AI CINEMA

March 5, 2027 • 6 PM • Montréal • Funamis

A transmission from the near future.

The future of cinema arrives glitched.

THE TRANSMISSION

AI CINEMA is a transmission from the near future.

A gathering point for filmmakers, prompt architects, visual hackers, dreamers, and digital misfits showing what happens when imagination stops asking permission from traditional tools.

Cinema changed with sound. With color. With digital. Now it evolves again.

AI CINEMA celebrates stories born at the collision point of human emotion and machine possibility. Short films. Experimental visions. Animated fever dreams. Impossible worlds. Synthetic poetry. Narratives built from prompts, obsession, curiosity, and beautiful accidents.

A place where creators stretch the language of storytelling into strange new shapes.

Pop culture has always loved rebels.

Expect neon ideas. Beautiful chaos. Hyperreal emotions. Retro-future aesthetics. Films that feel like tomorrow remembering the 1980s through a corrupted dream.

Some works will be hilarious. Some disturbing. Some emotionally devastating. Some gloriously weird. That's exactly why this space exists.

AI CINEMA celebrates creators using artificial intelligence as a paintbrush, a co-director, a hallucination engine, a portal into unexplored visual language.

The future, glitched.

THE PATH

Ten transmissions until the signal lands.

MAR 05, 2027

AI CINEMA · THE EVENT

MAY 23, 2026

First Signal

Early Bird

JUN 21

The Prompt

Regular

JUL 19

The Render

Regular

AUG 16

The Glitch

Regular

SEP 14

The Hallucination

Regular

OCT 13

The Frame

Regular

NOV 11

The Echo

Late

DEC 09

The Loop

Late Late

JAN 07, 2027

Last Transmission

Extended

FEB 05, 2027

Final Render

Final Deadline

FEB 15, 2027
The Verdict
Notification Date

THE RECOGNITION

Awards across six dimensions of synthetic cinema.

Main Awards

AI CINEMA Grand Prize

Highest Honor

For the film that defines the spirit of next-generation storytelling.

Best Prompt

For the most extraordinary film created from a single master prompt or the most visionary prompt engineering concept.

Best AI Short Film

Outstanding overall short-form storytelling using AI tools.

Best AI Director

For exceptional creative vision, orchestration, and cinematic execution.

Best Human + AI Collaboration

Celebrating the most powerful creative synergy between human imagination and artificial intelligence.

Visual / Tech

Best AI Cinematography

For groundbreaking visual composition, camera language, and synthetic imagery.

Best AI Animation

For excellence in animated AI storytelling.

Best Visual Worldbuilding

For the most immersive universe, environments, and aesthetic vision.

Best Character Creation

For unforgettable AI-generated or AI-assisted character design.

Best AI VFX / Visual Innovation

For technical experimentation and next-level visual execution.

Best Editing / Synthetic Rhythm

For outstanding pacing, editing language, and cinematic flow.

Story / Creative

Best Screenplay / Story Concept

For the strongest narrative architecture and storytelling idea.

Best Experimental Film

For fearless formal experimentation.

Best Sci-Fi Vision

For the most compelling future vision.

Best Dark Vision

For dystopian, horror, or unsettling psychological works.

Best Comedy Mutation

For weird, smart, or absurd AI comedy.

Best Music Video

AI-driven music storytelling excellence.

Best Micro Short

For ultra-short cinematic storytelling.

Sound / Audio

Best AI Sound Design

For sonic atmosphere and immersive audio creation.

Best Original AI Score

For exceptional music composition using AI workflows.

Best Voice Performance

For outstanding synthetic or hybrid vocal performance.

Special Recognition

Future Icon Award

For a creator whose work signals the future of cinema.

Digital Auteur Award

For a distinct creative voice in AI filmmaking.

Breakthrough Creator

For emerging talent.

Audience Choice Award

Chosen by viewers.

Jury Special Mention

For bold artistic achievement.

Chaotic / On-Brand Pop

Beautiful Glitch Award

For the most mesmerizing imperfection.

Dream Machine Award

For the most hypnotic visual experience.

Neon Nightmare Award

For unforgettable dark visions.

Synthetic Soul Award

For the most emotionally resonant AI film.

Reality Corruption Award

For bending cinematic reality in brilliant ways.

THE PLACE

Funamis

403, 4th floor, 998 Boul. Saint-Laurent
Montréal, QC, H2Z 1J3, CA

A space for creativity and cinema in the heart of Montréal. We gather not to consume content, but to witness the next language of storytelling. The screening room offers an intimate setting where every frame commands attention.

RULES & TERMS

1. Eligibility: Open to short and feature-length films of any genre that use artificial intelligence as a meaningful part of the creative process — generation, direction, animation, VFX, score, or post. Completed within the last 3 years.

2. AI Disclosure: Submitters must briefly describe which AI tools and workflows were used (models, prompt scope, human–AI division of labor). For context, not for scoring.

3. Premiere Status: Not required. Prior screenings or awards are welcome.

4. Runtime: Micro (up to 5m), Shorts (up to 40m), Mid-length (40–60m), Features (60m+). Selection is based on artistic coherence, not duration.

5. Language & Subtitles: Non-English films must include English subtitles, clear and readable.

6. Submission Format: Secure online screener for review. Final screening copy in a high-quality digital format upon selection.

7. Authorship & Rights: Submitter must hold all necessary rights — music, archive footage, voices, performances, and training-data sources where applicable.

8. Selection Process: All films reviewed by the curatorial team. Decisions are final.

9. Screening & Presence: Selected films are screened at the in-person event in Montréal on March 5, 2027. Filmmaker presence encouraged, not required.

10. Awards: Films may be considered for multiple categories across the six award groups.

11. Use of Materials: By submitting, filmmakers grant the festival permission to use stills, trailers, and short excerpts for promotional and archival purposes.

12. Notification: All submitters will receive a decision by February 15, 2027 (The Verdict — notification date), regardless of which deadline tier they submitted under. The final submission deadline is February 5, 2027 (Final Render).

THE EXPERIENCE

March 5, 2027 • 6 PM • Funamis, Montréal

Tickets open closer to the screening.

NOTIFY ME WHEN TICKETS OPEN

NO SECRETS

Do I have to use AI to submit?

Yes. AI CINEMA exists to celebrate work made with AI as a meaningful creative force — generation, direction, animation, sound, or post. Pure live-action without AI is outside the festival's scope.

Which AI tools are accepted?

Any. Image, video, audio, text — open or closed models, commercial or self-hosted. We care about vision, not toolchain.

Do you require a premiere status?

No. A film's value isn't diminished by having been seen.

Is there a runtime limit?

Micro (≤5m), Shorts (≤40m), Mid-length (40–60m), Features (60m+). If it is cinema, it fits.

Can I submit a work-in-progress?

Technically yes, but we judge presence and completion. If the soul of the film is visible, we will watch.

Why "AI CINEMA"?

Because the next era of cinema is already here. Glitched. Colorful. Unpredictable.