Free Entry AI Film Contests

Rome AI Festival (RAIF) 2026 — 3rd Edition

Rome AI Festival by VIA (Festival Director Riccardo Vincenzi)

Third edition of Rome's generative-AI film and photography festival, screening at Cinema Adriano on September 19, 2026. Short films up to 20 minutes that use generative AI as a significant creative component compete for awards including Best AI Narrative Short, Documentary, Experimental, Animation, Music Video, Branded Content and Best Italian AI.

AI Video Contest 2026: Win $10,000 With Your AI Short Film

Pippit AI

Enter the 2026 AI storytelling contest to showcase your amazing short films! Create cinematic stories with Pippit's advanced video generator and win up to $10,000. The contest focuses on narrative cohesion and requires at least 70% of the footage to be generated natively on the platform.

Busan International AI Film Festival (BIAIF) 2026

Busan Cinema Center

Third edition of Busan's AI film festival, hosted by the Busan Cinema Center, screening films that use AI partially or fully in the creative process. Every selected film receives a USD 1,000 screening grant and the audience-voted favourite earns an additional USD 3,000.

AI International Film Festival — Hollywood

AI International Film Festival (est. 2021)

The world's first AI film festival, running monthly in Hollywood since 2021 and judged blind by its jury. The next edition screens at the Los Angeles Performing Arts Conservatory, with a regular deadline of 21 September 2026 and 53 categories across AI shorts, features, hybrid and live-action work.

AI Song Contest 2026 — Bangkok

AI Song Contest

The original international AI music competition returns for its 2026 edition — Eurovision-style, but every song is co-created with AI. Winners fly to Bangkok on Nov 29 for the live Award Show and take home $1,000 cash plus global recognition. Submissions close Sept 27, 2026 — the deadline that put AI songwriting on the world map.

WAIMF — World AI Movie Festival 2026 (Marbella)

FILM6

Inaugural edition of the World AI Movie Festival, a live screening and awards event for AI-generated and hybrid AI filmmaking. It runs 7–8 October 2026 at the Red Dog Cinema in Puerto Banús, Marbella, with an international jury of producers, directors and VFX professionals.

We Are Human Festival 2026 – Call for Films

We Are Human Festival

International call for original 1–10 minute audiovisual works that explore the links between artificial intelligence, audiovisual creation and human rights, illustrating or questioning Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with AI as a creative partner.[1][3][4] Selected films screen at the We Are Human Festival in Paris at Forum des Images and then in an international tour to cities including New York, São Paulo, Johannesburg and Geneva.[3][4] An Ethics Notebook documenting AI tools used, the human role and ethical approach is mandatory and presented with the film during the festival.[3][5]

AI International Music Video Festival 2026

The AI Project (501(c)(3) nonprofit)

Monthly Hollywood music video festival spun out of the AI International Film Festival, for music videos whose visuals, animation or music are made with AI tools, plus live-action and documentary videos on AI themes. The next edition screens at the Los Angeles Performing Arts Conservatory on 14 November 2026.

CSFCCA International AI Film Festival 2026

CSFCCA

The Golden Mars Grand Prize is up for grabs in Taipei — and quarterly rounds mean your film can qualify all year. Final deadline Sept 30, with an in-person screening and industry exchange in Taipei on Nov 20. Narrative, animation, music video, commercial and experimental AI work all welcome. A rare Asia-market entry point that isn't already flooded.

We Are Human Festival – Film & AI International Open Call 2026

Film Resource Africa

The We Are Human Festival invites filmmakers to submit works that explore the intersection of humanity and AI. The festival emphasizes human creative direction in AI-generated works and offers a range of prizes for outstanding submissions. Selected films will be screened internationally.

AI Film Festival Japan (AIFJ) 2026 — Tokyo, Oct 31 – Nov 2

AI Film Festival Japan 2026 Executive Committee (AI FILM JAPAN inc.)

Asia's largest AI film festival returns to Tokyo Innovation Base for a three-day edition from October 31 to November 2, 2026, with awards for Best AI Movie, Animation, Creative, Film Score and Vocal Track plus sponsored prizes from CapCut and ElevenLabs. Films 90 seconds to 15 minutes completed on or after January 1, 2026.

On Art AI Film Festival — Warsaw

On Art Festival

Poland's flagship AI film showcase in Warsaw. New sub-section spotlights films made by AI or created with AI tools — 40 short films and 10 medium/feature entries screen at the November finale in Warsaw. Deadline is closer than you think, submissions close September 30.

Call for Films AI 2026

We Are Human Foundation

This international call invites filmmakers to explore the connections between AI and human rights through audiovisual creation. Works must incorporate human/AI hybrid creation and will be screened in Paris and other partner cities. Selected films will contribute to a collective reflection on the future of our societies.

Runway AI Film Festival

Runway

The Runway AI Film Festival showcases innovative films that utilize AI tools in their creation. This annual festival features a screening in New York City, providing filmmakers with significant industry exposure. Submissions are open to all genres, emphasizing creativity and the use of AI technology.

PixLight 2026

PixVerse

PixLight 2026 is an annual AI film contest seeking genre pilots and feature screenplays. The contest aims to greenlight innovative projects, with a total prize pool of $300,000. Winning projects will receive development and production support.

AIMA London 2026 – AI Movie Awards London

AIMA in collaboration with JD Media

AIMA jumps from Mallorca to the prestigious IET London for its first-ever UK edition — November 7–8, 2026. This edition expands AIMA beyond film into Art Image, Art Motion, Ads, and Music. Deadline October 17, 2026 — 3 months out.

AI Film & Ads Awards Bali 2026

AI Film & Ads Awards

Bali in November — the world's most prestigious AI film awards circuit lands in Indonesia. After Cannes, Venice, Dubai, and Marrakech, the AI Film & Ads Awards bring 100%-AI films and ads to Bali on November 7, 2026. Open globally. All entries must be 100% AI-generated. Winners receive official AI Film & Ads Awards laurels and join the global circuit that has positioned itself as the largest platform showcasing AI-driven storytelling and creative excellence.

Golden Dunes Dubai International Film Festival 2026

Golden Dunes Festival

Three AI categories at Dubai's newest red-carpet festival. Best AI Short, Best AI Commercial, Best AI Music Video — winners screen at the Paramount Hotel Theatre in Dubai. Red-carpet Opening Ceremony on November 29.

DAIFF — Disrupt AI Film Festival by TBWA

TBWA\Australia

Australia's biggest GenAI film festival is BACK — and submissions are open right now. TBWA's DAIFF returns for its 2nd edition, closing October 16, 2026, with a Melbourne Gala screening on November 18 (Sydney encore to follow). Backed by Google, Leonardo.AI, BMW and RMIT/Swinburne/AFTRS. Theme: 'Humans and Their Tools' — human-in-the-loop storytelling where AI is co-creator, not competitor. Free to enter.

AI Cinema Festival Canada — Ottawa 2026

AI Cinema Festival

A bilingual Ottawa festival for hybrid human+AI and fully AI-generated cinema, screening November 13–15, 2026 with awards across five tracks.

2026 AI Horror Film Competition — Curious Refuge

Curious Refuge + partner

The AI Horror Film Competition returns for its 4th year — the biggest cash pool yet, and the deadline is closer than you think. Halloween-week screening, community judged, and past winners have used it as a launchpad into Curious Refuge features. Fully AI, hybrid, whatever haunts you — bring it.

African AI Film Festival 2026

African AI Film Festival

Free to enter if you're based in Africa — and the winners screen in Hollywood on Nov 21 and Kampala on Dec 12. The first festival built specifically for African and diaspora filmmakers working with AI, with Runway and Adobe credits for winners plus access to industry mentors and pitch sessions. Late deadline Oct 20.

AI Film Awards Brasil 2026

KM Universe

Brazil's first-ever AI film awards — and the deadline is in 2 days. Free entry for Brazilian filmmakers, screening at Itaú Cultural in São Paulo Sept 24–26. Films must be developed entirely with generative AI. If you have a finished AI short sitting on your drive, this is the cheapest shot at a national premiere you'll get this year.

I'Mpossible Film Festival 2026 — The Unfilmable Edition

I'Mpossible Film Festival (Festival Director Nima Pour, London)

New online festival for human-led AI cinema: films that use AI to bring memory, history, exile, censorship or otherwise unfilmable stories to the screen. Six categories from AI microfilm to documentary reconstruction, with winners announced online on December 12, 2026.

OpenCV AI Competition 2026

Open Source Vision Foundation (OpenCV)

This global competition invites developers to create applications using image or video analysis to solve real-world problems. Prizes total $12,000, with $5,000 for first place. The competition runs from August 26 to October 26, 2026.

Korea AI Cinema Festival (KACF)

KACF Organizing Committee

Your AI film doesn't just get a laurel — it gets a real cinema screen. KACF put 110 AI-generated films in front of a live audience at Seoul's historic Chungmuro cinema district last year, more theatrical AI screenings than any other festival in Korea. Categories span AI Film, AI Music Video, AI Movie Director, Animation, Commercial, Trailer, Poster, and Screenwriter. Deadline October 31.

HKBU Future Film Fest 2026 (3F) – AI Shorts Category

School of Creative Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University

The HKBU Future Film Fest 2026 invites filmmakers aged 30 and under to submit AI-driven shorts. The competition emphasizes the use of generative AI as the core mechanism, with a total prize pool of $66,000. Winning films will be showcased at the festival in Hong Kong.

HKBU Future Film Fest 2026 (3F)

School of Creative Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University

$66,000 total prize pool at Hong Kong's newest AI-native film festival. Built on the legacy of the Global University Film Awards — the 'University Oscars' — 3F 2026 now includes an AI Shorts category worth USD 5,000 for Best AI Short plus USD 3,000 Jury Recommendation. Open to filmmakers 30 and under from any recognized post-secondary institution worldwide. Works must use generative AI as the core mechanism; live-action not substantially transformed by AI is prohibited.

TAIFF — Türkiye International AI Film Festival (3rd Edition)

Türkiye International AI Film Festival

Türkiye's flagship AI film festival returns to Istanbul's Atatürk Cultural Center for a 3rd edition — 2,000+ submissions from 100+ countries so far. Grand Prize for Best AI Film plus new craft awards for AI Director, Cinematographer, Editor, Composer, VFX and more. Free FilmFreeway submission. Deadline Nov 1, 2026; screening at Yeşilçam Cinema Dec 7–9, 2026.

Türkiye International AI Film Festival (T-AIFF) 2026 — 3rd Edition

Türkiye International AI Film Festival

2,000+ submissions from over 100 countries and still growing — T-AIFF's 3rd edition judges AI films across the whole production stack, with awards for Best AI Director, Cinematographer, Editing, Sound Design, Music, VFX, Animation and Documentary. All submission-fee revenue is redistributed back to filmmakers as prize money. Deadline Nov 1, screenings at Istanbul's historic Yeşilçam Cinema Dec 7–9.

AI for the Future Festival — COP31 Edition 2026

AI for the Future — curator Lisa Russell

The fourth and final 2026 category of a festival that screens AI work inside United Nations convenings rather than a cinema. This round is aligned to COP31 and wants climate storytelling: resilience, ecological futures, biodiversity and just transitions. Film, photography, music and script all accepted. Deadline Nov 30, awards event Dec 15.

AI ZONE International AI Film Festival 2026

AI ZONE

Global online film festival dedicated exclusively to AI-generated cinema, now in its 2nd edition. Regular deadline 30 November 2026, with the festival on 15 January 2027; a $500 Grand Prize goes to a selected film that agrees to non-exclusive publication on the AI Zone platform.

2026 AI Holiday Film Competition — Curious Refuge x Epidemic Sound

Curious Refuge x Epidemic Sound

The largest prize pool ever for a fully AI-generated holiday short — Epidemic Sound and Curious Refuge return with $7,500+ in cash for winners. Warm, weird, or wildly cinematic — make something people rewatch every December. Deadline December 6.

AI Slop Film Festival 2027 (Season 2)

AI Slop Film Festival

Toronto-area festival that treats AI as a creative force in all its moods, welcoming polished AI films, hybrid productions, meme edits and deliberately chaotic experiments alike. Season 2 screens at Rumiversal Studio in Markham on 23 January 2027.

LAAIMPA — Los Angeles AI Motion Pictures Awards

LAAIMPA

Free entry, rolling monthly submissions — and every winner gets flown to Beverly Hills for the year-end ceremony. Submit by the 20th of any month, nominees announced the 28th, winners on the last day. Culminates in an exclusive in-person gala in Beverly Hills at the end of 2026. One of the only major AI film awards with a monthly winners cycle.

Artiver AI Art Awards 2026

Artiver (New York)

Winners get a Times Square billboard showcase and a New York physical exhibition — one of the only AI programs with high-visibility public exhibition prizes. Four fields open: Film & Video, Image & Visual Art, Spatial & Architecture, and Interactive Media. Cash prizes and monetization opportunities on the Artiver platform.

AI Film Awards Las Vegas

AI Film Awards

The AI Film Awards franchise expands to Las Vegas — designed to elevate and celebrate cinematic work created with AI in one of the world's most iconic entertainment destinations. Submissions via FilmFreeway. Positions your AI film in a Vegas-branded awards circuit that already runs in Bali and Cannes.

Runway Hundred Film Fund

Runway

Rolling grant fund offering $5K–$1M+ per project plus up to $2M in Runway credits. Decisions within ~14 days.

Higgsfield: Make Your Action Scene Contest

Higgsfield

Higgsfield's follow-up to its record-breaking $500K AI film contest (8,800 entries, 139 countries). Build a world, pick your hero, raise the stakes — create an action scene that makes people wish your film was real. Free entry, cash prizes, and featured spots for winners across Higgsfield's global creator channels.

Chroma Awards — Season 2

ElevenLabs, Google Cloud, Fal, Freepik, Dreamina, CapCut

Season 2 of the global AI competition across Film, Music, and Games. This competition celebrates creativity in AI-driven projects and includes a selective program featuring top AI film directors worldwide.

AI Film Fest Monaco 2026

AI Film Fest Monaco

Global AI film festival requiring AI-generated content for short films. Screens at festival in Monaco.

NeoCinema AI Film Festival — The Statuette for Algorithmic Art

NeoCinema

A new statuette enters the AI film circuit. NeoCinema awards a custom-fabricated trophy plus dedicated winner profiles across festival channels — three categories cover AI music videos, microshorts under 3 min, and hybrid live-action/AI films. Built for filmmakers who want their algorithmic work taken seriously.

Hollywood AI Short Film Awards (HASFA) 2027

Hollywood AI Short Film Awards

Second season of the Hollywood AI Short Film Awards, honouring films that make meaningful creative use of AI across development, production, post, animation, visual design and audio. The 2027 ceremony runs during Super Bowl Weekend at the London West Hollywood Screening Room on 13 February 2027.

WAIFF Los Angeles 2026 — World AI Film Festival USA

World AI Film Festival (WAIFF) / Institut EuropIA

Hollywood's biggest AI cinema moment of 2026. The U.S. edition of the World AI Film Festival lands in LA October 10–11, and the top five films advance to the WAIFF Cannes 2027 Grand Finale at the Palais des Festivals. Nine categories — Live Action Short, Feature, Animated, Doc, Vertical/Mobile, Music Video, Ad, AR/VR/XR, Gaming. Submit before the LA cut-off and your film could be on a Cannes red carpet next May.

World AI Film Festival — Los Angeles 2026

Institut EuropIA / WAIFF

The US edition of the World AI Film Festival hits LA October 10-11 — and the top 5 films advance straight to the WAIFF Cannes 2027 Grand Finale at the Palais des Festivals. Nine categories (Live Action Short, Feature, Animated, Doc, Vertical, Music Video, Ad, AR/VR/XR, Gaming) means almost any AI film fits. This is your Cannes pipeline.

Expo AI Film Festival Dubai 2027

Expo City Dubai / Dubai Film & TV Commission

Dubai's official government-backed AI film festival, hosted at the Expo City venue. Best AI Short Film category accepting films under 10 minutes built with AI tools across script, image, video, or sound. Earlybird May 14, final deadline January 21, 2027, event March 2027.

Ai Film Festival — IMDb-Qualifying Screening 2027

Ai Film Festival

IMDb-qualifying AI festival run by LundinStudio with staged monthly cutoffs (Oct 15, Nov 19, Dec 17 and a final deadline of 21 January 2027) leading to a screening event on 18-19 March 2027. Best AI Short Film requires an original script with AI-generated shots in every scene, 1-10 minutes including credits.

AI Cinema Festival Québec City 2027

AI Cinema Festival

Québec City opens submissions for the first-ever regional AI cinema festival — a three-day event Feb 19–21, 2027, judged on point of view, image, sound, editing, story, consent, responsibility and emotional impact. Hybrid human + AI or fully AI-generated works both welcome. Deadline: Jan 24, 2027.

AI CINEMA — Festival of AI Filmmaking, Montréal 2027

AI Cinema Festival

Montréal joins the AI cinema circuit — one intense day of screenings and awards March 5, 2027. Six award groups celebrate work made with AI as a meaningful creative force: generation, direction, animation, sound, or post. Pure live-action need not apply. Decisions by Feb 15, 2027. Submissions open on FilmFreeway now — deadline Feb 5, 2027.

World Film Festival in Cannes — Remember the Future (Best AI Film 2027)

World Film Festival in Cannes — Remember the Future

The first festival in the world to establish a "Best Artificial Intelligence Film" category — back in 2020. Submissions are accepted year-round; entries received by March 30, 2027 qualify for the prestigious Annual Gala in Cannes at the Pullman Cannes Mandelieu.

PROMPT Festival 2027 — Toronto

PROMPT Festival

Toronto's AI-native cinema festival, back after an inaugural 2026 season at the Black Box in Scarborough. It accepts anything where AI touched the pipeline, in any genre, and runs ten rolling deadlines instead of one cliff. Fifteen award categories, including the signature Best Prompt. Final deadline, 'Last Frame', is Apr 16 2027.

Seoul International AI Film Festival (SIAFF) 2027 — 6th Edition

Seoul International AI Film Festival

Sixth edition of Seoul's AI film festival, with an awards ceremony, screening and gala on 30 May 2027 at the enTravel Cultural Complex in Gangnam, followed by a director–audience talk on 31 May. Around eighteen award categories cover AI film, music video, animation, screenplay, sound design and visual effects.

Cannes Film Awards 2027 — New AI Category

Cannes Film Awards

Cannes Film Awards just opened dedicated categories for AI films, VR, games, and 360° video for the very first time. Event date: June 26, 2027 on the Riviera. $1K+ cash and $25K+ in promotional/partner awards on the line. If you want a Cannes credit on an AI short, this is the cleanest entry point on the calendar.

AI Cinema Festival NYC — July 2027

AI Cinema Festival

New York City gets its own AI cinema festival — three days of screenings, conversations and awards July 16–18, 2027. Grand Prix NYC, Best Human + AI Direction, Best AI Cinematography, Responsible AI Cinema Award and Audience Signal Award on the table. Not a prompt contest — a film culture event for directors, editors, actors, writers and technologists who care about story and consent. Deadline: June 20, 2027.

Atlanta AI Ad Fest — AIAF 2026

Atlanta AI Ad Fest (AIAF)

A brand-new festival built for the ad world at the exact moment AI is rewriting it — the inaugural Atlanta AI Ad Fest launches November 21 with a live vote for Best of Festival. Entry is FREE, $2,500 cash on the table, and every finalist gets screened in front of Atlanta agency talent. If you make AI-driven ad, brand, or commissioned work, this is your ground-floor moment.

Bengaluru International Short Film Festival — AI Film Category (17th Edition)

Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF)

India's only Oscar-qualifying short film festival runs a dedicated "Machine Made Movies" AI Film competition section alongside its International and Indian programs.