How to win the Astana AI Film Festival.A $2,000,000 fund. Be ready before the call.

Total fund

$2,000,000: $1M prizes, $1M production fund

Thematic Competition

$750,000: $450,000, $200,000, $100,000

Open Competition

Five awards of $50,000

First edition

1 to 3 October 2026, Astana

Runtime

3 minutes or longer

AI requirement

Integral to creation, not only VFX or upscaling

Language

Any, with English subtitles in the video

Entry fee

None, and no cap on entries

Source: aaiff.ai (contest, rules, numbers, jury and FAQ sections), read on 1 October 2026. The 2026 call closed on 7 September, and no 2027 edition is announced. The organiser can change its rules: check the site when the next call opens.

• Best Character

  For a memorable and compelling character, whatever its form or origin. Give the lead a want, a flaw and a face that holds from the first shot to the last. With AI, consistency is part of the craft.

• Best Direction

  For outstanding direction, pacing and control of the film as a whole. One hand must show: rhythm, framing and restraint across every scene.

• Best Visual

  For a distinctive and cohesive visual language, atmosphere and style. A palette, a lens and a light you can describe in one sentence, held from start to end.

• Best Story

  For strong storytelling, narrative structure and emotional impact. The screenplay decides it: a clear want, a real obstacle and an ending that costs something.

• Best Concept

  For an original, thought-provoking or visionary idea. Describe your film in one sentence that nobody else could have written.

The Thematic prizes follow another logic: the Grand Prize goes to the strongest film in the main competition, the second to outstanding artistic achievement, the third to originality and cinematic voice. The festival publishes no weights.

• 01

  Thematic Competition

  3,138 films in 2026, on the theme The Future Worth Living In. Prizes of $450,000, $200,000 and $100,000. Films must be created within the eligibility period.

  A future worth living in is a claim, and a claim needs a cost. Show what someone gave up or fought for to reach it. The annual theme may change for 2027.

• 02

  Open Competition

  4,929 films in 2026, any theme or approach, completed works and films shown elsewhere included. Five awards of $50,000.

  Five awards, each for one quality. A film does not need to be perfect: it needs one thing nobody else did, a character, a look or an idea.

• 03

  Entering both

  Each entry is registered separately, and the Thematic one must be new and on theme.

  Make a film on the theme, then register it twice if it also stands alone. Do not stretch an old film to fit the theme: the Open section exists for it.

1. 01

   This week

   Watch the winners

   Winners are due on 3 October. When they are public, watch the films, read what the jury says and note what the winners share. Learn from them, do not copy them.

2. 02

   Month 1

   Competition and logline

   Choose Thematic, Open or both. Write ten loglines, tell them to five people and keep the one they repeat back to you.

3. 03

   Month 2

   Screenplay and lead character

   Write the screenplay for free in ScreenWeaver. Best Character and Best Story are $50,000 each, so give the lead a want, a flaw and a face.

4. 04

   Months 3 and 4

   Storyboard and references

   Storyboard each shot, then approve references for characters and places. A visual language held across the film is what Best Visual rewards.

5. 05

   Months 5 and 6

   Generate and edit

   Generate scene by scene, then edit. Write down the models and the pipeline as you go, because the form asks you to disclose them.

6. 06

   Month 7

   Subtitles, credits, upload

   Burn English subtitles into the video and credit every contributor. Upload to YouTube with the hashtag in the description, or to Google Drive with view access for anyone with the link.

7. 07

   When the call opens

   Submit early

   Register each competition entry separately. Avoid the last 24 hours: about one film in seven arrived then last time.

• AI inside the film, not on top

  The rules want generative AI at the heart of the film. ScreenWeaver puts the shot breakdown, the storyboard and, with the Filmmaker plan, the Seedance footage in one project, so AI shapes the film from the first frame.

• A disclosure that writes itself

  The form asks for the models and the pipeline. When shots hang off scenes and storyboard frames, the disclosure is a summary of the project, not an investigation.

• A face that holds

  Best Character is a $50,000 award. A character approved once keeps the same face and costume in every shot, so minute one and minute eight match.

• Eight months, starting free

  The Screenwriter plan is $0, with no expiry, so the long wait before the call costs nothing. Storyboard Beta is $9.99 a month, and Seedance video generation comes with the Filmmaker plan, rolling out now.