BIFAN 2027 · AI movies guide

How to get into BIFAN’s AI movies.A section in its third year, call not yet open.

Bucheon Choice: AI Movies is the dedicated AI film competition within Korea's celebrated fantastic film festival BIFAN: the 2026 edition showcased 38 AI productions competing for four distinct awards, and as of now no call for entries has been announced for 2027. This guide walks you through the eligibility rules we were able to verify from official sources and press reports, the four award categories on offer, and a practical plan to prepare your AI film so you're submission-ready the moment the 2027 call opens.

Start writing for free See the scene

No 2027 call announced
Four awards in 2026
First call: films under 10 minutes

Voidborn, episode 0: a swordsman and a blindfolded woman in white walk through night ruins — Voidborn · Episode 0

Independent guide. 熙熙 does not organise BIFAN and is not affiliated with the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. Rules read on 1 October 2026, from press coverage: see the note under the fact sheet. BIFAN official site

Available today in 熙熙: free AI-powered screenwriting to develop your story, and when you're ready to visualize it a complete storyboard generated directly from your screenplay—included with the 年度会员 at ¥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 we know about BIFAN’s AI section.

BIFAN launched its AI competition strand in 2024, making it one of the earliest major festivals to dedicate a section to AI filmmaking. Because no call for the 2027 edition has been published yet, this page draws on the most recent 2026 edition and the inaugural 2024 call to give you the fullest picture available. Wherever a detail originates from press coverage rather than from the official bifan.kr domain, the corresponding card will note that source explicitly.

Last edition: 30th BIFAN, 2 to 12 July 2026, Bucheon, South Korea
2027 call: No 2027 call published at the date of reading
2026 general call: Closed 15 April 2026, free, on Eventival
Scale in 2026: 321 works from 50 countries, 38 of them AI productions
AI share, first call: AI in script, audio and video, under 10 minutes
Awards in 2026: Four: technical, new wave, audience, jury mention
Prize money: Not published for 2026
Imposed tool: None found, sponsors only

Sources: the 30th BIFAN call for entries as reproduced on asianfilmfestivals.com, and press coverage by SBS, Sports Kyunghyang, Screen Daily and Asian Movie Pulse, read on 1 October 2026. bifan.kr did not show the AI call text, so the 2026 AI rules and any 2027 dates are not verified on the official site. The 2024 rule comes from Screen Daily.

Key dates

Three editions, and a fourth to come.

BIFAN has not published a call for 2027. The three runs so far give a pattern, and <b>an early-year call is our expectation</b>, not an announcement.

2024
The first AI competition
114 submissions, 15 films selected, all under 10 minutes, with about 15 million won in prizes.
2025
Three times the submissions
More than 350 AI submissions, about a dozen films selected, and no entry fee according to the press.
15 Apr 2026
General call closes
The 30th BIFAN call closed at midnight Korean time. It was free, on Eventival. Check whether the AI section had its own window.
7 Jul 2026
AI awards ceremony
The four AI awards were given at a separate ceremony, two days before the main one on 9 July.
2027
31st BIFAN
Dates and call not announced. Watch bifan.kr and the festival’s announcements.

Where AI work goes

Four doors, and only one is a competition.

BIFAN’s AI activity is wider than one section. Here are four doors that the 2026 coverage describes, and the angle we would take through each.

01
Bucheon Choice: AI Movies
The international competition for AI cinema, launched in 2024, with the four awards listed below.
The main door for a finished short. Treat it as a fantastic film festival: one clear genre and one image nobody forgets.
02
AI Short-Form Film and Drama Screenplay Contest
An annual contest run with The Manta Story, with production pipeline support behind it.
The one door that asks for a page. A screenplay written free in 熙熙 is the natural entry if you have no footage.
03
AI Film Distribution Support Contest
A contest for completed works that want a theatrical release, with distribution through the major Korean cinema chains.
For a long short or a feature that already has a record. Arrive with a finished film and a clean delivery file.
04
Bucheon AI Contents Summit
Pitching events, demo days and creator meetups around the festival.
Where an unfinished project can be seen. Prepare a storyboard and a one-page pitch, both of which come out of a screenplay.

The 2026 winners

Four awards, four titles.

The four AI awards of 2026 went to Big Ball, Let There Be Light, Ask me anything and Prototype, announced at a separate ceremony on 7 July. Two of the awards carry a sponsor’s name.

01
The technical award goes to craft. Big Ball by Lim Ye-jun won the TimeTree Best Technical Achievement Award.
02
The New Wave award wants a new cinematic language. Let There Be Light by Takahashi Hiromu took the TapNow award, and TapNow’s company provides prize money and credits for it.
03
Audiences vote too. Ask me anything by Lee Yong-seuk won the AIMMOVIE Audience Award, given to the most popular film among those selected.
04
A jury can add a mention. Prototype by Seo Tae-gyu received the Jury’s Special Mention, an award with no named sponsor.

The craft on screen

Voidborn: six shots of technical craft.

BIFAN has a Best Technical Achievement award for AI films. This is a scene from Voidborn, episode 0, an anime made by the 熙熙 team: the screenplay page, then each shot as a storyboard frame and as the final image, so you can judge the continuity yourself.

Logline. Every seven years, the Rift opens and swallows the world’s dreams. A swordsman sworn to a blind seer escorts her through its levels, toward a promise they made to a girl left behind.

Screenplay · episode 0 · English subtitles

EXT. RUINS OF THE FIRST LEVEL - NIGHT

Broken towers under a violet sky. SIM, a swordsman in a black cloak, walks beside LADY MARIA, blindfolded, all in white.

SIM

Tell me, Maria... do you think Leia believes we are still alive?

MARIA

We made a promise... the two of us.

A line of white automatons rises from the ruins.

AUTOMATON

The Rift will wait for no one.

SIM

What are machines doing at this level?

One automaton steps forward. Its face is blank.

AUTOMATON

We must return to the surface.

Its eyes ignite red.

SIM

I am Sim, guardian of Lady Maria... and I will proceed with your execution.

Steel meets steel. Lightning runs down the blade.

CUT TO:

01
Wide · the pair
Wide shot, a bald swordsman in a black cloak and a blindfolded red-haired woman in white walk through night ruins
02
Two-shot · the promise
Medium two-shot, the swordsman and the blindfolded seer side by side, violet night sky, broken towers
03
Wide · the machines
Wide low angle, three white humanoid automatons standing in the ruins, cold blue moonlight
04
Close-up · the blank face
Close-up on an automaton's smooth faceless head, black eye slots, cables at the neck, ruins behind
05
Close-up · the red eyes
Same framing, the automaton's eyes ignite red, the swordsman's shoulder out of focus in the foreground
06
Action · the clash
Dynamic low angle, the swordsman strikes with his katana, lightning running along the blade, sparks, cape flying

Voidborn, episode 0, on YouTube — **Voidborn, episode 0** runs 13 minutes, a little above the 10 minute ceiling of BIFAN’s first AI call, so a festival cut would be shorter. It took 1st Place Silver and 2nd Place 熙熙 at the Mondial Chroma Awards and an award at the Seoul International AI Film Festival. The player starts on this sequence when you press play.

The script

An 8 minute short in four movements.

The first AI call took films under 10 minutes, and the 2026 limit is not published. Build the film to 8 minutes: 8 screenplay pages and 70 to 95 shots of 5 to 7 seconds, and lengthen it only if the rules allow.

0:00 to 0:30
A first image that sells the idea
A section made of AI films is watched by people who have seen the tricks. Open on an idea, not on a demonstration.
0:30 to 2:00
The premise at work
Show the world’s one rule in action. Strangeness is welcome at a fantastic film festival.
2:00 to 6:30
The set piece
One sequence that only this film could have. It is what a technical or a new-language award looks at.
6:30 to 8:00
A last image
End on what an audience votes for: a feeling, a joke or a shock.

Dialogue not in English needs English subtitles in the screening material, as in the 2026 general call.

Month by month

Until the call opens.

The call is not open. This plan gets you ready by March 2027, so you can submit on the first day. The 2026 general call closed in mid April, which is the best guide we have.

01
October 2026
Read the 2026 results
Look up the four winning films and the AI productions of 2026. Note lengths, genres and what each one used AI for.
02
November 2026
Screenplay
Write eight pages in the free 熙熙 editor. The screenplay contest also takes pages, so a strong script may find a second use.
03
December 2026
Storyboard
Storyboard every shot and fix the characters. Choose the one sequence that carries the film and spend your effort there.
04
January to February 2027
Generate
Footage made scene by scene with Seedance in 熙熙. Make the sound as well: the first call counted AI in sound, not only in script and picture.
05
March 2027
Finish
Cut, mix, add English subtitles if needed and export a clean file. Write a short note on how AI was used in each part.
06
When the call opens
Submit
Watch bifan.kr. The 2026 general call was free and closed in mid April. Submit as soon as the call opens, with the final cut.

Ways to miss the section

Six ways to miss a section with no published rules.

在 2027 年征片细则正式发布之前，最大的风险就是基于猜测行事。当官方开放报名通道的那一天，请务必将每一条要求与竞赛规则逐一核对，确保你的作品完全符合当年的参赛标准，而不是依赖往届的经验或未经证实的传言。

Assuming a 2027 date
No call for 2027 exists yet. The dates in this guide for 2027 are expectations. Do not plan a payment or a delivery around them.
Skipping the AI share
The first call asked for AI in script, audio and video together. A film with generated pictures and a human soundtrack could fall short of a rule like that. Read the 2027 text.
Going over the length
The first AI call took only films under 10 minutes, and the 2026 limit is not published. A 20 minute film is a risk until you see the rule.
Believing a tool is imposed
TapNow and AIMMOVIE sponsor awards, but we found no imposed generator. Use the one that suits the film, and be ready to say which.
Using the wrong door
The 2026 general call asked for at least a Korean premiere and films completed after 1 January 2025. The AI section had its own logic. Check which door your film uses.
Ignoring rights
The general call makes the filmmaker clear all content of the film from legal claims, music and stock footage included. A generated shot can imitate a logo or a face: check every frame.

Why 熙熙

BIFAN wants AI across the film. Build it that way.

BIFAN’s first AI competition asked for AI in script, sound and picture. 熙熙 covers the script and the picture in one connected project, and your own audio tools cover the sound.

The script
The screenplay is written in a free editor with industry formatting, and the 年度会员 adds the AI narrative pipeline on top of it. Say honestly which parts are yours.
The picture
Storyboard first, then footage shot by shot with Seedance. Each shot keeps the characters and locations you defined.
A technical story to tell
A technical award exists. Setting framing, angle, movement and duration shot by shot gives you something precise to say about your craft.
Free to start
The 免费档 is 免费 with no expiry. The 年度会员 costs ¥168 一年 and 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 being used as a creative workspace for real AI film productions, from cinematic shorts to animated series pilots selected, nominated, and awarded by international festivals.

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
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
Lost Garden
AI animated series pilot
Festival recognition
- Finalist
  AI London Festival

See what creators are building

The pipeline

Write. Board. Produce.

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.
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.
03AI production, with finesse
Footage generation pipelines connected to your screenplay and storyboard. Optimized out of the box, fully editable workflow.

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

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

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

Demo project · The Yellow Umbrella · Episode 1

More AI film festivals

Guides for other festivals

Go further

Guides for AI festival films

FAQ

BIFAN and AI movies, your questions

How do you get into BIFAN’s Bucheon Choice: AI Movies?

Wait for the 2027 call, then submit a finished AI short. No call is published yet. In 2024 the section took 15 films from 114 submissions, and in 2026 the festival showed 38 AI productions.

Is there a 2027 deadline?

Not yet. The 2026 general call closed on 15 April 2026 and was free. An early-year call is our expectation, not an announcement.

What are the rules for AI films?

We could not verify the 2026 AI rules on the official site. In 2024 the section took films under 10 minutes using AI in script, audio and video, and a 2025 report described works using AI in video, screenplay and sound.

Does BIFAN charge to enter?

The 2026 general call was free, and a 2025 report said the festival charged no entry fee. We found no AI-specific fee.

What were the 2026 prizes?

In 2026: the TimeTree Best Technical Achievement Award, the TapNow New Wave Award, the AIMMOVIE Audience Award and a Jury’s Special Mention. Cash amounts are not published. The 2024 prize pool was about 15 million won.

Does BIFAN impose a generator?

We found no imposed tool. TapNow and AIMMOVIE sponsor awards, and TapNow’s company provides prize money and credits for the New Wave Award.

Can a screenplay alone enter?

Not in the film competition. BIFAN runs a separate annual AI short-form film and drama screenplay contest with The Manta Story. Its 2027 details are not published.

The call is not open. The page is.

Write the screenplay free today, so your film is ready on the first day. Then storyboard it and film it with Seedance.

Start writing for free Back to the demo

How to get into BIFAN’s AI movies.A section in its third year, call not yet open.

What we know about BIFAN’s AI section.

Three editions, and a fourth to come.

The first AI competition

Three times the submissions

General call closes

AI awards ceremony

31st BIFAN

Four doors, and only one is a competition.

Bucheon Choice: AI Movies

AI Short-Form Film and Drama Screenplay Contest

AI Film Distribution Support Contest

Bucheon AI Contents Summit

Four awards, four titles.

Voidborn: six shots of technical craft.

An 8 minute short in four movements.

A first image that sells the idea

The premise at work

The set piece

A last image

Until the call opens.

Read the 2026 results

Screenplay

Storyboard

Generate

Finish

Submit

Six ways to miss a section with no published rules.

Assuming a 2027 date

Skipping the AI share

Going over the length

Believing a tool is imposed

Using the wrong door

Ignoring rights

BIFAN wants AI across the film. Build it that way.

The script

The picture

A technical story to tell

Free to start

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

VOIDBORN

Les Fils du Vinnana

Lost Garden

Write. Board. Produce.

01The screenplay, enriched

02The storyboard, made easy

03AI production, with finesse

Guides for other festivals

Guides for AI festival films

BIFAN and AI movies, your questions

The call is not open. The page is.