy, and the fan creation takes overseas audiences by storm
At this stage of AI development, screen adaptations by fans are common, but few become breakout hits worldwide.
Especially when the characters being reimagined are Harry and Malfoy, the Harry Potter enemies who draw their wands on sight and would gladly send each other to Azkaban.
Anyone who has read the books or seen the films knows just how enduring this enemies pairing is.
Even after all these years, Harry Potter fans are still passionately shipping them, while fan fiction and stunning fan edits keep dominating the rankings across major platforms...
But foyege's boldest move was to skip the usual story formula and use AI to give Malfoy a radical gender swap—
The arrogant platinum-haired young master became an aloof, proud blonde young lady.
On one side, feelings quietly grow amid her fraught exchanges with her enemy Harry; on the other, a deadly family feud stands between them... Pure love and taboo intertwine, with a powerful sense of fate.
Just hearing that plot is enough to send a thrill down your spine!!!!
The story is thrilling, but the enormous attention this fan creation has attracted may be even more thrilling.
I took a quick look across X, YouTube, TikTok and Bilibili, and individual episodes on major platforms at home and abroad were getting views in the millions almost across the board.
The whole series has racked up 30 million views overseas, making it a bona fide global phenomenon. It looks like this:
Beyond requests for more episodes, foyege has also received quite a few unexpectedly moving private messages from viewers.
One viewer admitted that this AI fan creation had revived their hopeful expectations of love.
A viewer in China told him that she had been planning to divorce in 10 days, but after watching the video, she suddenly remembered what it had been like when she and her partner first fell in love.
So she ultimately decided to sit down and talk with her partner again, and face the cracks in their marriage together. (crying.jpg)
Another viewer overseas, a middle-aged person, even wrote foyege a private message while wiping away tears after watching the Malfoy series—
They said they now knew better how to cherish the happiness they had, had become more patient with their children and cared more for their wife.
foyege personally wrote back, saying those words gave him the motivation to keep creating and wishing the viewer's family peace and happiness. (moved.jpg)
Some watched for the thrill, some were moved, and some kept asking for more episodes.
I doubt even J.K. Rowling imagined that her characters would become wildly popular all over again in the AI era.
From ensemble performances to storytelling, an AI fan creation delivers a film-scale production
With the classic Harry Potter franchise as its foundation and the striking contrast of a gender-swapped character, viewers were naturally willing to click and watch.
But the key to getting people genuinely invested in following each episode, and to making the work a breakout hit, lies in its strong filmmaking craft.
After all, viewers only truly embrace a good work when its characters, narrative pacing and audiovisual direction come together!!!
First, let's talk about something many people care about: characterization.
foyege's cleverest move was preserving everything about Malfoy's original cutting tongue, pure-blood arrogance and open hostility.
She is sharp-tongued and provocative, clashing with Harry whenever they meet, yet her cool, beautiful eyes reveal the pain of being trapped by her family's fate and an attention to him she cannot hide—
She is both abrasive and impossible not to feel for; the balance is just right!!!
Harry, meanwhile, becomes an awkward admirer whose defenses are gradually broken down by this proud yet vulnerable young lady, his hostility quietly turning into reluctant affection.
The contrast between a sharp tongue and a wounded inner self hits exactly the notes audiences love in a proud young lady and a painful, forbidden romance:
The characters are firmly established, but what holds up even better on closer inspection is the work's narrative pacing, comparable to that of a polished romantic drama.
Notably, foyege takes the addictive slow-burn route, with each episode landing precisely on the moments that thrill and hurt viewers.
In the story, the first 2 episodes turn the hostility between the enemies all the way up:
The young lady taunts him with cutting remarks, and Harry pushes right back. But even as they trade barbs, their evasive glances give them away, gradually building the romantic tension.
Episode 3 accelerates their feelings: conflict and attraction intertwine rapidly, cracks appear in the young lady's proud exterior, and Harry's hostility gives way entirely to concern for her.
But what I most, most, most, most want to talk about is the flashback at the end of episode 3—
As moments Harry spent with Malfoy flash through his mind frame by frame and he finally understands his feelings, the series delivers a stroke of brilliance that brings both the sense of fate and the delight of seeing the pairing come together to a peak:
Beyond the engaging plot, the real test of the director's skill lies in camera direction and the characters' performances.
As everyone knows, with an AI series, however realistic the characters look, confused camera work or stiff, unresponsive expressions can pull viewers right out of the story!!!
In fact, this fan creation handles visual storytelling, sound and performance with a skill that really does rival a polished theatrical feature—
Just look at the ensemble ballroom scene below: in the first 10 seconds, a smooth 360-degree camera move sweeps around the entire banquet hall.
It instantly establishes the grand depth of the space while vividly conveying both the splendor of pure-blood high society and the dramatic tension simmering beneath it.
The staging of the grand scene and its ensemble are both expertly handled:
Even the young Lady Malfoy's stunning entrance in this ballroom scene shows the creator's storyboarding ingenuity, comparable to that of a professional director.
First, Harry glances back casually. Right as the soundtrack's drumbeat reaches a climax, the shot cuts to Malfoy from behind in a long mermaid gown.
Then comes a rapid sequence of shots, moving from a close-up of her cool, noble profile to the metallic Slytherin snake belt coiled around her waist.
In just 20 seconds, the sequence smoothly cuts between 6 camera angles, building visual impact layer by layer and maxing out the dramatic tension of an enemy falling for her in an instant:
Visuals do 3 parts of the work and sound does 7; alongside the skillful camera direction, the series' sound design also deserves attention.
A prime example is the standout scene in episode 2, when the young Lady Malfoy steps forward to confront the Death Eaters head-on for Harry.
It opens with low strings and electronic pulses beneath the scene, their slow rhythm creating a suffocating sense of pressure.
Then, as wands clash and spells erupt, piercing effects and heavy drumbeats suddenly thunder in, pushing the life-or-death tension to its peak.
The whole scene has almost no unnecessary dialogue; sound effects timed to the action and visual editing carry it from start to finish, a textbook example of commanding attention through sound.
This interplay of sound and image really is wonderful.
From vocational school trained editor to AI director: how does a one-person film crew operate?
Well-rounded characters, assured storytelling and polished sights and sounds: it has almost every ingredient of a blockbuster.
But what many people do not realize is that this AI hit, popular worldwide and praised even by Hollywood producers, has no large production team behind it—
foyege does it all on his own.
Even more surprising, this creator who has taken overseas audiences by storm did not graduate from a prestigious film school. He never even attended university.
He studied film and television post-production at a vocational school, and his first job after graduation was as an editor.
Later, at a film and advertising company in Guangzhou, he worked his way through directing and writing, camera operation, production and other roles.
That hands-on experience taught him the entire traditional filmmaking process, making him a one-person crew in the truest sense.
What enables foyege to achieve the series' polished look single-handedly is the mature “AI production workflow” he developed himself.
For character design, foyege did not take the celebrity face-mixing shortcut popular in fan creations.
He first chose his ideal female Malfoy from more than 10 comic-style drafts, then turned the design into a realistic 3-view character asset.
At the story and storyboard stage, he insists on working out the narrative in his head first, then giving AI precise descriptions of 2D compositions and reference images to help execute it.
The shots that carry this major scene, meanwhile, rely on LibTV's Infinite Canvas.
foyege admits that no single model can handle the characters' highly complex microexpressions and multicamera staging on its own...
But in LibTV's canvas workspace, it is as if he has a digital director's control desk—
He can coordinate leading video and image models such as Seedance, Wanxiang and Kling together in one place.
Everything from early 3-view character assets and storyboard references to long, densely written prompts can be laid out clearly and linked smoothly on a single canvas.
When he faces a difficult crying scene or an exchange of charged looks, he can switch models at any time to generate and compare options suited to the emotion of each scene.
So the cumbersome steps that once required jumping back and forth among countless websites and software tools can now all be completed on one canvas.
Even more remarkable, this worldwide breakout success has been a two-way commitment.
foyege says LibTV spotted him and signed him to an exclusive deal when he had only about 2,000 followers on Xiaohongshu and was still a niche tech blogger.
After his work took off and multiple platforms in China and overseas approached him, he still firmly chose to stay with LibTV.
It is also worth mentioning that, beyond providing creators with a powerful canvas workspace, ample computing resources and support for multiple models—
LibTV has partnered with Douyin to launch support initiatives including the AI Creation Wave program and hackathons, directing resources to creators on the front lines and providing tangible support to individual creators.
There is no denying that AI is gradually lowering the once formidable barriers to traditional film and television production.
Creative talents once held back by barriers involving resources, funding and education finally have a chance to emerge.
Perhaps even foyege, who was lugging equipment around a traditional advertising company just a few years ago, never imagined—
That one day he could use AI to make a Harry Potter spin-off feature on his own, leave viewers across the ocean deeply invested in the characters' fates, and see his work spread across the internet.
Perhaps that is also AI's most precious gift to creators.
Those stories that once played only in their minds, alone through countless late nights.
Now, at last, they have the chance to make a grand debut before the whole world.