AI Film Fest Monaco 2026 · Guide

How to win AI Film Fest Monaco.Seven prizes. A Monte Carlo stage.

The rules, the seven categories, the five named jurors and the five judging criteria. The official deadline was 25 April 2026 and no new call is published, so here is how to be ready when one appears.
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  • Official deadline 25 April 2026
  • From 2 minutes, no maximum
  • $10,000 prize pool
Voidborn · Episode 0

Independent guide. ScreenWeaver does not organise AI Film Fest Monaco and is not affiliated with WAIB Summit. Rules read on 1 October 2026. Official submission rules

Available today in ScreenWeaver: free screenwriting, and a storyboard generated from your screenplay with Storyboard Beta, $9.99 a month.

Rolling out: video generation of each shot, powered by Seedance, with the Filmmaker plan.

The rules on one card

What AI Film Fest Monaco asks of a film.

The rules fit on one screen, which is rare. They ask for a film that uses AI, at least two minutes long, that you have every right to show. The 2026 edition is over and the 2027 edition is not announced.
2026 edition
9 and 10 June 2026, One Monte Carlo, Monaco
Deadline
25 April 2026, closed. No later call on the official site
Entry fee
None mentioned in the rules
Length
At least 2 minutes, no maximum stated
AI share
AI must be used in creation, no percentage
Prize pool
$10,000 in cash, gifts and credits
Categories
Seven, from Best AI Film to Best Brand Film
What to send
A form, a YouTube or Vimeo link, a download link and a poster

Source: the home page, the submission rules and the jury and winner data of aifilmfest-monaco.com, read on 1 October 2026. One third-party listing shows a 31 December 2026 deadline that the festival's own site does not confirm.

Key dates

One date is official. One is only a rumour.

The festival's own pages carry one deadline, and it has passed. A listing elsewhere says otherwise. <b>Trust the festival's pages</b>, and watch them for the next call.

  1. 25 Apr 2026

    Official deadline

    The submission rules state it plainly, about six weeks before the event. The rules page still shows it on 1 October 2026.

  2. 9 and 10 Jun 2026

    The festival

    Two days at One Monte Carlo: screenings, panels, masterclasses, the awards and a gala. The programme is presented by WAIB Summit.

  3. 31 Dec 2026

    A date from a listing

    An aggregator shows free entry and this deadline. The festival's site gives no such round. Do not plan on it, and write to the organiser if it matters to you.

  4. 2027

    Next edition, not announced

    No dates, no call and no category list for a second edition are published. If the 2026 rhythm repeats, expect a spring deadline for a June event.

How films are judged

Five criteria, and no percentages.

The rules say films are judged on five things and that the jury's decisions are final. They give no percentages, so treat the five as equal until the festival says otherwise.

  • Creativity

    A concept the jury has not seen before. In a field of films built with the same few models, an idea that no prompt would suggest is what stands out.

  • Storytelling

    One character, one want, a change before the end. With a two minute floor and no ceiling, choose the length the story needs and not the length the tool allows.

  • Technical and artistic quality

    The pairing is deliberate: a stable image, clean sound and subtitles, and a look that was chosen. Both words are judged, not just the render.

  • Innovative use of AI

    The rules require AI and then reward the film that uses it with intent. Show what AI made possible here that a camera could not: a world, a character, a transformation.

  • Overall impact

    What the jury remembers after the next film. A strong first shot, a clear ending and one image that survives the screening.

The criteria are quoted from the official submission rules. The jury decides, its decisions are final, and the festival may change its rules or cancel the event.

Who decides

Five jurors, from a lab to a studio.

The festival publishes five named jurors for 2026. Their titles come from the festival's own juror pages, and they point to what the jury values: AI literacy and film craft together.

  • Anthony Bourached

    Associate Professor of Machine Learning and Creative AI at UCL, and co-founder of Oxia Palus. His work resurrects lost and hidden artworks with generative AI. Expect a close eye on how a film uses the model, not only that it does.

  • Vincent Lowy

    Former head of the École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière, one of Europe's film and audiovisual schools. The festival says he brings a rigorous view of storytelling, artistic intent and technical excellence.

  • Nicholas Shoolingin-Jordan

    Series director of Netflix's The Dinosaurs, now working on how generative AI changes film and documentary storytelling. A director's eye on pace, blocking and what a shot is for.

  • Andrew McNamara and Paul de Billy

    McNamara leads generative AI at the Cinesite studio in London, across VFX and feature animation. De Billy is Managing Director France of Alibaba Group. One brings production practice, the other a technology group's view.

Categories

Seven prizes, six angles to take.

The festival lists seven award categories. The seventh, Best Commercial or Brand Film, suits a brand brief. The six below are story prizes, with the angle we would take under each.

  • 01

    Best AI Film

    The main prize, with no further definition.

    Enter the film you would put first anywhere. A complete short with a title, sound and credits beats a reel of clips.

  • 02

    Best Story

    A prize for the narrative itself.

    Write the screenplay first and test it with no images. If it holds on the page, it holds on screen.

  • 03

    Best World Creation

    A place the audience believes in.

    One location rule held for the whole film: light, scale, materials. Keep a location sheet so every shot returns to the same world.

  • 04

    Best AI Character Performance

    A character that acts, not just appears.

    Plan the performance in the storyboard: a look, a pause, a gesture. A character who has to hold a face for a minute needs a shot list.

  • 05

    Best Experimental Film

    Form that breaks a habit.

    Experiments work when the rule is stated early and kept. Make the constraint visible in the first thirty seconds.

  • 06

    Best Film For Kids

    A film for young viewers.

    Clear shapes, a gentle pace and a story a child can retell. Check every generated shot for anything that frightens.

The 2026 results

What 37 films and 7 winners show.

The festival's 2026 page lists 37 films in its Official Selection and seven under Winner Films: Ceremony, Fun For All Ages!, Ketchup Moutarde, Pasodable, The Cinema That Never Was, Unum and Bacon. It does not say which prize each one won.

  1. 01

    About one film in five is a winner. Seven winner films stand against 37 in the selection, so being selected is a real result and winning is a real step above it.

  2. 02

    The winners are public. Each winner film links to a YouTube video on the festival's page. Watch all seven before you cut yours, and notice their length and their first ten seconds.

  3. 03

    The page does not pair films with prizes. Do not copy a winner's style on a guess. Watch the film, then judge the whole of it.

A scene to study

Voidborn: a character and a world, six shots.

A scene from Voidborn, episode 0, an anime by the ScreenWeaver team made with Seedance. It speaks to two of Monaco's prizes: a world to believe in, the ruins of a first level, and a character performance carried by a blank face whose eyes turn red. The scene runs about six minutes, so it clears the two minute floor on its own.

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:

  1. A swordsman in a black cloak and a blindfolded woman in white walk through ruins at night
    Storyboard frame of the wide shot, in grey
    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

  2. Medium two-shot of a bald swordsman and a blindfolded red-haired woman
    Storyboard frame of the two-shot, in grey
    02

    Two-shot · the promise

    Medium two-shot, the swordsman and the blindfolded seer side by side, violet night sky, broken towers

  3. Three white humanoid automatons stand in night ruins
    Storyboard frame of the automatons shot, in grey
    03

    Wide · the machines

    Wide low angle, three white humanoid automatons standing in the ruins, cold blue moonlight

  4. Close-up of a white automaton with a smooth blank face
    Storyboard frame of the blank face close-up, in grey
    04

    Close-up · the blank face

    Close-up on an automaton's smooth faceless head, black eye slots, cables at the neck, ruins behind

  5. A white automaton's eyes glow red
    Storyboard frame of the red eyes close-up, in grey
    05

    Close-up · the red eyes

    Same framing, the automaton's eyes ignite red, the swordsman's shoulder out of focus in the foreground

  6. A swordsman strikes with a katana wreathed in lightning and sparks
    Storyboard frame of the clash shot, in grey
    06

    Action · the clash

    Dynamic low angle, the swordsman strikes with his katana, lightning running along the blade, sparks, cape flying

Voidborn, episode 0 is 13 minutes long. At the Mondial Chroma Awards it took 1st Place Silver and 2nd Place Dreamina, and at the Seoul International AI Film Festival it won an award. The player opens at the ruins, about seven minutes in. Monaco sets no maximum length.

The script

Five minutes, five movements.

The rules set no ceiling, but a short one is easier to make consistent. Aim for 5 minutes: about five screenplay pages and 50 to 70 shots of 4 to 6 seconds. That leaves room for a world and a character.

  1. 0:00 to 0:25

    The first image

    Open on the world and on one detail that no generator offers by default. This is the first thing the jurors judge.

  2. 0:25 to 1:15

    The character and the want

    Introduce one face and one need with an action, not with an explanation.

  3. 1:15 to 3:30

    The world pushes back

    Show what the place does to the character. Hold one visual rule through every shot.

  4. 3:30 to 4:30

    The turn

    A choice that changes the picture: a colour, a framing or a silence.

  5. 4:30 to 5:00

    The last image

    Land on a picture the jury can describe afterwards, then the credits.

The submission needs a link to watch the film and a link to download it. Export a clean master with titles and sound mixed, and keep the poster ready.

Month by month

From October to the next call.

No second edition is announced. This plan assumes a spring deadline, as in 2026, and gets a film finished before it. Each step is useful if the call comes earlier or later.
  1. 01

    October 2026

    Watch the seven winners

    Open the winner films from the festival's page. Note length, opening, sound and how each one uses AI. Then read the rules again for any change.

  2. 02

    November 2026

    Pick a category and a logline

    Choose the prize you are writing for. Write one sentence for the film and test it in ScreenWeaver's logline workshop.

  3. 03

    December 2026

    Screenplay and location sheets

    Write the screenplay on the free plan. Fix the world: a short list of locations, a palette and a light for each.

  4. 04

    January 2027

    Storyboard

    One frame per shot, with its framing and movement. Plan the character performance frame by frame.

  5. 05

    February and March 2027

    Generate the footage

    Generate scene by scene with Seedance in ScreenWeaver, as video generation reaches your plan. Keep every prompt, since the jury rewards intent.

  6. 06

    April 2027

    Finish and check rights

    Edit, mix, add subtitles. Confirm you hold the rights to every image, voice, track and script, then watch for the call.

Ways to lose a spot

Eight traps to check before you submit.

The rules are short, so each line counts. An entry that fails the technical, legal or content requirements may be disqualified. Check each one.

  • A film under two minutes

    The minimum is two minutes. A teaser or a trailer of 90 seconds does not meet it.

  • A film with no AI in it

    The rules require AI in video generation, VFX, animation, voice-overs, music, scriptwriting or another major component. A live-action film with no AI is out.

  • Rights you cannot prove

    You must hold the rights to every element: video, images, music, voice and scripts. Check the terms of each AI tool, including music generators.

  • A missing link or poster

    A submission needs a viewing link, a download link and a poster. Test that both links open without a login, from a device that is not yours.

  • A creator under the legal age

    The festival is open to creators of legal age, or the age of majority in their jurisdiction. If part of your team is under it, ask the organiser first.

  • Content the rules exclude

    Obscene, defamatory, hateful or discriminatory content is excluded, and so is anything that promotes illegal behaviour, violence or contraband. Ask the organiser if your subject is close to the line.

  • Not reading the licence

    Entering grants the festival a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free and sublicensable licence to show your film or excerpts. You keep ownership. Winners also agree to publicity use of their name and film.

  • Trusting the wrong date

    The official deadline was 25 April 2026. A listing shows 31 December 2026, but the festival's site does not. Confirm with the organiser before you build a plan on it.

Why ScreenWeaver

No imposed tool. A story to protect.

Monaco does not impose a model, so the film can come from the best pipeline. ScreenWeaver gives you screenplay, storyboard and footage in one connected project, which is what the criteria reward.

  • A character who stays the same

    Best AI Character Performance and Best World Creation both fail when a face or a place drifts. Characters, locations and references carry from shot to shot, so a five minute film reads as one film.

  • Innovation you can show

    Each shot stays linked to its scene, its storyboard frame and its prompt. When the criteria say innovative use of AI, the project is the evidence, and your notes write themselves.

  • Powered by Seedance

    ScreenWeaver's footage pipelines are powered by Seedance 2.0 and 2.5. Monaco imposes no tool, so footage made in ScreenWeaver qualifies like any other, as long as the film uses AI and you hold the rights.

  • Start for free today

    The Screenwriter plan is $0 and never expires, which covers your five pages. Storyboard Beta costs $9.99 a month, and Seedance generation is coming with the Filmmaker plan.

Real productions

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

ScreenWeaver 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.

  • Video thumbnail for VOIDBORN

    VOIDBORN

    AI animated / cinematic short

    Festival recognition

    • 1st Place Silver

      Mondial Chroma Awards

    • 2nd Place Dreamina

      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. ScreenWeaver 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. ScreenWeaver 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. ScreenWeaver 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 Film Fest Monaco, your questions

How do you win AI Film Fest Monaco?
Make a film of at least two minutes that uses AI, hold every right to it, and aim at one of the seven categories. The jury judges creativity, storytelling, technical and artistic quality, innovative use of AI and overall impact, and its decisions are final.
What is the deadline?
The official submission rules give 25 April 2026, which has passed. A third-party listing shows 31 December 2026, but the festival's site does not confirm it. No 2027 call is published yet.
Is there an entry fee?
The rules mention none, and the festival's home page gives none. A third-party listing also says entry is free. Confirm in the submission form before you rely on it.
How long must the film be?
At least two minutes. The rules state no maximum, which is unusual. A tight five minute film is easier to keep consistent than a longer one.
How much AI must the film use?
The rules ask only that AI is used in creation, in video generation, VFX, animation, voice-overs, music, scriptwriting or another major component. No percentage is set, and no tool is imposed.
How much is the prize?
The total pool is $10,000 and includes cash, sponsored gifts and credits. The winner receives the award and may be invited to Monaco to share their story. The rules do not split the pool by category.
Who is on the jury?
The festival names five jurors for 2026: Anthony Bourached of UCL, Vincent Lowy, formerly of ENS Louis-Lumière, Nicholas Shoolingin-Jordan, Andrew McNamara of Cinesite and Paul de Billy of Alibaba Group.
What categories are there?
Best AI Film, Best Film For Kids, Best Story, Best World Creation, Best AI Character Performance, Best Experimental Film and Best Commercial or Brand Film. The festival has not published the list for a next edition.

No call is open. Your film can be ready.

Open a free project, write the five pages, and let the storyboard carry you to the footage.
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