3 Late Submissions

AI Writing Detection + Production Complexity Analysis

1. Dystopia — The Last Water Day

Nthebe Eric Peloewetse · 727 words · Feature Treatment

⚠ POSSIBLY AI-ASSISTED Medium Confidence

🔍 AI Detection

Split personality document. The treatment body shows genuine literary intelligence — controlled, compressed, emotionally precise prose. But the writer bio is textbook AI pitch language.

AI Signals:

ZERO SETSWANA ZERO DIALOGUE ZERO TYPOS AI BIO LANGUAGE EM DASHES IN PROSE ×5
AI signal — Writer bio
"explores the intersection of African identity, social systems, spirituality, and survival… culturally grounded narratives with a cinematic language designed for international festival circulation… visually disciplined, emotionally powerful, and internationally competitive"

Human Signals:

LITERARY COMPRESSION EMOTIONAL PRECISION ADMINISTRATIVE HORROR SPECIFIC RATIONING DETAIL
Human — devastating compression
"For the first time, the mother must consider the mathematics of love."
Human — restrained power
"Water is poured into their cups. / They drink."
Human — brutal specificity
"Those without registration are turned away and told to go and prepare for their graves."
Full reasoning
This is the hardest call in all 20 treatments. The treatment body has genuine literary power — "the mathematics of love," "Survival has become administrative," "Water is poured into their cups. They drink." These lines show a writer who knows what to leave out. The em dashes are used with literary purpose, not as AI shortcuts. However: zero Setswana in a Botswana-set film, zero dialogue, zero typos, and a writer bio that is unmistakably AI-generated ("intersection of African identity, social systems, spirituality, and survival") create tension. Most likely: a genuinely talented writer who used AI to polish the treatment and generate the bio, writing in their best literary English rather than their natural voice. The quality of the core dramatic idea (water rationing as administrative horror, deregistration as state murder) is too specific and too emotionally precise to be AI-originated.

🎬 Production Complexity

4.5 / 10
SHORT FILM 15-25 min ideal · Micro possible
4 LOCATIONS 4 SPEAKING + EXTRAS AI: DYSTOPIA GRADE
  • Locations: Homestead (Easy), water depot/checkpoint (Medium — set build or found), pathway/queue area (Easy), gate/boundary zone (Easy)
  • Cast: Mother (lead), Son, Daughter, depot workers. 20-50 extras for queue lines
  • Period: Near-future contemporary. Minimal set dressing — the dystopia is administrative, not visual. Wrist registration marks (makeup)
  • VFX: AI editor excels here — desaturated drought colour grade, heat haze, wrist scanner graphics, crowd extension for longer queues
  • Special reqs: Sunrise/dawn shoots, queue extras coordination, government depot set or found location
UB / Ministry synergies
UB Political Science / Development Studies — water governance + rationing systems. UB Environmental Science — climate/drought research. Water Utilities Corporation — technical advisor. Ministry of Land and Water Affairs. Powerful climate-fiction framing for international partnerships.
Micro viability
Possible. Cut neighbour/deregistered family scenes, relatives-search montage. Keep: dawn queue → son's return → depot confrontation → mother's final walk → son takes her place. Core preservable in 10 min. The restrained prose style translates to restrained filmmaking — no wasted frame.

2. The Echoes of Lesoma

Kesebonye Seabelo (+ Thabo Molotsi, Baitshephi Shunnel Seabelo) · 579 words · Docu-Film

✓ LIKELY HUMAN High Confidence

🔍 AI Detection

Definitively human-written. The typo density, passionate advocacy, and formatting irregularities are overwhelming evidence of authentic authorship.

Human Signals (overwhelming):

TYPO: "ARMBUSH" TYPO: "UNIFORMED" FOR "UNINFORMED" TYPO: "PERSONALS" TYPO: "WEIGHTS" FOR "WEIGHS" "PULA…" EXCLAMATION "YOURS IN BUSINESS" CAPS + TRIPLE EXCLAMATION ZERO AI VOCABULARY
Human — passionate advocacy (with "uniformed" slip)
"We always hear the rumors from the shallow and uniformed members of public saying 'BDF members are just earning our tax monies doing nothing'"
Human — raw emotional script brief
"THEY ARE GONE!!!", and "GONE forever"; BUT, "they are not forgotten"
Human — national pride
"the Botswana Defence Force, since its inception… PULA…"
Full reasoning
This is the clearest human-written document in all 20 treatments across both batches. The "uniformed/uninformed" slip is the kind of error AI literally cannot make — it's a phonetic substitution from a Setswana speaker. The "armbush" for "ambush" is another definitive human error. The passionate first-person voice ("God forbid, we pray that we can not come to that stage of War"), the irregular formatting, the "PULA…" national motto exclamation, and the "Yours in business" closing are all markers of a real person writing with deep personal investment in honouring the Lesoma fallen. Zero AI vocabulary, zero filler words, zero polish.

🎬 Production Complexity

8.5 / 10
DOCUMENTARY-FILM 60-90 min · Feature length required
LESOMA VILLAGE — REMOTE BDF COOPERATION ESSENTIAL 1978 MILITARY RECREATION WEAPONS + PYROTECHNICS SURVIVORS + ACTORS
  • Locations: Lesoma village near Zimbabwe border (Hard — remote), BDF barracks (Medium — military permission), ambush recreation site (Hard), interview locations (Easy)
  • Cast: Real survivors for documentary segments, actors for 1978 recreation (Captain Mokwena lead + patrol + Rhodesian forces). Many military extras.
  • Period: Historical — 1978. BDF and Rhodesian military uniforms, period vehicles, period weapons. Full military recreation.
  • Special reqs: BDF cooperation is non-negotiable. Weapons blanks + pyrotechnics. Survivor interviews (sensitive documentary). Military uniforms (1970s era). Battle choreography.
  • VFX: AI editor handles: period grade, muzzle flash, dust/smoke, archive footage integration. Battle recreation needs practical coordination.
UB / Ministry synergies
Botswana Defence Force — essential partner, the entire project depends on military cooperation and access to survivors. Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security — institutional backing. UB History Department — Lesoma research. Botswana National Archives — period documentation. Ministry of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs — national memorial alignment. Should screen annually on Heroes' Day as stated in the treatment.
Micro viability
NOT VIABLE. This is a national military documentary-film. The dual structure (survivor interviews + historical recreation) demands feature length. The subject matter — honouring Lesoma fallen soldiers — deserves the full treatment. Cannot be compressed.

3. The Lion of Dimawe

Earnest Seakgosing · Chankieland Films · 943 words · Historical Epic

⚠ LIKELY AI-ASSISTED High Confidence

⚠️ Writer self-identifies as AI producer

The writer bio explicitly states: "As a New Media AI Producer and master prompter, Earnest pioneers AI-driven satire political short films, merging advanced prompting techniques, symbolic narratives, and immersive audio-visual design." The treatment uses multiple flagged AI vocabulary items ("leveraging," "pivotal," "beacon of hope," "unyielding spirit"), academic register, and stock metaphors consistent with AI-generated pitch prose.

🔍 AI Detection

Multiple AI vocabulary hits + writer self-declares AI use. The historical facts are accurate but easily AI-researched. The prose has the polished, thesis-statement-heavy cadence of AI-generated treatment writing.

AI Signals:

AI VERB: "LEVERAGING" AI ADJ: "PIVOTAL" AI ADJ: "CRUCIAL" "BEACON OF HOPE" "UNYIELDING SPIRIT" "A TESTAMENT TO" TRIPLE-NOUN PATTERNS SELF-DECLARED AI PRODUCER AI BIO LANGUAGE
AI signal — stock metaphor cascade
"a pivotal moment, a testament to adaptation, knowledge, and the unyielding spirit of a people fighting for sovereignty. It becomes a beacon of hope and resistance"
AI signal — leveraging
"Leveraging insights from Livingstone, Bakwena warriors undertake perilous journeys"
AI signal — pitch-deck closing
"ensuring authenticity while delivering a compelling, dramatic story of freedom and resilience"

Human Signals (limited):

ACCURATE HISTORICAL FACTS CHANKIELAND FILMS REAL FILMMAKER BIO
Full reasoning
The writer explicitly identifies as an "AI film producer and master prompter" in their bio — this is not hidden. The treatment reads like a well-crafted AI prompt result: historically accurate (Kgosi Sechele I, Livingstone, Pretorius, Battle of Dimawe 1852, Kolobeng — all verifiable), but wrapping those facts in classic AI vocabulary ("leveraging," "pivotal," "beacon of hope," "unyielding spirit," triple-noun patterns). The character descriptions follow the AI template (age range + 3 adjectives + role explanation). Zero Setswana dialogue, zero rough edges, zero typos. The historical accuracy doesn't prove human authorship — these are well-documented facts AI handles easily. The core story concept is genuinely important (Sechele's victory at Dimawe is a foundational Botswana story), but the treatment text is almost certainly AI-generated with human editorial oversight.

🎬 Production Complexity

9.0 / 10
FEATURE FILM 90-120 min · Cannot be less
1852 HISTORICAL PERIOD LARGE-SCALE BATTLE 100+ COSTUMED EXTRAS HORSES + CANNON INTERNATIONAL CASTING 4 LEADS + ARMIES
  • Locations: Kolobeng mission station (Medium — set build), Dimawe Hill near Molepolole (Medium — national monument, permits), Boer camp (set build), battle terrain (large open area)
  • Cast: Kgosi Sechele I (lead), David Livingstone (international casting needed), Andries Pretorius (Afrikaner casting), Mokgothu (elder). 50-100+ warrior extras, 50+ Boer commando extras.
  • Period: Historical — 1847-1852. Full 19th century reconstruction. Bakwena warrior costumes, European missionary clothing, Boer Voortrekker costumes, period firearms (rifles + cannon), horses for Boer cavalry.
  • Special reqs: Large-scale battle choreography, cannon prop + firing FX, rifle blanks, horse wranglers, period weapons master, historical advisor, pyrotechnics, Dimawe Hill preparation
  • VFX: AI editor handles: crowd multiplication for battle, cannon/rifle muzzle flash, smoke/dust, period colour grade. But: battle needs practical coordination. Cannot be VFX-only.
UB / Ministry synergies
UB History Department — Battle of Dimawe is well-documented in Botswana historiography. Botswana National Museum — period costume, artifacts. Dept of National Heritage — Dimawe Hill is a national monument. Ministry of Youth, Gender, Culture and Sport. Ministry of Defence — military extras support. Livingstone Memorial at Kolobeng — location access. This is potentially a national prestige production comparable to Shaka Zulu — but requires feature-film-level funding and international co-production.
Micro viability
ABSOLUTELY NOT VIABLE. This is an 1852 historical battle epic with period armies, cavalry, cannon, and two cultures clashing. The three-act structure (gathering storm → arming → battle) demands feature length. Even as a short film, the costume and battle requirements remain the same.

Summary

Treatment AI Verdict Complexity Format Micro? Key Blocker
Dystopia: The Last Water Day
Nthebe Peloewetse		 POSSIBLY ASSISTED 4.5 SHORT FILM ✓ Yes AI bio needs rewrite. Water depot set.
The Echoes of Lesoma
Kesebonye Seabelo		 ✓ HUMAN 8.5 DOCU-FILM ✗ No BDF cooperation. 1978 military recreation. Remote Lesoma.
The Lion of Dimawe
Earnest Seakgosing		 ⚠ LIKELY AI 9.0 FEATURE ✗ No 1852 battle epic. 100+ costumed extras. Horses + cannon. International casting. Full rewrite needed.