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 AI competition of Korea’s fantastic film festival: 38 AI productions in 2026, four awards and no 2027 call yet. Here are the rules we could verify, the awards, and a plan to be ready the day the call opens.
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  • No 2027 call announced
  • Four awards in 2026
  • First call: films under 10 minutes
Voidborn · Episode 0

Independent guide. ScreenWeaver 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 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 we know about BIFAN’s AI section.

BIFAN created its AI competition in 2024. No 2027 call exists yet, so this page covers the last edition and the first call. Where a fact comes from press coverage and not from bifan.kr, the card says so.
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.

  1. 2024

    The first AI competition

    114 submissions, 15 films selected, all under 10 minutes, with about 15 million won in prizes.

  2. 2025

    Three times the submissions

    More than 350 AI submissions, about a dozen films selected, and no entry fee according to the press.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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 ScreenWeaver 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.

  1. 01

    The technical award goes to craft. Big Ball by Lim Ye-jun won the TimeTree Best Technical Achievement Award.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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 ScreenWeaver 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:

  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 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 Dreamina 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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.
  1. 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.

  2. 02

    November 2026

    Screenplay

    Write eight pages in the free ScreenWeaver editor. The screenplay contest also takes pages, so a strong script may find a second use.

  3. 03

    December 2026

    Storyboard

    Storyboard every shot and fix the characters. Choose the one sequence that carries the film and spend your effort there.

  4. 04

    January to February 2027

    Generate

    Footage made scene by scene with Seedance in ScreenWeaver, once video generation is on your plan. Make the sound as well: the first call counted AI in sound, not only in script and picture.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

With no 2027 text yet, the main trap is acting on guesses. Re-read each point against the rules the day the call opens.

  • 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 ScreenWeaver

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

BIFAN’s first AI competition asked for AI in script, sound and picture. ScreenWeaver 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 Filmmaker plan adds an AI research assistant. Say honestly which parts are yours.

  • The picture

    Storyboard first, then footage shot by shot with Seedance as video generation rolls out. 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 Screenwriter plan is $0 with no expiry. Storyboard Beta costs $9.99 a month, and the Filmmaker plan adds Seedance video generation as it rolls out.

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 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 when it reaches your plan.
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