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AI Filmfest Athens 2026 · Guide

How to win AI Filmfest Athens.Myths Meet Machine. Fifteen minutes. €1,000 per prize.

AI Filmfest Athens 2026 centers on a clear creative challenge: films must be entirely AI-generated in both image and sound. Submissions compete for four distinct cash prizes, with the late deadline confirmed by multiple sources as 15 October 2026. Creators can take their project from initial screenplay all the way to finished footage inside 熙熙's integrated workflow.
Start writing for freeSee the scene
  • Late entries until 15 October 2026
  • Fully AI image and sound
  • Four prizes of €1,000
Lost Garden · Episode 1

Independent guide. 熙熙 does not organise AI Filmfest Athens and is not affiliated with it. Listing details read on 1 October 2026 through search summaries and festival indexes, since the FilmFreeway page itself blocks automated reading. Festival listing on FilmFreeway

熙熙 offers free access to its screenwriting tools starting today, while the 年度会员 unlocks AI-generated storyboards derived directly from your screenplay text for ¥168 一年.

Also available now: video generation of each shot, powered by Seedance, on the same 年度会员, with 3,000 张额度 一年.

The rules on one card

What the Athens festival asks for.

Positioning itself as Greece's inaugural AI-dedicated film festival, AI Filmfest Athens enforces one defining eligibility requirement: submissions cannot include any traditional live-action footage and must rely on AI for both picture and sound generation.
Theme
Myths Meet Machine
Late deadline
15 October 2026, one index says 19 October
Running time
3 to 15 minutes, main competition
AI requirement
Fully AI image and sound, with an AI workflow note
Prizes
€1,000 each for four awards, plus trophies
Fee
€30 regular and late per FilmFreeway text, €45 per one index
Delivery
H.264 MP4, Full HD or better, 16:9 preferred
The festival
6 November 2026, The Ellinikon Experience Centre, Athens

Source: the festival's FilmFreeway listing as quoted in search results, cross-checked against kajimelo.com and aifilmcontests.com on 1 October 2026. FilmFreeway returns an access error to automated readers and no standalone official site was located. The deadline and the submission fee differ between sources: confirm both details at checkout before submitting

Key dates

Two weeks left to enter.

The sources agree on every date except one, and that single discrepancy determines whether you have 14 days or 18 days remaining. Read the late deadline as 15 October and interpret the 19th as the day results are announced

  1. 19 Aug 2026

    Early bird deadline

    Closed. The listing text puts the early entry fee at €20.

  2. 9 Sep 2026

    Regular deadline

    Closed. According to the listing text, the fee was €30.

  3. 15 Oct 2026

    Late deadline

    Per the FilmFreeway listing as relayed by search and by kajimelo.com. aifilmcontests.com prints 19 October as the late deadline, which the other two give as the notification date.

  4. 19 Oct 2026

    Notifications

    Entrants hear whether they are selected, eighteen days before the festival.

  5. 6 Nov 2026

    The festival

    A one-day event at The Ellinikon Experience Centre in Athens, with the awards.

The prizes

Four prizes of €1,000, and what each rewards.

The theme is Myths Meet Machine. The festival lists six awards in total, adding a Lifestyle Award paired with a 24-Hour Challenge and an honorary Pioneer or Lifetime Award. The four cash prizes are the categories worth targeting, and beneath each one is the creative angle we would pursue

  • 01

    Best AI Film

    The overall prize for a film that works as a film, with €1,000 and a trophy.

    A short film that finishes beats a long film that wanders. One myth, one want, one price, told in six minutes, can hold the whole festival’s attention.

  • 02

    Best Direction and Creative Vision

    For the clearest authorial intent, with €1,000 and a trophy.

    Direction here is a set of choices you can name: a palette, a lens, a rhythm. Write them on one page before you generate, and refuse every shot that breaks them.

  • 03

    Best Visual and Sound Achievement

    For the craft of image and sound together, €1,000 and a trophy.

    With fully AI audio required, sound is half the prize. Design a voice, an ambience and a score as carefully as the picture, and mix them so they never fight.

  • 04

    Mythos Award

    For the work that best joins legend and modern technology, €1,000 and a trophy.

    The theme made into a prize. Reach for a myth with a clear shape, such as a descent, a gift or a punishment, and put the machine inside the myth, not beside it.

From script to screen

Lost Garden: one scene, six shots.

Athens wants myth and machine in the same film. This is the Source Tree scene from Lost Garden, episode 1, an animated series made by the 熙熙 team with Seedance: a figure of roots and lilies who lifts a small knight like a lamp. The screenplay page, then each shot as a storyboard frame and as the final image.

Logline. A small knight wakes up in a dead world and learns he is the last guardian of a seed that could bring the garden back.

Screenplay · episode 1 · the Source Tree

INT. HEART OF THE ROOTS - NIGHT

Living roots coil around LANTERN's frame and pin him down against the ground. A voice interrupts and stops them

THE SOURCE TREE

Stop. He is my guest.

A towering guardian formed of interwoven roots and cascading white lilies extends her arms in welcome above the stone cavern, her presence both ancient and gentle.

Her eyes open. Blue, and vast.

THE SOURCE TREE

Welcome to you, Lantern Knight.

She lifts him in her palm, like a lamp.

THE SOURCE TREE

Do not be afraid. I will not harm you.

In the dark, a seed of light opens. Inside the flower, a sleeping child.

THE SOURCE TREE

You must find yours. Protect her.

CUT TO:

  1. A small lantern-helmed knight bound by thick roots in a ruined hall
    Storyboard frame of the trap shot, in grey
    01

    Medium · the trap

    Medium shot, Lantern bound by thick living roots in a ruined hall, glowing blue mushrooms on the floor, cold light

  2. A giant woman made of roots and white lilies spreads her many arms in a dark cavern
    Storyboard frame of the wide shot, in grey
    02

    Wide · the Source Tree

    Symmetrical wide shot, a giant woman made of roots, arms spread with many hands, white lilies, blue glyphs

  3. Extreme close-up of a giant pale face with piercing blue eyes
    Storyboard frame of the eyes close-up, in grey
    03

    Extreme close-up · the eyes

    Extreme close-up on the giant's face, piercing blue eyes opening, pale skin, soft light from below

  4. A tiny armored knight stands in the middle of a giant open hand
    Storyboard frame of the palm shot, in grey
    04

    High angle · the palm

    High angle, the tiny knight standing in the center of a giant open palm, stone floor far below

  5. A giant fingertip gently touches the chest of a small armored knight
    Storyboard frame of the touch close-up, in grey
    05

    Close-up · the touch

    Close-up, a giant fingertip gently touches the knight's armored chest, faceless helm, emotion through posture

  6. A sleeping pink-haired child curled inside a glowing blue flower
    Storyboard frame of the seed insert, in grey
    06

    Insert · the seed

    Top-down insert, a glowing pale blue flower opening, a sleeping child with pink hair curled inside

Lost Garden, episode 1 spans 17 minutes in total runtime, which would require trimming to meet the 15 minute ceiling imposed by the competition. The episode demonstrates the core elements the Mythos Award seeks: a mythic guardian figure, a ceremonial exchange between characters, and an environment sculpted entirely through lighting and visual atmosphere. Episode 1 earned finalist recognition at the AI London Festival. Within the narrative, the player character arrives at the Source Tree at approximately 7 minutes 35 seconds into the episode.

The script

A 6 minute myth in four movements.

The main competition category accepts entries ranging from 3 to 15 minutes in length. A six-minute runtime offers a sweet spot: substantial enough to unfold a complete mythic narrative arc, yet compact enough to produce within a two-week production window. In practical terms, that translates to roughly 6 pages of screenplay and between 45 to 70 individual shots, each holding for 5 to 8 seconds on screen.

  1. 0:00 to 0:40

    The invocation

    A voice or an image that opens the myth. Say once what will be lost.

  2. 0:40 to 2:30

    The offence

    Someone takes what they should not, or refuses what they should. The world answers.

  3. 2:30 to 5:00

    The trial

    The price is demanded. Keep it simple: one place, one opponent, one test.

  4. 5:00 to 6:00

    The mark

    What remains afterwards: a scar, a star, a stone. One last image, then the credits.

The festival requires AI-generated audio alongside AI-generated visuals. The most effective approach is to script your sound design directly into the screenplay itself: specify which characters speak, describe the vocal qualities or tone they use, and note the ambient soundscape or environmental audio layered beneath each moment. A film that employs silence only in deliberate, purposeful beats—rather than by default—reads as intentionally crafted and thoughtfully designed.

Day by day

Fourteen days, step by step.

Fourteen days stretch from 1 October to the late deadline of 15 October, assuming that final date holds firm. That span provides enough runway to conceive, script, generate, and assemble a 3 to 6 minute film if you begin with a clear concept already in hand, but it leaves insufficient margin to complete a full 15 minute entry from scratch.
  1. 01

    1 to 3 October

    A myth and a logline

    Pick one myth, or invent one with a clear shape. Write three loglines. Choose the one that puts a machine, an algorithm or an AI inside the legend.

  2. 02

    4 to 6 October

    The screenplay

    Six pages, few lines. Write it free in 熙熙, in industry format, and note the sound in each scene.

  3. 03

    7 to 9 October

    Look and storyboard

    Fix one reference for each character and place. Split the screenplay into shots and correct each frame. A held look saves rerolls.

  4. 04

    10 to 12 October

    The footage

    Generate scene by scene with Seedance in 熙熙, or with any other tool you prefer. No tool is imposed. Keep every prompt.

  5. 05

    13 and 14 October

    Edit, sound and workflow note

    Cut, mix the AI audio and write the short AI workflow note the festival requires. Export H.264 MP4 at Full HD or better and an accepted frame rate.

  6. 06

    15 October

    Check and submit

    Open the festival’s FilmFreeway page and read the deadline and fee yourself. If the deadline is the 19th, you have bonus days. Do not plan on it.

Ways to lose the entry

Eight ways to be out before the screening.

The festival's official page lives on FilmFreeway, and the requirements below come directly from that listing as it appears in search results—though you should always verify by reading the FilmFreeway page yourself before submitting.

  • Live-action footage

    The main competition asks for fully AI-generated image and sound, and no traditional live-action footage. A filmed shot, even one, breaks the condition.

  • No AI workflow note

    A short note on how AI was used is required. Write it from your prompt log: tools, versions, which scenes.

  • A licensed soundtrack

    The audio must be AI-generated too. A licensed track from a library does not fit the rule, however well it suits the picture.

  • The wrong runtime

    The main competition runs 3 to 15 minutes. The listing’s category wording differs, so confirm the length for your category before you cut.

  • A deadline taken on trust

    Sources give 15 and 19 October for different events. Treat 15 October as final and finish before it.

  • A film with no myth

    The theme is Myths Meet Machine, and one prize is named after it. A well-made film with no legend in it can still compete for Best AI Film, but is unlikely to win the Mythos Award.

  • Off-spec files

    H.264 MP4, at least 1920 by 1080 with 4K UHD preferred, at 23.976, 24, 25 or 30 frames per second, and 16:9 preferred. Check frame rate before export.

  • A fee surprise

    FilmFreeway text relayed by search gives €30 for regular and late entries, while an index lists €45 for late entry. Read the amount at checkout.

Why 熙熙

No tool imposed. A film to design.

Athens welcomes any AI tool you choose and simply asks that you describe your workflow in a short note. 熙熙 focuses on the creative layer that comes before you run those tools: it unifies your screenplay, storyboard, and footage inside one connected project, so every scene and shot stays linked to the narrative structure you're building.

  • Your workflow note, from the project

    Each shot is tied to its scene, its storyboard frame and its prompt, so the AI workflow note comes from a log and not from memory.

  • A myth needs a shape

    A screenplay and a storyboard make the four movements visible before any footage exists. You will see a missing trial before you pay for it in generations.

  • The same faces and places

    References for characters and locations carry from shot to shot, so a legend keeps its figures recognisable for six minutes.

  • Start for free today

    Start the screenplay at no cost and with no time limit on the 免费档. The 年度会员, ¥168 一年, adds the storyboard and Seedance video generation.

Real productions

International festival-recognized films have been written and produced with 熙熙.

熙熙 is already serving as the creative workspace for real AI film productions—cinematic shorts, animated series pilots, and narrative experiments—many of which have been selected, nominated, and awarded by international festivals around the world.

  • Video thumbnail for VOIDBORN

    VOIDBORN

    AI animated / cinematic short

    Festival recognition

    • 1st Place Silver

      Mondial Chroma Awards

    • 2nd Place 熙熙

      Mondial Chroma Awards

    • Award Winner

      Seoul International AI Film Festival

  • Video thumbnail for Les Fils du Vinnana

    Les Fils du Vinnana

    AI short film

    Festival recognition

    • Honorable Mention

      Top Quark Film Festival

    • People's Choice Nominee

      Illuminate Oneness of Humanity

    • Nominee

      ALTFF Supershort

  • Video thumbnail for Lost Garden

    Lost Garden

    AI animated series pilot

    Festival recognition

    • Finalist

      AI London Festival

See what creators are building

The pipeline

Write. Board. Produce.

  1. 熙熙 screenplay editor: acts, sequences and beats above the formatted script of The Yellow Umbrella

    01The screenplay, enriched

    An industry-standard screenplay editor, and more: a visual outline and beat editor, your writing inspirations (notes, photos, audio) kept next to the page, and an AI researcher to support your writing, not replace it.

  2. 熙熙 storyboard: shot S3 of The Yellow Umbrella with characters, shot settings and the script beside it

    02The storyboard, made easy

    Shot breakdown generated from your screenplay, manual control over every shot (frame, angle, movement, duration), and generative AI previsualization in one click.

  3. 熙熙 production canvas: shots S3 and S4 as connected nodes carrying their storyboard panels and prompts

    03AI production, with finesse

    Footage generation pipelines connected to your screenplay and storyboard. Optimized out of the box, fully editable workflow.

More AI film festivals

Guides for other festivals

Go further

Guides for festival films

FAQ

AI Filmfest Athens, your questions

How do you win AI Filmfest Athens? The fest
ival does not publish a jury roster or a public scoring grid in any of the sources we reviewed. It awards €1,000 each for Best AI Film, Best Direction and Creative Vision, Best Visual and Sound Achievement, and the Mythos Award. Your task is to submit a finished, fully AI-generated film with a clear mythological or mythic narra
tive thread woven through
it. What is the submission deadline? The late deadline is 15 October 2026 according to the FilmFreeway listing as relayed by search and by kajimelo.com; aifilmcontests.com lists 19 October, which other sources identify as the notification date, so you should confirm the exact cutoff on FilmFree
way before you submit. Must the film be fully
AI-generated? For the main competition, yes: both image and sound must be AI-generated, no traditional live-action footage is permitted, and you must include a short note describing your AI workflow. The listing s
tates that any AI tools are accep
ted. What is the runtime limit? 3 to 15 minutes for the main competition; because the listing's category wording varies slightly, confirm the length requi
rement for your specific category
before finalizing your edit. What will the entry fee be? FilmFreeway text relayed by search gives €20 for early bird and €30 for regular and late entries; one index lists €45 for late entry, so check
the exact amount at checkout when you submit. Does a film that
already played elsewhere qualify? Yes, according to the listing: films that have already been published online or screened at
other festivals remain eligi
ble. Where is the ceremony? On 6 November 2026 at The Ellinikon Experience Centre in Athens; notifications are due on 19 Octobe
r. What is each prize worth? €1,
000 for each of Best AI Film, Best Direction and Creative Vision, Best Visual and Sound Achievement, and the Mythos Award, plus trophies for each winner. A Pioneer or Lifetime Award is honorary and carries no cash prize, and partner tool credits may be added to certain awards.

Two weeks. Start with the page.

Write the screenplay for free today. Storyboard it, then film it with Seedance on the 年度会员.
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