EXCLUSIVE: Joe Mantegna‘s The Friendly has become the first feature film to be adapted as a vertical video using interactive studio app HighFive.

The indie pic, which was first distributed in 2024, has been converted using what Highfiv creators Jason Strickman and Kumbáli Satori describe as a creative tool for filmmakers that has a “Swiss army knife of AI features.” The pic was made made available on Tubi and Prime Video as a transactional download on February 1 before being converted.

Criminal Minds and The Simpsons actor Mantegna starred in the film alongside Jessie Borrego, Casey Deidrick, Elpidia Carrillo and Daniela Nieves. Strickland was the director. Billed as a romantic drama and based on a true story, it deals with PTSD, mental health and a dog that saves the day.

“It was a pleasure working with director Jason Strickland and the wonderful cast and crew on The Friendly,” said Mantegna. The film’s mission to raise awareness and support for our U.S. military is something near and dear to me.”

HighFive is billed as the first interactive vertical video studio built for phones and handheld devices. in effect, it allows features to be repurposed for the microdrama viewer, but also also for them to switch into a wider format. The app has debuted a horror-themed season, ParanorMALL, as a showcase of the tech, which was first unveiled nearly three months ago.

Strickland and Satori claim the app can create vertical and immersive experiences that save up to 65% of movie budgets.

Strickland was a child actor in Blosom and The Secret Life of Alex Mack before becoming a producer and director. His In The Light Productions worked with Satori’s HigherKey to devlop the conversion system. “Technology may shape the future of filmmaking, but human emotion will always be the heart of it,” he said.

Satori engineered HigherKey’s proprietary computing and intelligence platform, which the company says can restore legacy films to true 4K resolution and intelligently reconstruct composition, motion, and narrative focus. Strickland suggested the tech was expanded to fully transform movies into vertical format.

“We are creating technology that allows creatives to be creative,” he Satori.