Cue Film Fest · Cue Xmas '26 · Guide

How to enter Cue Film Fest, the AI Christmas festival.A Christmas film. Live on TV on 12 December.

Cue Xmas '26 takes Christmas films made with generative AI until 20 November 2026. Ten finalists screen in a live broadcast on AFRO TV, where four cash awards are given. Here are the rules, the traps and a three week plan to make the film in ScreenWeaver.
Start writing for freeSee the scene
  • Deadline 20 November 2026
  • Four cash awards
  • Live final on 12 December
Lost Garden · Episode 2

Independent guide by the ScreenWeaver team. ScreenWeaver does not organise Cue Film Fest and is not affiliated with AFRO TV. Facts read on 28 October 2026. Official site

Available today in ScreenWeaver: free screenwriting, and a storyboard generated from your screenplay with the Auteur plan, $39.99 a month.

Also available now: video generation of each shot, powered by Seedance, on the same Auteur plan, with 6,000 credits a month.

The rules on one card

What Cue Xmas '26 asks.

Cue Film Fest is a seasonal AI short film festival run by AFRO TV, a US and Canadian channel. The Christmas edition asks for one Christmas film made with generative AI video tools, and its final is a television show.
Organiser
AFRO TV
Submissions
5 October to 20 November 2026
Theme
Christmas, made with generative AI video tools
Length
Short: about one to three minutes in the launch release
Awards
Best Film, Best Image, Best Sound, Best Music Video, all in cash
Finalists
Ten, named on 1 December 2026
Winners
Public vote and a three-member jury
Fee
Free, according to aifilmcontests.com

Sources: the AFRO TV launch release of 5 October 2026 and cuefilmfest.com, read on 28 October 2026. The cash amounts are not published. The fee and the length rule are not identical across sources: one listing gives 2 to 6 minutes. <b>Read the full rules on cuefilmfest.com before you edit.</b>

Key dates

Three weeks to the deadline, then a live show.

From the end of October you have about three weeks. A short film is a realistic goal in that time if the screenplay is ready in the first few days.

  1. 5 Oct 2026

    Entries open

    Christmas films made with generative AI video tools are accepted from this date.

  2. 20 Nov 2026

    Deadline

    The last day to submit. The release gives no hour: send it a day early.

  3. 1 Dec 2026

    Ten finalists, voting opens

    A selection committee names the finalists. The public votes on cuefilmfest.com until 12 December.

  4. 12 Dec 2026

    The live final

    Red carpet and screenings at 7 p.m. ET, awards at 8 p.m. ET, on AFRO TV (Xfinity channel 1623) and NOW TV.

The four awards

Know which award your film can win.

Four cash awards are given on the night. Each one rewards something different, and a short film can aim at two of them. Under each, the angle we would take with ScreenWeaver.

  • 01

    Best Film

    The grand prize, announced last on the broadcast.

    A Christmas film wins with one character and one wish. Write the wish in the first ten seconds, then let the ending grant it or break it.

  • 02

    Best Image

    The look of the film: light, colour, framing.

    Pick one palette and hold it: warm windows against blue snow, or candlelight against the dark. A storyboard keeps it consistent from the first frame to the last.

  • 03

    Best Sound

    Music, voices and sound design.

    Christmas is a sound before it is an image: bells, snow under boots, a fire. Plan the sound in the screenplay, not in the last edit.

  • 04

    Best Music Video

    An AI music video with a Christmas theme.

    Cut to the song from the start. Board the chorus first: it carries the images people will remember on a TV screen.

From script to screen

Lost Garden: one scene, six shots.

This is the opening of Lost Garden, episode 2, an animated series made by the ScreenWeaver team with Seedance: two small knights, cold blue light and a promise to keep going. The same method makes a Christmas film: a screenplay page, then each shot as a storyboard frame, then the final image.

Logline. A newborn knight whose inner light is leaking away crosses a world that has stopped hoping, to find the one blacksmith who can seal his armor.

Screenplay · episode 2 · page 1

INT. UNDERGROUND CAVERN - LOWER PATH - CONTINUOUS

Blue mushrooms the size of houses. LANTERN, a small knight with a lantern for a helm, walks alone.

He presses a hand to his chest. Sparks of light slip between his fingers.

SERRURE

Hold on. You're losing something.

Serrure lifts the edge of the cloak. A gash in the armor. Blue light leaks out like smoke.

SERRURE

That's your energy. What keeps you standing.

He grips Lantern's shoulder. Two knights alone among the crystals.

SERRURE

A suit that leaks goes out. Eventually.

Under the giant mushrooms, the road climbs into the dark.

SERRURE

So. We follow the road.

Serrure points the way. Lantern follows.

CUT TO:

  1. A small knight with a lantern helm stands by a giant glowing blue mushroom in a crystal cavern
    Storyboard frame of the same wide shot, in grey
    01

    Wide · the world

    Wide shot, Lantern alone by a giant glowing blue mushroom, crystal cavern, roots, drifting spores, cold blue light

  2. Close-up of an armored chest under a cream cloak, a gloved hand, a spark of light
    Storyboard frame of the chest close-up, in grey
    02

    Close-up · the chest

    Close-up on Lantern's chest, his gloved hand pressed to the cloak, a spark of light escaping between the fingers

  3. A torn gash in an armor plate leaking bright blue light, a finger pointing at it
    Storyboard frame of the wound insert, in grey
    03

    Insert · the wound

    Extreme close-up, Serrure's finger near a torn gash in the back plate, blue light leaking out like luminous smoke

  4. Two armored knights side by side, one with a hand on the other's shoulder, in a crystal cavern
    Storyboard frame of the two-shot, in grey
    04

    Two-shot · the bond

    Medium two-shot among crystals and roots, Serrure's hand on Lantern's shoulder, faceless armors, emotion through posture only

  5. Two small knights walk beneath two giant glowing blue mushrooms
    Storyboard frame of the wide shot, in grey
    05

    Wide · the scale

    Wide low angle, the two knights tiny beneath two giant glowing mushrooms, blue crystals in the foreground, mist

  6. Seen from behind, a tall dark knight points ahead while the small lantern knight looks on
    Storyboard frame of the over-the-shoulder shot, in grey
    06

    Over the shoulder · the road

    Over-the-shoulder from behind, Serrure points ahead into the cavern, Lantern beside him, roots framing the path

Lost Garden, episode 2, 21 minutes, by the ScreenWeaver team, made with Seedance. Cue asks for a few minutes, so a film like this would be cut to one scene. It shows what a short festival film needs: a clear wish, a friend and an image that holds on a TV screen. The player opens on this scene.

The script

A two minute Christmas film in four movements.

Two minutes fit every length given for this edition. About 25 to 35 shots of 3 to 5 seconds, and a screenplay of two pages.

  1. 0:00 to 0:18

    The wish

    Who the film follows and what they want for Christmas, in one image and one line.

  2. 0:18 to 1:00

    The obstacle

    Snow, distance, a closed door, a person who says no. Three shots that make the wish harder.

  3. 1:00 to 1:42

    The gift

    Someone gives something up. This is the moment the audience will vote for.

  4. 1:42 to 2:00

    The last image

    A window, a light, a face. End on silence, then the title.

For the music video award, keep the same four movements and cut them to the song: the wish on the first verse, the gift on the last chorus.

Plan to the deadline

Three weeks to 20 November.

From 29 October. The screenplay is the shortest step and the one that decides the rest.
  1. 01

    29 Oct to 4 Nov

    The idea and the screenplay

    Five Christmas loglines, keep one, write two pages in the free Screenwriter plan, in industry format.

  2. 02

    5 to 11 Nov

    References and storyboard

    One reference per character and per place, then a storyboard generated from the screenplay. Fix the palette now.

  3. 03

    12 to 17 Nov

    Footage, sound and edit

    Generate each shot with Seedance in ScreenWeaver from the storyboard, then cut on the music and mix.

  4. 04

    18 to 19 Nov

    Check and submit

    Read the rules on cuefilmfest.com again, check the length, then submit a day before the deadline.

Traps to avoid

Five ways to miss the broadcast.

They come from the release and from the rules relayed by listings. Check each one on cuefilmfest.com.

  • A single unedited clip

    The rules relayed by aifilmcontests.com say one unedited AI clip is not eligible. The film must be built from several intentional shots and your own edit.

  • No Christmas in the film

    The theme is Christmas. A winter film without a Christmas element risks being out of theme.

  • The wrong length

    The release speaks of one to three minutes and one listing of two to six. Two minutes fits both: aim there unless the official rules say otherwise.

  • Forgetting the vote

    Finalists are decided by a committee, but winners also by the public from 1 to 12 December. Plan to share your film when voting opens.

  • Music you do not own

    A TV broadcast needs clear rights. Use music you made, generated or licensed for broadcast.

Why ScreenWeaver

Three weeks is enough with the right order.

Cue asks for a short film built from intentional shots. ScreenWeaver puts the screenplay, the storyboard and the footage in one project, so each shot has a reason.

  • A screenplay first

    Write two pages for free, in industry format. Screenwriting has no time limit and no credit cost.

  • A storyboard from the screenplay

    Shot by shot, with the same characters and places, so the film reads as one story and not as a set of clips.

  • Footage with Seedance

    Generate each shot from its storyboard frame in the same project. Declare the tools you used if the rules ask.

  • One price

    Storyboard and video generation for each shot come with the Auteur plan at $39.99 a month.

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 animated shorts to short films 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

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 contests

Guides for other contests

Go further

Guides for festival films

FAQ

Cue Film Fest, your questions

What is Cue Film Fest?
A seasonal AI short film festival run by AFRO TV. The Christmas edition, Cue Xmas '26, takes Christmas films made with generative AI video tools and ends with a live broadcast on 12 December 2026.
What is the deadline?
Entries are open from 5 October to 20 November 2026. Ten finalists are named on 1 December.
What are the prizes?
Four cash awards: Best Film, Best Image, Best Sound and Best Music Video. The amounts are not published.
How long should the film be?
The launch release speaks of one to three minutes, and one listing gives 2 to 6 minutes. Two minutes fits both. Check the rules on cuefilmfest.com.
How are the winners chosen?
A selection committee picks ten finalists. The public votes on cuefilmfest.com from 1 to 12 December, and a three-member jury decides with the viewers.
Where can I watch the final?
On AFRO TV, Comcast Xfinity channel 1623, and streaming on NOW TV, on 12 December 2026 from 7 p.m. ET.
Can I make the film with ScreenWeaver and Seedance?
The festival asks for generative AI video tools without naming one. Write and storyboard in ScreenWeaver, generate the shots with Seedance, and edit them into a real film, since a single unedited clip is not eligible.

Three weeks to 20 November. Start with the page.

Write your Christmas screenplay for free today, storyboard it, then film it with Seedance in the same project.
Start writing for freeBack to the demo