Ding Kuan

Ding Kuan is a Chinese director of the post-1990 generation who graduated from the Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts Middle School and the animation school of the Beijing Film Academy. Press coverage describes him as one of the earliest people on the AI live-action short drama track.

In April 2025 he co-founded the AI film and television brand Nine Purple Source (九紫源AI) as creative director, with the veteran producer Wang Li. The studio says it wants to make AI work into artistic pieces rather than quickly made commodities. His AI dramas include The Xing'an Ridge Mystery, which drew millions of views on Douyin, Mecha Bureau: Zhong Kui, which won the Best AI Short Drama award in a Tencent Video competition, Lonely City Illuminated, an ancient thriller built on the Tumu Crisis, and Chinese Legend: White Snake, reported as the first AI drama set for a satellite channel, Zhejiang TV.

He has said that AI has its own look, somewhere between 3D animation and live action, and that he prefers longer production cycles of around 40 days against an industry norm of 10 to 15. He plans serialised franchises and AI-native virtual idols.

In August 2026 he directed the Soul Ferry 'Floating Life Dream' series of AIGC web films for iQIYI, whose first two parts, Butterfly Dream and Heavenly Maiden Dream, went online on 22 August 2026. Art director Guo Jingyu called him a stickler for detail who respects the original and keeps the franchise's worldview consistent.