A laid-back crowd of filmmakers, coders, and creators gathered in downtown Miami on Tuesday night for the kickoff of Curious Refuge, a new monthly event series focused on AI and storytelling. Hosted at The Hub @ Office Logic, the evening spotlighted how artificial intelligence is lowering the barrier to entry for indie creators looking to tell big stories on small budgets.
The event marked Curious Refuge’s Miami chapter debut, bringing its blend of education, experimentation, and community-building to South Florida’s emerging creative tech scene.
From 6PM to 9PM, creators, innovators, and storytellers came together for an unforgettable night of collaboration, conversation, and community. The energy inside The Hub was electric.
The night’s programming centered on new AI tools that allow filmmakers to script, animate, edit, and even generate visual content without the need for large crews or expensive equipment. From Sora-style video generation to voice synthesis and generative art, speakers introduced an array of platforms helping democratize film production.
AI is opening up doors for filmmakers who thought they needed huge teams or budgets to bring their ideas to life. Events like this help show what’s actually possible when you just start experimenting.
one speaker said during the panel.
The event doubled as a networking mixer, with drinks, snacks, and hands-on demos creating a relaxed but energetic atmosphere. Attendees swapped tips on AI workflows, pitched passion projects, and tested out some of the tools themselves.
Curious Refuge, an online AI filmmaking school and creative community founded in 2020 by Caleb and Shelby Ward, is known for its mission to democratize AI-powered storytelling. Its offerings include a suite of courses, workshops, tutorials, and creative contests focused on generative tools for scripted films, animation, advertising, documentaries, and VFX. The platform has educated over 4,000 creators in 171 countries, including industry professionals and award-winning talent and hosts an active Discord network and The Curious Refuge Podcast, where industry leaders unpack AI’s creative potential.
Earlier this year, Curious Refuge was acquired by AI entertainment studio Promise, backed by Peter Chernin’s North Road and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a move that integrates its educational pipeline directly into AI-powered content production.
This Miami launch is the first in a planned series of monthly meetups aimed at building a local ecosystem where film meets frontier tech. If you missed it, Curious Refuge is already gearing up for its next editions, returning July 16th, and again in August and September. Same time, same place: 6PM at The Hub.
The Hub @ Office Logic, a coworking space and event venue that caters to entrepreneurs and creatives, co-hosted the gathering as part of its broader effort to position itself as a nucleus for Miami’s innovation community.
Why It Matters
The event signals growing interest in the intersection of AI and creative production in South Florida, a region already buzzing with fintech, healthtech, and crypto experimentation. Miami’s film scene has long played second fiddle to L.A. and New York, but tools like AI are leveling the playing field.
If Curious Refuge can keep the momentum going, it could become a key convener in shaping the city’s creative tech identity.