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World AI Cinema Festival · Guide

How to win the World AI Cinema Festival.一年ly cycle, 29 categories and a human at the center.

Submissions for 2027 are open and the calendar is rolling: finalists, nominees and winners are named every month. September 2026 alone named 29 winners. Here are the rules, the four criteria, the ethics charter and a plan to prepare a film, starting with the screenplay in 熙熙.
Start writing for freeSee the scene
  • Rolling 年度 cycles
  • 29 award categories
  • Ethics charter, disclose AI
Lost Garden · Episode 1

Independent guide. 熙熙 does not organise this festival and is not affiliated with Remember The Future Productions or the World Film Festival in Cannes. Rules read on 1 October 2026. Official festival site

Available today in 熙熙: free screenwriting, and a storyboard generated from your screenplay with the 年度会员, ¥168 一年 for 3,000 张额度.

Also live: video generation of each shot, powered by Seedance, in the same 年度会员.

The rules on one card

What the World AI Cinema Festival expects.

The World AI Cinema Festival is directly affiliated with the World Film Festival in Cannes, which Karolina Bomba founded. It is a festival of laurels and 年度 results, and it puts the filmmaker first.
Organiser
Remember The Future Productions, Cannes
Calendar
Rolling: 年度 results, one annual ceremony
How to enter
Through FilmFreeway
Fee
Set on FilmFreeway, 10% off for Gold members
AI rule
State it in the project specifications at submission
Judged on
Vision, narrative, technique, transparency
Jury
International: directors, producers, AI ethics experts
Prize
Laurels and the Luciole d'Or, no cash stated

Sources: worldaicinema.com, its September 2026 results pages, and the rules and June 2026 press release of the parent World Film Festival in Cannes, read on 1 October 2026. FilmFreeway refused to load, so fee amounts, deadlines and durations were not read.

The ethics charter

An ethics charter, in four points.

The festival does not limit AI. It asks you to show the person behind it. The charter and the rules say four things.

  • The filmmaker comes first

    The charter says the machine cannot replace the filmmaker: behind every generated shot there is a human gaze. It judges narrative power, art direction and emotion, and calls AI a tool. A film that looks like a demo of a model is off-brief.

  • Say it in the project specifications

    The parent festival's rules require that works created with AI are indicated in the project specifications on FilmFreeway at the time of submission. The AI branch shares that platform. Treat it as mandatory, and describe the role of AI in the film.

  • Consent and rights

    AI works must respect copyright and image rights. The rules give one example: you cannot have a real, known actor perform a role through their likeness without explicit consent and a signed contract. You are solely responsible, and you indemnify the festival on request.

  • Project, intention, role of AI

    The charter expects the work to reflect its creative process: the presentation of the project, the artistic intention and the role of AI. A creator who masters the tool also knows how to tell the vision. Write this note before you submit.

Key dates

A calendar with no fixed deadline.

FilmFreeway holds the cycle dates, and the page would not load. What the festival publishes is the rhythm: <b>a new result every month</b>.

  1. Rolling

    年度 competition

    Each month has finalists, nominees and winners, published on the official results pages. Submissions for 2027 are open.

  2. 30 Sep 2026

    September results

    The September winners were published, with 29 winning categories grouped in four families.

  3. 27 Jun 2026

    The parent's ceremony

    The 6th annual ceremony of the World Film Festival in Cannes took place at the Pullman Cannes Mandelieu, with guests from 47 countries.

  4. Not found

    The next ceremony

    No date for the next annual ceremony was found. Winners of the 年度 cycles are honored there, according to the site.

How films are judged

Four criteria, no weights.

The charter enumerates four distinct criteria of excellence without assigning numerical scores to any of them. It is the fourth criterion that fundamentally distinguishes this festival's selection philosophy from the majority of competitive film events worldwide.

  • Artistic vision

    A point of view you could identify without the title. One look, one tone and one idea, held to the end. Pick the shots that belong to you, not the ones the model does best.

  • Narrative coherence

    The story holds from the first image to the last, and every scene earns its place. This is where a screenplay written before the first prompt pays off.

  • Technical mastery

    Stable faces, readable action, clean sound, a master with no watermark. The parent rules reject films with watermarks and with poor audio or resolution under 720p.

  • Transparency of the creative process

    Show how the film was made: the intention, the tools and what you decided yourself. A short director's note in the project specifications is part of the work, not an afterthought.

The regulations explicitly state that all submitted content, regardless of format or technique employed, undergoes objective consideration and thorough analysis free from any form of censorship. Nomination decisions rest exclusively with the jury, whose determinations are binding and not subject to appeal or revision.

Who decides

A jury with an AI ethics voice.

The festival documentation describes a diverse and mixed composition for its judging panel, while the parent organization's governing rules establish a minimum threshold for representation. The specific individual names of panelists are published on the parent organization's official site, though that particular resource was not consulted for this overview.

  • The AI cinema jury

    The branch describes an international jury of directors, producers, cinematographers, screenwriters and AI ethics experts. Expect your film to be read for its ethics as well as its images.

  • The parent's panel

    The World Film Festival in Cannes says its jury has at least seven members from film, music and other arts, chosen to avoid conflicts of interest with the films in competition.

  • Final decisions

    Nominations in every category are at the jury's sole discretion, and decisions are final and cannot be appealed. A film cannot be withdrawn once the Official Selection is announced.

The categories

Four families of awards.

Each submitted film must be entered into a minimum of one main competitive category, with the option to compete across multiple categories simultaneously without any upper limit on the number of entries. The September 2026 edition announced its winners across four major category families, and beneath each family grouping lies the specific evaluative angle and thematic lens through which we approach our curatorial analysis.

  • 01

    Excellence awards

    Best AI Feature, Short, Documentary Short, Animation, Experimental, Super Short, Student, Web or TV Pilot, Commercial and Trailer.

    The format decides where you start. A trailer or a Super Short asks for the least footage, and a pilot suits a series maker.

  • 02

    Genre awards

    Best AI Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Horror, Fantasy and Romance.

    Pick one genre and honor its codes. A fantasy world with one clear rule is easier for a model to hold than a mixed film.

  • 03

    Creative awards

    Best AI Director, Cinematography, Editing, Sound Design, Visual Effects, Character and Creature Design, Filmmaker of the Future and Director of the Future.

    These credit a person, not a film. Enter yourself where you did the work. Character design is a natural fit for a project with approved references.

  • 04

    Vision awards

    Best AI Cause-Driven Film, Visionary Film, Philosophical Film and Human and AI Collaboration.

    The families that match the charter. The Human and AI Collaboration award invites you to show the process, so document it from the start.

September 2026

What the latest winners show.

The online edition corresponding to September 2026 recognized and celebrated a total of 29 winning works originating from 18 different countries across the globe, spanning from Hungary and China in the east to Mexico and New Zealand in the western and southern hemispheres. The geographic and stylistic diversity represented in this curated list offers valuable insights into emerging trends and what the collective selections reveal about contemporary filmmaking.

  1. 01

    The same team can win twice. Yifei Li and Zheng Bao took Best AI Short with Above the Waterline and Best AI Cause-Driven Film with Plastic Erosion. Enter one film where it fits.

  2. 02

    Every size has a trophy. My Family from Türkiye won Best Super Short, and The House on Fifth from the United States won Best Student Film.

  3. 03

    Genre is a real door. Kitsune.exe from Japan won Best AI Fantasy, and La Casa de las Voces from Mexico won Best AI Horror.

  4. 04

    Collaboration is named. Cartography of Dust by Jonah Mercer won Best Human and AI Collaboration, which shows the festival wants the process visible.

From script to screen

Lost Garden: a fantasy in six shots.

The festival awards Best AI Animation Film, Best AI Fantasy and Character and Creature Design. The scene below comes from Lost Garden, episode 1, an animated fantasy by the 熙熙 team: its screenplay page, then every 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 and pin him down. A voice stops them.

THE SOURCE TREE

Stop. He is my guest.

A giant woman of roots and white lilies opens her arms over the cavern.

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

Running 17 minutes, Lost Garden, episode 1 reached the final of the AI London Festival. It carries one idea of this festival's charter: the storyboard fixes every decision, so the process can be shown. A giant of roots and a small knight stay the same across six shots. Nothing here claims an entry to this festival. Watch the full scene in the player.

The script

A 6 minute film that shows its author.

The festival has Super Short, Short and Feature awards, and its length limits were not read. Six minutes fits most formats and leaves room for a director's note. That is about 6 screenplay pages and 60 to 80 shots.

  1. 0:00 to 0:30

    The signature

    One image that sets your look. A juror who has seen many AI films should recognize it was chosen.

  2. 0:30 to 1:45

    The human question

    Whom we follow and what they want. Keep it a person, not a world tour.

  3. 1:45 to 4:15

    The hardest scene

    Spend the best generations here and keep the performance simple. This is where coherence is tested.

  4. 4:15 to 5:30

    The consequence

    What the choice changed, shown quietly.

  5. 5:30 to 6:00

    The closing image

    An image that answers the signature one, then the credits.

Subtitles are required for any language other than French or English, following the parent festival's submission guidelines. Embed them directly into a clean master file, ensuring the entire video remains free of watermarks, logos, or any overlaid branding throughout.

Step by step

From the charter to the submit button.

With no fixed deadline imposed by the festival, filmmakers set their own submission timeline: six weeks from today represents a realistic and achievable window for completing a short film. All pre-production work—concept development, scripting, storyboarding—incurs no cost.
  1. 01

    Week 1

    Write the director's note

    Three paragraphs: the project, your intention and the role of AI. If you cannot write it, the film is not ready to be made.

  2. 02

    Week 2

    The screenplay

    Six pages, one hard scene. Write it for free in 熙熙 and mark the scene that will get your best shots.

  3. 03

    Week 3

    Boards and character references

    Generate the storyboard from the screenplay, then approve one reference per character and place. Choose the category now, since it shapes the cut.

  4. 04

    Weeks 4 and 5

    Generate and keep records

    Generate scene by scene with Seedance on the 年度会员 in 熙熙. Keep every prompt and version: they feed your note.

  5. 05

    Week 6

    Edit, check, submit

    Export a clean file, 1080p or higher, with no watermark and with subtitles if needed. Submit on FilmFreeway, state the AI use, and pick your categories.

Ways to lose a laurel

Seven ways to be rejected or wasted.

Most submission requirements originate directly from the parent festival's official rules, which maintain strict standards regarding file formats, technical specifications, and entry fees. Carefully read the complete ruleset in full before submitting payment or uploading materials.

  • Not stating the AI use

    The rules require AI work to be indicated in the FilmFreeway project specifications at submission. Leaving it out breaks the charter.

  • A real actor's likeness

    You cannot have an existing actor perform a role with their likeness without explicit consent and a signed contract. The same goes for intellectual property used without the author's permission.

  • A watermark on the film

    The rules say your film must not contain watermarks. Many generators add them, so check every export before you upload.

  • Poor files

    Poor audio, missing subtitles and resolution under 720p count as poor production standards. For screening at the ceremony, the festival asks for .mov (H264) or .mp4, in Full HD or 4K.

  • Changing your mind after you submit

    You cannot modify a film once it is submitted. A revised cut needs a new fee, fees are non-refundable and non-transferable, and waivers are rare.

  • No main category

    A film must be submitted in at least one main category. Without one, it is disqualified with no refund.

  • Mistaking the name for the Festival de Cannes

    The World Film Festival in Cannes and its AI branch are separate from the Festival de Cannes and its Official Selection. Never present a laurel here as a Cannes selection.

Why 熙熙

A festival that judges the process. Keep yours in one place.

No specific tool is mandated, and no minimum or maximum AI contribution percentage is defined by the festival. What the festival does require is a film with a clear author and a visible, documented creative process. 熙熙 provides one integrated, connected project environment that spans the screenplay, the storyboard, and the final footage generation.

  • Transparency by default

    Every shot links back to its scene, its frame and its prompt. When the fourth criterion asks how the film was made, the project itself is the answer.

  • One project, many categories

    A short, a trailer or a pilot come from the same screenplay and storyboard. You can enter several categories without starting over.

  • Characters that stay the same

    References for characters and places carry from shot to shot. That helps technical mastery and the Character and Creature Design award.

  • Begin at no cost

    Screenwriting costs nothing and never lapses on the 免费档. The 年度会员 adds the storyboard and Seedance video generation for ¥168 一年.

Real productions

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

熙熙 is already actively being used as a professional creative workspace for real AI-driven film productions in the field today, powering projects that range from cinematic short films to animated series pilots that have been selected, nominated, and awarded recognition by international film festivals.

  • 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

The World AI Cinema Festival, your questions

How do you win the World AI Cinema Festival?
Films are judged on artistic vision, narrative coherence, technical mastery and transparency of the creative process. There are no published weights. Enter a film with a clear author, a clean master and a short note on the role of AI, in the category that fits it.
Can I use 熙熙 for this festival?
Yes. The festival imposes no tool and no share of AI. 熙熙 covers the screenplay, the storyboard and the footage, with pipelines that run on Seedance 2.0 and 2.5. State the tools in the project specifications.
Is it the same as the Festival de Cannes?
No. It is the AI branch of the World Film Festival in Cannes, run by Remember The Future Productions. It is a separate event from the Festival de Cannes and its Official Selection. The two should never be confused in your credits.
Is there a deadline?
No single deadline applies. The cycles are 年度 and annual, and submissions for 2027 are open. The dates sit on FilmFreeway, which did not load for this guide, so check the page before you plan.
How much does a submission cost?
Fees are tiered on FilmFreeway and the amounts were not readable. FilmFreeway Gold members get 10% off. Fees are non-refundable and non-transferable, and a modified film must be resubmitted with a new fee.
Does the festival pay prize money?
The official site states no cash prize. The recognition is laurels and the Luciole d'Or, the Golden Firefly. Treat it as visibility and credit for a film, not as funding.
Do I have to say that my film uses AI?
Yes. The rules require that AI-made works are indicated in the project specifications on FilmFreeway at submission, and the charter expects you to present the role of AI.
Who owns my film after I submit?
Yes. The rules say you retain 100% of your intellectual property, and you certify you hold all rights to images, sound and music. The festival may use extracts and stills to promote the edition and will never put your film online.

No fixed date. Write the first page.

Start crafting your screenplay at no cost today. Map out scenes with storyboard tools, then bring the entire film to life within the same project workspace.
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