Hollywood AI Short Film Awards 2027 · Guide

How to win the Hollywood AI Short Film Awards.22 minutes. One Super Bowl Saturday.

HASFA is a young awards night in West Hollywood with $2,750 in cash prizes and a final deadline of 11 January 2027. Only award winners screen live. Here are the rules that could be confirmed, the funnel from 210 quarterfinalists to 7 winners, and a plan. Then make your genre film in ScreenWeaver: screenplay, storyboard, footage.
Start writing for freeSee the scene
  • Final deadline 11 January 2027
  • 22 minutes maximum
  • Genre awards, sci-fi to horror
Voidborn · Episode 0

Independent guide. ScreenWeaver does not organise the Hollywood AI Short Film Awards and is not affiliated with HASFA or its organisers. Rules read on 1 October 2026. Official HASFA 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.

What is confirmed

What HASFA 2027 asks for.

The festival’s own site gives the date, the venue, the prizes and the categories. It has no rules page, so deadlines, fees, length and eligibility come from its FilmFreeway listing as shown in search results on the day of reading. Confirm them on FilmFreeway before you pay.
Awards night
Saturday 13 February 2027
Venue
London West Hollywood Screening Room
Final deadline (FilmFreeway)
11 January 2027
Notification (FilmFreeway)
22 January 2027
Length (FilmFreeway)
22 minutes, credits included
Completed (FilmFreeway)
On or after 1 January 2024
Fees (FilmFreeway)
$25 early bird to $55 final
Cash awards
$2,750, with $750 for Best Picture

Source: hollywoodaishorts.com (event, venue, prizes, categories, Year One figures, 2026 press release) and the festival’s FilmFreeway listing as summarised by search results, read on 1 October 2026. FilmFreeway itself blocked direct reading.

Key dates

Three prices, one night.

Fees rise at every deadline. <b>The earliest date you can meet is the cheapest one</b>, and the film is the same. The early bird, at $25, closed on 15 August.

  1. 31 Oct 2026

    Regular deadline

    $35 on FilmFreeway, or $30.50 for Gold Members.

  2. 15 Dec 2026

    Late deadline

    $45, or $40 for Gold Members.

  3. 11 Jan 2027

    Final deadline

    $55, or $49.50 for Gold Members. The last chance and the dearest.

  4. 22 Jan 2027

    Notification

    Projects are told where they stand. Distinctions run from Quarterfinalist to Best Picture Winner, each with official laurels.

  5. 13 Feb 2027

    Awards night

    Winners screen at the London West Hollywood Screening Room during Super Bowl Weekend, followed by a reception.

What the awards honour

Three things, no weights.

The official site says HASFA recognises excellence in storytelling, innovation and creative vision. No weights are published, and nothing says one counts more than another.

  • Storytelling

    One character, one want, one change in well under 22 minutes. The founder said the strongest films of Year One were the ones where the human voice stayed clear.

  • Innovation

    The listing asks for meaningful creative use of AI. Say what AI let you do that a small crew could not, and show it on screen.

  • Creative vision

    A look held from the first frame to the last: a genre, a palette, a way of framing. On a night split by genre, a film that commits to its genre reads as vision.

The listing asks for meaningful use of AI, not total use. AI can enter in development, production, post-production, animation, visual design or audio creation.

Who decides

Laurels, an audience prize and a founder.

No judges are named on the official site. What it publishes is how a film is recognised and who started the awards.

  • Levels of laurels

    Projects can be recognised as Quarterfinalist, Semifinalist, Finalist, Award Winner, Audience Choice Winner or Best Picture Winner, each with official laurels. Only award-winning films are invited to screen at the showcase.

  • An Audience Choice Award

    It sits next to the genre awards in the special recognitions. The official site does not say how it is decided, so make a film that works for people who do not know you.

  • A founder who is a filmmaker

    The press release names Brandon Miree, a traditional filmmaker and director of Moviefield AI, as founder. He said the aim is to expand what is possible, not to replace filmmakers.

The categories

Eight genres and four special awards.

The official site lists eight genre awards of $250 each, plus Emerging Creator ($250), an Audience Choice Award, Best Branded Commercial and the $750 Best Picture. Six suit a ScreenWeaver film. Each card closes with our take.

  • 01

    Best Sci-Fi

    A genre award, $250.

    Worlds a camera cannot visit are what AI does well. Keep the rules of your world simple and the faces consistent.

  • 02

    Best Thriller

    A genre award, $250.

    Tension comes from framing and sound, which you control in the storyboard. Few characters and few locations keep every shot matching.

  • 03

    Best Horror

    A genre award, $250.

    Horror runs on what you do not show. A slightly wrong image can serve it, but keep it intentional: the audience should feel dread, not a glitch.

  • 04

    Best Animation

    A genre award, $250. Year One’s winner, Mom’s Wish, was praised for a painterly visual style.

    A strong style hides the seams. Pick one style and keep it in every shot.

  • 05

    Best Music Video

    A genre award, $250, with a category of the same kind in Year One.

    Rights come first. Use a track you own or have licensed, and keep the licence with your files.

  • 06

    Emerging Creator

    A special honour, $250.

    The site gives no definition of emerging. Ask before you enter if you have already made films.

Year One

What Year One teaches.

The first edition drew entries from 42 countries and narrowed them at each level: 210 quarterfinalists, 45 semifinalists, 15 finalists and 7 award winners. It ended with a live screening.

  1. 01

    The funnel is steep. Seven winners from 210 quarterfinalists is one in thirty. A quarterfinalist laurel is a start, not a result.

  2. 02

    The top film was story-led. Best Film went to When the Emergency Alert Came by Taejin Ahn, described as gripping and emotionally resonant.

  3. 03

    Style counted in animation. Mom’s Wish, by Jing Wen and Xiaodan Huang, won Animation, praised for a heartfelt narrative and a painterly look.

  4. 04

    Branded work is welcome. A project by Fei Yi Li and Zheng Bao won in Branded/Commercial, and the 2027 list still has a Best Branded Commercial award.

A genre scene

Voidborn: a night fight in six shots.

HASFA gives one award per genre, so a film that commits to a genre earns attention. This scene is from Voidborn, episode 0, an anime action film made by the ScreenWeaver team: the screenplay page, each shot as a storyboard frame, then as the final image.

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, 13 minutes, well inside HASFA’s 22 minute limit. It took two placements at the Mondial Chroma Awards and an award at the Seoul International AI Film Festival. The scene shows the genre promise: one rule, one threat, one clash. The player starts on this scene.

The script

An 8 minute genre short in five movements.

The limit is 22 minutes, but a genre film lands in less. Eight minutes means 8 screenplay pages and 80 to 110 shots of 4 to 6 seconds.

  1. 0:00 to 0:30

    The genre promise

    Show the genre in the first shot: a threat, a world, a tone.

  2. 0:30 to 1:45

    The rule

    The one rule of your world, and the character who will break it.

  3. 1:45 to 5:00

    The pressure

    Each scene tightens the genre: more danger, less room.

  4. 5:00 to 7:15

    The set piece

    The sequence the genre promised. Give it the most shots and the best sound.

  5. 7:15 to 8:00

    The aftershock

    A short coda, then the credits.

The 22 minute cap includes credits. Keep a festival cut with short credits and put the full list in the description.

Week by week

Ten weeks to the late deadline.

Aim for 15 December. Finishing by 31 October would save $10, but ten weeks is the safer plan. One genre, one film, one weekly goal.
  1. 01

    Week 1 · by 7 October

    Pick a genre award

    Choose one award from the list and write ten loglines for that genre. Keep the one you can say in a breath.

  2. 02

    Weeks 2 and 3 · by 21 October

    Write eight pages

    Write the screenplay free in ScreenWeaver, in industry format. Read it aloud and cut anything the genre does not need.

  3. 03

    Weeks 4 and 5 · by 4 November

    Design and storyboard

    Define each character and set once. Generate the storyboard from the screenplay, then adjust framing, angle and movement shot by shot.

  4. 04

    Weeks 6 to 8 · by 25 November

    Generate the footage

    Seedance footage, scene by scene, guided by the storyboard and the references. Keep a log of which AI step made what, since the awards ask for meaningful use.

  5. 05

    Weeks 9 and 10 · by 9 December

    Edit and sound

    Cut to well under 22 minutes with credits, mix the sound and add subtitles if the film is not in English.

  6. 06

    By 15 December

    Submit with a short AI note

    Say where AI was used: development, production, post-production, animation or audio. Then pay once, on the date that suits you.

Ways to lose a place

Seven traps in a short rulebook.

The awards are young and the rules are brief. Most traps are about what is not written.

  • AI as an afterthought

    The listing asks for meaningful creative use of AI in some part of the process. A film where AI plays no real part misses the point of the awards.

  • A film older than 2024

    Films must have been completed on or after 1 January 2024, says the listing.

  • Running past 22 minutes

    The limit includes credits. A long end roll can push a 21 minute film over.

  • Paying the final fee by habit

    $25, $35, $45, then $55. The film does not change between dates, only the price.

  • Expecting a screening

    Only award-winning films are invited to the Winners Showcase. Quarterfinalists, semifinalists and finalists receive laurels, not a screen.

  • Counting on the prize money

    $2,750 in total: $250 for a genre award, $750 for Best Picture. The official site does not say that travel or accommodation is covered, so do not plan a trip around the prize.

  • Trusting an unconfirmed summary

    The festival’s own site has no rules page and FilmFreeway could not be read here. Read the rules on FilmFreeway before you pay: they may differ from this page.

Why ScreenWeaver

A genre award rewards a clear genre. Start with the page.

ScreenWeaver builds a film in any of HASFA’s genres from one connected project: screenplay, storyboard and footage.

  • One pipeline, every genre

    Films, short dramas, commercials, music videos, 3D animation and anime all come from the same project. The format you pick is a choice of story, not of tool.

  • Short by design

    A 22 minute cap suits a scene-by-scene build. Characters, locations and references carry from shot to shot, so the last shot matches the first.

  • Your AI note, already written

    The listing asks for meaningful creative use of AI. In the project, each shot traces back to its scene, its storyboard frame and its prompt, so you can say exactly where AI worked.

  • Start free today

    Screenwriting is free and permanent in ScreenWeaver. Storyboard Beta adds the storyboard for $9.99 a month, and the Filmmaker plan brings the footage.

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 festival guides

Other AI film awards

Read next

Guides by genre

FAQ

Hollywood AI Short Film Awards, your questions

How do you win the Hollywood AI Short Film Awards?
The official site says HASFA recognises storytelling, innovation and creative vision. Films move through levels of laurels, from Quarterfinalist to Award Winner, and winners screen on 13 February 2027. Pick one genre award and make a film that commits to it.
What are the HASFA deadlines?
According to the festival’s FilmFreeway listing: early bird 15 August 2026, regular 31 October 2026, late 15 December 2026 and final 11 January 2027, with notification on 22 January 2027. The official site gives no deadlines.
What does it cost to submit?
On FilmFreeway, $25 at the early bird, $35 regular, $45 late and $55 final, with Gold Member discounts. Confirm the fee on the listing before you pay.
What is the length limit?
Up to 22 minutes, credits included, and completed on or after 1 January 2024, according to the FilmFreeway listing.
Does the film have to be fully AI-generated?
No. The listing asks for meaningful creative use of AI in some aspect of the work: development, production, post-production, animation, visual design or audio. It names no required tool.
What are the prizes?
$2,750 in cash awards: $750 for Best Picture, $250 for each genre award and $250 for Emerging Creator. Winners also get official laurels and a screening at the Winners Showcase.
Do all selected films screen in Hollywood?
No. Only award-winning films are invited to the Winners Showcase on 13 February 2027. Quarterfinalists, semifinalists and finalists receive laurels.

Ten weeks to the late deadline.

Pick a genre and write the first page today, free. The storyboard comes next.
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