This Surgeon Became An Award-Winning AI Filmmaker

In this article, we learned how full-time surgeon Samantha Pillay became an award-winning AI filmmaker.

So how does a full-time surgeon become an AI filmmaker?

If you’re curious how people are exploring AI creatively while balancing other careers, you’ll want to check out Samantha Pillay’s story.

Some of her tips and workflows might surprise you!

Hi Samantha :) Before we dive in, what’s the most surprising way AI has impacted your life?

Honestly, the most surprising part is that AI made filmmaking possible for someone like me, with no film background, no camera, and no clue how to use After Effects.

My secret is: I have to find a way to do it with AI, and that constraint pushes creative problem-solving in ways traditional filmmakers might never explore.

Amazing! So what’s your background, and what inspired you to take a Curious Refuge course?

Before I ever picked up a digital paintbrush or edited a frame, I was, and still am, a full-time surgeon specializing in urology. I’ve spent over two decades treating patients with urinary incontinence and building educational resources through ContinenceMatters.com, which now reaches a global audience in 179 countries.

Creativity wasn’t part of my official job description, but storytelling always was, whether I was explaining complex medical conditions to patients or writing books that challenge gender stereotypes and inspire young girls.

My creative journey with AI began in June 2024, just before World Continence Week. I wanted to create a video that communicated the impact of urinary incontinence in an engaging and accessible way. That simple desire led me to Midjourney, Discord, and eventually Runway, where I made my first AI video; a humorous but heartfelt cartoon bladder. It was crude by cinematic standards, but it marked the beginning of something transformative.

Eager to learn more, I enrolled in Curious Refuge’s AI Filmmaking course in July 2024, and bundled it with their AI Advertising course for good measure. I was completely out of my depth technically (I didn’t even know what a timeline was, and I’d never heard of Premiere Pro!), but the challenge reignited my curiosity and creativity in the most unexpected way.

Since then, I’ve launched AIFilm4Good, the world’s first AI film studio dedicated entirely to social impact storytelling. We’ve already produced award-winning short films and music videos, including animations based on my Inspirational Careers for Kids picture books, which aim to promote gender equity in STEM, leadership, and beyond.

And yes - I’m still a practicing surgeon.

Wow, that’s incredible! How are you using AI during a typical production day?

Let’s be honest, for me, it’s more of a typical production night or weekend! AI filmmaking isn’t my day job. I’m a full-time surgeon, a single mum, run a medical practice, and I’m also publishing the next book in my Inspirational Careers for Kids series.

So yes, it’s a juggle.

In pre-production, I start by using Perplexity for targeted research, Gemini for analysis, and ChatGPT to help shape everything into a compelling narrative. There’s a lot of back and forth before I lock in the story. Then I’ll break it down into scenes using ChatGPT again, specifying things like camera angles, lens types, sound design, dialogue, and even colour grading. It becomes a guide to start production, but nothing is set in stone. A short film under 10 minutes can easily take 20+ hours.

From there, I produce initial footage, just enough to create a rough draft. I constantly adapt based on what’s working and what tools have updated. The pace of change in AI is so fast, the tools I start with often aren’t the ones I finish with.

I’ve use a rotating mix of platforms depending on the project; Runway, Kling, Veo 3, Minimax, MJ Video, Sora, WAN, Luma, and Pika. For sound, I’ve mostly used Udio to write original music and ElevenLabs for voiceovers, though now tools like Kling are also generating sound effects.

The steepest learning curve for me has been editing, especially since, let’s just say, there were no computers when I went through medical school! But I’m learning everything from scratch and loving the process.

When did you realize AI could be a “creative collaborator” instead of just a tool?

The turning point for me wasn’t a single “aha” moment, it was a mindset shift that unfolded as I took the Curious Refuge courses and leaned into my entrepreneurial instincts. I’ve always been someone who questions how things are done, so I naturally started asking, “What else can AI do?”

At first, I saw AI as a technical assistant, something to generate an image or edit a clip. But as I went deeper, I realized AI could be a true creative collaborator. It wasn’t just about feeding it the right prompts. It could help me discover the questions I should be asking, not just answer the ones I already had.

That’s when it clicked: every single part of the creative process was worth exploring with AI. Whether I was brainstorming film ideas, developing narrative structure, crafting dialogue, or even writing formulas for my production planning spreadsheets; AI could play a role.

The moment I typed something as simple as “give me some ideas for a movie,” and then kept drilling down until it was generating copy-and-paste Excel formulas, that’s when I knew I wasn’t just using a tool. I was working with a creative partner.

I’m sure it won’t be long before AI is watching what I’m doing on the computer and offering real-time feedback and dialogue, and I’ll look back on those early days when I had to manually type into a chat or upload a screenshot.

What AI film or project are you most proud of? How does the process compare to a "traditional" production?

The project I’m most proud of is An Incontinent Truth. As a surgeon, I’ve spent over 25 years raising awareness about urinary incontinence, a deeply misunderstood and stigmatized health issue that affects 1 in 4 adults. I always wondered: why aren’t there big-budget awareness campaigns like we see for breast cancer or mental health? Why don’t celebrities come forward as ambassadors?

With AI, I finally got to rewrite that story, literally.

An Incontinent Truth is a heartfelt, thought-provoking film that imagines a world where a famous actress uses her Oscar win to speak out about her own experience with incontinence. It’s a film-within-a-film, where An Incontinent Truth wins the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and my AI avatar delivers a passionate call for “World Continence Aid” concerts, inspired by the global unity of Live Aid.

And to top it off, it came true: An Incontinent Truth won Best Documentary at the AI Film Awards in Paris this year.

The film has gone on to win multiple international awards (you can see them all on aifilm4good.com), and I also claim to have created the world’s best dance track about urinary incontinence, written with AI, of course!

Compared to traditional production, this was entirely self-directed, created without a crew, without cameras, just a laptop, AI tools, and a mission. The power of cinematic storytelling to deliver health messaging and advocacy is far beyond anything I had access to as a clinician. When 80% of chronic disease is preventable, we need to craft messages that compete for attention, and motivate people to take action.

If you’re creatively blocked, which AI tools do you reach for first? 

When I hit a creative block, my go-to is ChatGPT. I use it to brainstorm new ideas, troubleshoot the scene, or suggest alternate prompts or tools.

Sometimes the solution is a simple rewrite, switching platforms, or even cutting the scene entirely. I might do a hundred generations and even run some and go to bed, hoping I'll find I got what I wanted in the morning. If not, I step away and come back with fresh eyes, and more often than not, that’s when a new idea surfaces.

What kind of professional attention have you gotten since embracing AI? 

AIFilm4Good officially launched in February, so we’re less than six months in, and right now our focus is building purpose and portfolio. Still, we’ve already gained some momentum. I’ve been interviewed on radio, podcasts, and now here at Curious Refuge! I’m currently preparing a talk about my AI filmmaking journey for a professional event.

At AIFilm4Good, our mission is to change the world one film at a time. Our recent release, FALLS, raises awareness about the risk of falls and fall prevention, a film that could genuinely change someone’s life. We rely on people sharing the film and its message with their networks to help amplify its impact.

Recognition through film festivals and awards has been crucial for visibility. It validates the work and helps raise our profile. But distribution is still our biggest challenge. Getting eyes on our films is a grassroots effort for now, sharing through our networks, engaging with aligned organisations, and building one connection at a time.

For aspiring filmmakers who are intimidated by AI, what would you tell them about taking that first step, and which tool should they try today?

The biggest thing to understand is this: AI is evolving so fast that nobody’s really an expert, not with the latest version. That tool you're afraid to try? It probably just launched last week, and everyone else is learning it too.

So don’t wait. The longer you put it off, the more there’ll be to catch up on. It doesn’t matter which tool you start with, what matters is starting. The only way to learn is by doing.

At AIFilm4Good, our goal is to keep making as many films as we can, despite my limited time and other commitments. I don’t have the luxury of spending months perfecting something, and by then, the tools will have changed, and the techniques may be outdated. It’s progress, not perfection. With every project, I improve, and so does the software.

And of course, keep learning. I’ve now completed four Curious Refuge courses and plan to do my fifth soon.

Wow! Thank you so much, Samantha! Your story is super inspiring and we can’t wait to see what you create next.

We hope you enjoyed checking out this interview.

You can learn more about Samantha’s work at aifilm4good.com and by subscribing or following AIFilm4Good on social media. To connect with her personally, visit samanthapillay.com for links to all her social channels.

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