Chroma Awards Season 2: 51 Categories, Season 1 Winners and How to Prepare Before It Opens

Season 2 has six divisions (Film, Advertising, Music Video, Song, Game and Behind-the-Scenes) and 51 named categories, up from Film, Music Video and Games in Season 1. Season 1 drew more than 6,500 submissions, paid over $175,000 in cash plus more than $1,000,000 in tool credits, and named over 300 winners and finalists. If you see a page claiming Season 2 already has a $175,000 pool and a December 31 deadline, it is quoting Season 1. This page covers what is confirmed, who won last time, and what to make now so you can enter in the first week.

What the Chroma Awards are

The Chroma Awards are an AI film, music video and games competition incubated by ElevenLabs. The official site says the competition was founded in 2023 as Project Odyssey and calls itself the world's largest AI film and media competition. Across all seasons it reports 6,500+ submissions, 5,500+ participants, 300+ winners and finalists, and $2M of credits plus $300K in cash given away. The site lists Google, CapCut, Dreamina, Freepik, fal, Kling, a16z, Luma, Adobe and Hailuo among its backers.

Its stated mission matters for how you enter. The site promises to "showcase best-in-class content; not slop" and to "respect likeness, IP, and copyright." A film built on a real actor's face, a famous character or a copyrighted song is working against the competition's own rules of taste, whatever the final Season 2 rulebook says.

Season 2 categories, division by division

The Season 2 category list on chromaawards.com, checked October 7, 2026:

Film (14 categories): Action and Adventure, Animation and Anime, Comedy and Mockumentary, Documentary and Non-Fiction, Drama, Experimental, Family Friendly, Fantasy, Horror and Thriller, Micro-Drama Series, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Form and Social, and Trailers.

Advertising (14 categories): Alcohol, Automotive, Banking, Beverage, Education, Fashion, Food, Finance, Non-Profit, Open Format, Sports, Telecom, Toys and Travel.

Music Video (11 categories): Asia Pop; Children and Family; Country, Blues and Folk; Electronic and EDM; Experimental; Hip-Hop and Rap; Latin, Reggaeton and Afrobeats; Musical Comedy; Pop and Indie; R&B, Soul, Funk and Jazz; and Rock, Metal and Alternative.

Song (2 categories): Original Tracks and Remixes.

Game (5 categories): Chess-Based, Interactive Narrative, Music and Rhythm, Mobile, and Open Format.

Behind-the-Scenes (5 categories): one for each of the other five divisions.

What changed from Season 1

Season 1 ran 13 film categories, and several were merged pairs: Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Drama and Romance, and a single Marketing and Advertisement category. Season 2 splits those pairs into separate categories and adds Family Friendly. The biggest change is advertising. One Season 1 category has become a full division with 14 industry categories, so a spec ad for a car, a beer or a bank now competes only against other ads in that industry.

Music changed too. Season 1 had six music video categories; Season 2 has 11, plus a new Song division for audio-only original tracks and remixes. That suits anyone composing with Suno or ElevenLabs Music who never wanted to cut a video for it.

More categories means thinner fields. Season 1 spread 6,500 entries across its divisions. Unless Season 2 grows just as fast, the average category will be less crowded, and a niche lane such as Toys or Country, Blues and Folk may draw far fewer entries than Drama.

Season 1 in numbers

Season 1 closed on November 3, 2025 at 11:45pm Pacific, according to No Film School's launch coverage, and winners were announced in a livestream on December 7, 2025. Projects had to be created after February 1, 2025. Each project went into one category, but there was no cap on how many projects one person could submit. No Film School reported that the jury looked for emotional resonance, thematic adherence, demonstrated creativity, high production value and sound design. Season 1 was presented by Google Cloud, Freepik, fal, Dreamina AI and CapCut.

Per Wonder Studios, Season 1 received 6,500 entries across Film, Music Video and Games, paid over $175,000 in cash plus over $1 million in tool credits, and had 13 film categories. Wonder Studios and ElevenLabs then screened 11 winning films for more than 200 people in Mayfair, London on March 9, 2026. Deadline also covered a Chroma Awards cinema screening in February 2026 and asked how AI films hold up on a big screen.

Who won Season 1

The official winners gallery at watch.chromaawards.com lists first, second and third place in every category. First place in each film category:

Action and Adventure: Kill The Rabbit by Junky Cream. Animation and Anime: The Ice by BLUELABS. Comedy and Mockumentary: Garden of Kin by WAI Studio. Documentary, Historical and True Crime: Railbound by Jonathan Perry, Mike Brodie and Alex Naghavi. Drama and Romance: The Decisive Moment: Midnight Drop by OneDay Studios, Samir Mallal and Bouha Kazmi. Experimental and Open Format: Humans: Playtime by Holden Boyles. Horror and Thriller: AMRIT by XSNRG / The Indie Photographs. Marketing and Advertisement: Arthur The Alien by Dolsten & Co. Micro-Dramas: Remember Me by Loïc Ramboanasolo. Sci-Fi and Fantasy: The Twin Earth by Jacopo Zanetti. Short Form and Social: Caught At Work by Visionaist. TV and Film Trailer: DRIFT SPLIT by The Butcher's Brain. Behind-the-Scenes: Oopsy! Behind the Scenes by Sijin Liu, Ruby Nian, Melody Shih and Artela.

In music video, first places went to Amendment Party (Boom Boom Fly) by Matt Zien / KNGMKR for Musical Comedy, Crush by Indira Paganotto for Electronic and EDM, Sakura Gansha for Experimental, The Star Shepherd for Pop and Asia Pop, Freedom by Mike Bennion for Rock, Country and Metal, and Brazy's Venom Moon by Junky Cream for Hip-Hop, Rap and Reggaeton.

Sponsor awards are a second shot at the same film

Season 1 also ran awards named for each partner, in title, gold and silver tiers. The title sponsor awards were ElevenLabs, Google Cloud, fal, Freepik, Dreamina AI and CapCut. Gold sponsors included Kling AI, LTX Studio, OpenArt, ImagineArt, Nebius, Fairground and Bolt. Silver sponsors included Luma AI, Hailuo AI, Magnific, Sync.so and Machine Cinema. There were also community partner awards and a University award, which Station-0 by Rowdy Stephens won.

The winners list shows the same films placing twice. Railbound took first in Documentary and first for the Google Cloud award. The Ice won Animation and Anime and placed third for Freepik. The Twin Earth won Sci-Fi and Fantasy and placed third for Kling AI. Mr. A List placed second in Comedy and won the Mago Studio award. Before Mount Rushmore: The Story of Spotted Tail placed second in Documentary and won the Dreamina AI award.

Two teams went further. Junky Cream won three first places: Action and Adventure, Hip-Hop music video and the Hailuo AI award. Sijin Liu and Ruby Nian won first in Behind-the-Scenes, first for OpenArt with Oopsy!, and first in Experimental music video as part of the Sakura Gansha team. The lesson: one strong project, documented well, can compete in a category, a sponsor award and the Behind-the-Scenes division. When the Season 2 rules publish, check whether each sponsor award requires you to use that partner's tool, because that decides which ones your film can enter.

Who judges

The official site lists previous judges rather than a Season 2 jury. The names include Henry Daubrez (Google Labs), Walter Woodman (Shy Kids), Jon Finger (Luma AI), MJ Caballero (FilmNation), Phil Quist (CAA), Craig Kallman (Atlantic Records), PJ Accetturo (Genre.ai), Claire Silver, Matt Wolfe (Future Tools), Purz (Comfy.org) and Jourdan Aldredge (No Film School). That mix of working AI directors, studio and agency people, and record-label executives explains why Season 1 rewarded finished craft over technical demos. A judge from CAA or FilmNation is watching for a story that could go somewhere next, not for a clever prompt.

How to prepare before Season 2 opens

Pick your lane now. Read the 51 categories and choose the one your film fits best, then a second category for a different project. In Season 1 each project went into one category, so a horror short and a spec ad are two separate entries, not one entry filed twice.

Make the behind-the-scenes cut while you work. Season 2 has a Behind-the-Scenes category for every division, and Season 1's winners show it pays. Record your screen, save prompt iterations and keep before-and-after frames as you go. Rebuilding that material after the film is finished is much harder.

Keep a tool log. Write down every tool you use for image, video, voice, music and editing: Runway, Kling, Veo, Sora, Seedance, Hailuo, Luma, Midjourney, ElevenLabs, Suno. Sponsor awards and disclosure rules both depend on it.

Clear your audio and likeness. Use voices you generated or have rights to, original music and characters you invented. The competition's own mission statement asks entrants to respect likeness, IP and copyright.

Watch the date window. Season 1 accepted only work created after February 1, 2025. If Season 2 sets a similar cut-off, older films may not qualify, so check it on launch day before you build a plan around a film you already have.

Free cash contests you can enter before Chroma opens

You do not have to sit on a finished film while you wait. Our database lists free contests with cash prizes that are open now. PixLight 2026, run by PixVerse, closes October 31 with a $300,000 pool, but PixVerse has to be your main platform. Curious Refuge's holiday competition with Epidemic Sound closes December 6 with $7,500+ in prizes. The Gossip Goblin x Showrunner competition closes December 15 with a $20,000 pool, for films made in Showrunner Studio. The Vigloo Short Drama Festival closes October 11 with a $20,000 fund for vertical micro-dramas, which could also go to Chroma's Micro-Drama Series category later. Most AI contests do not require premiere status, so entering these first should not cost you a Chroma entry. Check each rulebook anyway.

We will update the Chroma Awards listing in our directory once Season 2's deadline and prizes are published. Subscribe below and we will email you when it opens.