BAIFF Burano 2026 · Guide

How to win BAIFF, the Burano AI Film Festival.At least 25% AI, declared on the form.

BAIFF calls itself the first film festival in Europe entirely dedicated to works made with AI. Its fourth edition runs 13 to 17 October 2026 in Venice, and the next call is not announced. The rules as far as they can be read, what the festival says it values, and a plan to be ready. Then start the screenplay in ScreenWeaver.
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  • 4th edition 13 to 17 October 2026
  • 25% AI minimum
  • Italian subtitles required
Lost Garden · Episode 1

Independent guide. ScreenWeaver does not organise BAIFF and is not affiliated with the Burano Artificial Intelligence Film Festival. Rules read on 1 October 2026. Official festival 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 BAIFF asks of a film.

BAIFF's own site gives the edition, the dates and the stance. The rule sheet sits on FilmFreeway, which we could not open: the rules below come from the listing as shown in search results and from aggregators, and they disagree on some dates.
Edition
4th, 13 to 17 October 2026
Venue
Fondazione Querini-Stampalia, Venice
Next call
No call published yet
Last call
Closed mid-June or 1 July 2026, sources differ
AI requirement
At least 25%, declared on the entry form
Completion window
Up to 1 June 2026, start year differs by source
Subtitles
Italian, as an .SRT file, in earlier editions
Awards
BAIFF Trophy by category, judged by a panel of experts

Sources: baiff.eu (edition, dates, venue, awards, read on 1 October 2026), the FilmFreeway listing as shown in search results, aifilmcontests.com, and earlier-edition listings on Festhome and PentoPix. The rules page itself could not be read. Confirm everything on FilmFreeway before paying.

Key dates

A festival in twelve days, a call to come.

BAIFF's calls have run for months, with fee tiers that rise towards a late deadline. The dates of the fifth edition are not announced.

  1. 1 Jun 2026

    Completion cutoff

    Films had to be completed by this date for the fourth edition. The start of the window is given as 1 January 2025 or 1 January 2024, depending on the source.

  2. 15 Jun or 1 Jul 2026

    Last call

    One aggregator gives 15 June, and the FilmFreeway listing as shown in search gives 1 July. Either way, the fourth edition call is closed.

  3. 13 to 17 Oct 2026

    The fourth edition

    At Fondazione Querini-Stampalia in Venice, with competition screenings, talks and meetings with filmmakers and industry figures, according to baiff.eu.

  4. Late 2026 or early 2027

    Next call, expected

    The call for the second edition opened on 26 November 2023, according to Festhome. Expect the next one around the same season. This is an inference.

What the panel rewards

No grid, but a clear stance.

BAIFF publishes no scoring grid and no weights. What it publishes is a stance, in its own words on baiff.eu, and that stance is the best guide to what a panel of experts will reward.

  • Innovation at the intersection of AI and cinema

    The site says the awards highlight the best innovations where AI meets cinema. Do something with the tool that a camera could not do, and be able to say what.

  • AI as a language, not a shortcut

    BAIFF writes that AI is not a mere special effect, a production shortcut or a curiosity, but an emerging language. A film that only saves money is off message. Make AI part of the film's grammar.

  • Authorship and the link between image and thought

    The festival says AI questions cinema, storytelling, authorship and the relationship between image and thought. A film with a point of view on authorship belongs here: who decides, who looks, who made this.

These three points are the festival's editorial text, not a scoring grid. The panel is not named and no weights are published, so read them as a sense of the room, not as a rulebook.

Who decides

A panel with no names.

The site names no panel. It says a panel of experts judges the competition entries, and it lists the speakers of the fourth edition, who show who the festival talks to.

  • A panel of experts

    The festival says a panel of experts judges a selection of the entries. No names, number or method are published on baiff.eu. An older listing named a scientific committee, but we could not confirm it for 2026.

  • The people in the room

    The 2026 speakers include the head of marketing and innovation at Rai Cinema, the CEO of The Jackal, a university lecturer and TEDx speaker, and a communications head at IIT-CNR. The audience is broadcasters, creators and researchers, not filmmakers alone.

Award categories

Pick one category and mean it.

BAIFF has no theme. It has award categories that change from one edition to the next, and listings do not agree on the 2026 set. These are the ones that appear most. The line under each is the angle we would take.

  • 01

    Best AI Film

    The main category, listed for the fourth edition.

    Enter here if the story carries the film. Choose a single category and make the film the strongest entry in it.

  • 02

    Best AI Animation

    Listed for the fourth edition and for earlier ones.

    Animation is where AI films look most at home, so the field is thick. Hold one drawn look from the first frame to the last.

  • 03

    Best AI Documentary

    Listed for the fourth edition, and earlier editions had a documentary award too.

    Use AI to rebuild what was never filmed, and label every generated image. The festival's own text puts authorship at the centre.

  • 04

    Best AI Episodic Series

    A category for series, listed by an aggregator for the fourth edition.

    A pilot with a clear world and rules fits a connected project. Say plainly what the series is in your entry.

  • 05

    Special awards

    Earlier editions listed an Emotional award, a Photography award, an AI Ethical award, a Screenwriting award and others.

    These change every year. Do not design a film around a special award: make the best film you can, then see where it fits.

Three editions

What the rules of past editions show.

BAIFF has run four editions. The listings we could read for the second, third and fourth show what stays and what moves from one call to the next.

  1. 01

    The 25% minimum stays. The 2025 and 2026 listings both say a film must be made completely or partially, at least 25%, with AI software. That is a low bar, and the real filter is the panel.

  2. 02

    The completion window moves. A 2024 listing asked for films completed after 1 January 2019, a 2025 listing for 1 January 2023 to 1 August 2025, and the 2026 listing ends on 1 June 2026. Check the window before you start.

  3. 03

    Trophies, not cash. A 2025 listing says no cash prizes are awarded. Another aggregator lists cash and screening prizes for 2026. The conflict is unresolved, so do not budget on a prize.

  4. 04

    Italian subtitles come with the call. Earlier editions asked for Italian subtitles as an .SRT file, and one listing says BAIFF offered to make them for €150 plus VAT. Put them in your schedule.

  5. 05

    The categories rotate. Awards such as Ethical, Screenwriting, Prediction or Horror appeared in some editions and not others. A 2025 listing counts fourteen categories, a 2026 aggregator eight.

Page to screen

Lost Garden: six shots, one drawn look.

BAIFF talks about AI as a language. The scene is the Source Tree sequence of Lost Garden, episode 1, an animated series by the ScreenWeaver team. Six shots follow the page, each as a storyboard frame and as a 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

Lost Garden, episode 1 runs 17 minutes and reached the finals at the AI London Festival. It is a fantasy set in a world no camera could shoot, which is how BAIFF says it reads AI. Press play and the film opens at the Source Tree.

The script

An 8 minute film in four movements.

We found no duration limit in the sources we could read. Aim for 8 minutes: about 8 screenplay pages and 70 to 100 shots of 4 to 6 seconds, short enough to sit in a programme of many films.

  1. 0:00 to 0:50

    The image that asks

    One image that only AI could make, and one question it raises.

  2. 0:50 to 2:45

    The grammar of the world

    Show the visual rule of the film and keep to it. That is what turns a tool into a language.

  3. 2:45 to 6:15

    The accumulation

    Each scene adds a layer of meaning, not only a new location. Cut the shots that repeat.

  4. 6:15 to 8:00

    The answer

    A last image that answers the first one, and a line of credit for every tool you used.

BAIFF's listing asks for an information sheet describing how and what content was generated with AI. Write it while you make the film, not after.

Month by month

From the opening night to the next call.

The fourth edition opens in twelve days and the next call is not announced. This plan uses the festival as research and has your film ready when the call opens.
  1. 01

    1 to 17 October 2026

    Follow the fourth edition

    Tickets are sold on baiff.eu. If you cannot go, follow the festival's channels. Note which categories, lengths and looks the screenings favour.

  2. 02

    November 2026

    Pick one category and write

    Write the screenplay free in ScreenWeaver. Choose a single category and a length of about 8 minutes.

  3. 03

    December 2026 to January 2027

    References and storyboard

    Fix each character and each set once, generate the storyboard from the screenplay, and write down the one visual rule you will hold.

  4. 04

    February to April 2027

    Generate the footage

    Seedance in ScreenWeaver as video generation reaches your plan. Log what is generated and what is not: the share you declare must be true.

  5. 05

    May 2027

    Edit, sound, Italian subtitles

    Mix the sound, prepare the .SRT subtitles in Italian and in English, and write the information sheet from your log.

  6. 06

    When the call opens

    Enter in the first fee tier

    In 2025 the first tier was $20 and the late tier $90, according to PentoPix. Enter early, with the AI share and the sheet filled in.

Ways to lose a spot

Eight traps in a rulebook we could not open.

These come from the listings and aggregators we could read. Check each one on FilmFreeway before you pay.

  • Under 25% AI

    The listing requires at least 25% of the film made with AI software. A film with one generated shot does not meet it. Measure your share in seconds before you pay.

  • An incomplete AI declaration

    The AI used must be clearly indicated on the entry form, without omissions. List every tool and every use, including voice, music and script.

  • No information sheet

    The listing asks for an information sheet saying how and what content was generated with AI. A film without it is an incomplete entry.

  • No Italian subtitles

    Earlier editions required Italian subtitles as an .SRT file. If the next call does too, a film without them may be refused. Order them early.

  • A film outside the window

    Each call has a completion window, and for the fourth edition it ended on 1 June 2026. A film finished after the end or before the start is out.

  • Confusing two festivals

    The Bucharest AI Film Festival is also abbreviated BAIFF. Check the address, baiff.eu, and the FilmFreeway page before you pay.

  • Budgeting on a prize

    Listings disagree on cash. One says none is awarded, another lists cash and screening prizes. Enter for the screening and the audience.

  • Trusting a date from a third party

    The last call of the fourth edition is given as 15 June or 1 July, depending on the source. Read dates on FilmFreeway, not on an aggregator, and not on this page either.

Why ScreenWeaver

BAIFF reads AI as a language. Build the grammar in one project.

BAIFF imposes no tool, so the proof of a language is in the film itself. ScreenWeaver holds screenplay, storyboard and footage in one connected project, so the grammar is planned before it is generated.

  • A share you can measure

    Each shot is logged with its scene and its prompt, so the 25% rule becomes a count instead of a guess, and the information sheet can be drafted from the project.

  • A grammar that holds

    References fix characters, sets and light for the whole film. A visual rule that never breaks is what makes AI read as a language and not as a demo.

  • Short, animation or pilot

    One project can be cut as a short, as an animated film or as a pilot, which are all categories BAIFF lists.

  • Start for free today

    The Screenwriter plan stays free, with no expiry. Storyboard Beta costs $9.99 a month, and the Filmmaker plan will add Seedance video generation.

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

BAIFF, your questions

How do you win BAIFF, the Burano AI Film Festival?
BAIFF publishes no scoring grid. A panel of experts judges the entries, and the festival's own text says it rewards the best innovations at the intersection of AI and cinema, with AI as a language and not a shortcut. Make a film that could only exist this way, in a category you pick on purpose.
What is the AI requirement?
According to the FilmFreeway listing as shown in search results, a film must be made completely or partially, at least 25%, with AI software, and the AI must be clearly indicated on the entry form without omissions.
When is the next deadline?
It is not announced. The fourth edition's call is closed, and sources give 15 June or 1 July 2026 as its last day. The festival itself runs from 13 to 17 October 2026.
Where is the festival?
At Fondazione Querini-Stampalia in Venice, according to baiff.eu, although the name says Burano. Tickets are sold on the festival's site.
Do I need Italian subtitles?
Earlier editions and one 2026 aggregator say yes, as an .SRT file. We could not open the rules page, so confirm on FilmFreeway, and add English subtitles as well.
How long can the film be?
We found no duration in the sources we could read. Categories include short films, music videos, documentaries, animation and episodic series. Aim for about 8 minutes unless the rules say otherwise.
Is there prize money?
Sources disagree. A 2025 listing says no cash prizes are awarded, and an aggregator lists cash and screening prizes for 2026. The award is at least a BAIFF Trophy in each category.
Is it the same as the Bucharest AI Film Festival?
No. Both use the abbreviation BAIFF. This guide covers the Burano festival at baiff.eu, which calls itself the first film festival in Europe entirely dedicated to works made with AI.

The festival opens in twelve days. Your film starts on the page.

Write the screenplay free today, log every AI shot, and be ready when the next call opens.
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