LifeArt AI Film Festival · Guide

How to enter the LifeArt AI Film Festival.Two calendars. One thing to check first.

The official page lists a late deadline of 1 September 2026. The festival’s Festhome page still showed 9 October 2026. This guide puts both side by side, with the AI disclosure rule, what the prizes really are, and how to prepare. Then write the screenplay, storyboard it and generate the footage in ScreenWeaver.
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  • AI use must be disclosed
  • Any AI tool accepted
  • IMDb-qualifying festival
Lost Garden · Episode 2

Independent guide. ScreenWeaver does not organise the LifeArt AI Film Festival and is not affiliated with LifeArt Festival or EyeMix Visuals. Rules read on 1 October 2026. Official AI festival page

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.

Dates, fees and sources

What each source says.

Two sources, two calendars. The official page and the festival’s Festhome page disagree on when the call closes. The festival answers by e-mail, so ask it which date applies to your section before you pay.
Official page deadlines
Regular 1 Aug, late 1 Sep 2026
Festhome last deadline
9 October 2026
Hollywood event
9 September 2026, already held
Notification (Festhome)
1 November 2026
Fee on Festhome
$26 to $56 per section, no refund
AI tools
Any generative AI technology
Language
English subtitles if not in English
AI disclosure
Required in the submission form

Source: the official page lifeartfestival.com/ai and the festival’s own Festhome page and rules, read on 1 October 2026. FilmFreeway, also listed by the festival, could not be read. Contact: ai@lifeartfestival.com.

What the rules say about AI

Four rules for AI projects.

The festival’s rules have a dedicated section on AI submissions. It welcomes AI-generated and AI-assisted work and asks for honesty in return. Wording from the rules on the festival’s Festhome page, read on 1 October 2026.

  • Disclose it in the form

    Projects that use AI “partially or entirely” for scripting, animation, direction, editing, voice synthesis or visual effects must clearly disclose it in the submission form. The festival welcomes both kinds of work if creative intent, authorship and originality are evident.

  • Rights to every ingredient

    By submitting an AI project you confirm you hold the rights to all materials, including datasets, models, voices and imagery, and that nothing infringes third-party or personal rights. You also warrant sole ownership of the film.

  • Judged on four things

    AI submissions are judged on “artistic merit, innovation, ethical use, and transparency”. The festival may disqualify entries that use AI deceptively or against copyright, privacy or ethical standards.

  • No tool required

    The official FAQ says no specific AI tool or platform is required and any generative AI technology is welcome. The pages state no duration limit, aspect ratio or resolution. Projects not in English need English subtitles.

Key dates

Two calendars, one question to ask.

The Hollywood event announced on the official page has passed. If the call is closed for your section, read this page as the plan for the next one.

  1. 1 Aug 2026

    Regular deadline

    On the official page and on Festhome, where the list price for this window is $36.

  2. 1 Sep 2026

    Late deadline

    The last date on the official page. On Festhome it is the final deadline for nine sections, including AI Short Films and AI Films, at $56.

  3. 9 Sep 2026

    Hollywood event

    The 10th anniversary showcase at EyeMix Studios, a curated exhibition chosen from more than 600 global submissions, says the festival’s own page.

  4. 9 Oct 2026

    Festhome final deadline

    Listed as the festival’s last deadline, with some sections closing earlier. Confirm that your section is still open.

  5. 1 Nov 2026

    Notification

    The date Festhome gives. Selected films are asked for stills, a director’s biography and full credits.

How AI films are judged

Four named criteria, no percentages.

The festival names what AI submissions are judged on and publishes no percentages. Treat the order as a hint, and write your disclosure for the last two.

  • Artistic merit

    The first criterion named. Story, image and sound that serve one idea. The festival says intent and originality must be evident, so state your intent in the first line of your note.

  • Innovation

    Use AI where a camera cannot go and describe the method. A new look is not innovation if it is a gimmick. A new way to tell the story is.

  • Ethical use

    Rights, consent and honesty. Invent your characters, license your music, and do not clone a real voice or face. Deception is a stated ground for disqualification.

  • Transparency

    Say which tool did which step: script, image, animation, voice, editing, effects. The form asks for it, and a precise note reads as confidence.

Disqualification is on the table. The festival reserves the right to remove entries that use AI deceptively or that break copyright, privacy or ethical standards.

The categories

Eight on the official page, thirteen on Festhome.

The official page lists eight award categories. Festhome lists thirteen sections, with extras such as AI Web/TV Series and AI Documentary. Six matter most to a filmmaker. Each card ends with our advice.

  • 01

    AI Films and Animation, short

    Short films, animations and experimental narratives where AI tools were primary or a significant enhancement, in the Festhome wording.

    The busiest section. The selections on the festival’s page run from 17 seconds to 10 minutes 38. Aim for 3 to 8 minutes and finish the idea.

  • 02

    AI Films and Animation, feature

    Feature-length films with significant AI integration in narrative, visual execution or production.

    A feature is a production, not a sprint. If you have a series, cut a short from the first episode and enter that first.

  • 03

    Humanitarian AI Award

    Projects about AI’s influence on culture, ethics and humanity: bias, the environment, accessibility, people and AI together.

    Go personal: one person, one decision about technology. A story lands harder than a lecture.

  • 04

    AI Commercial and Advertising

    Branded content and commercials that use AI tools for design, personalisation and storytelling.

    A 30 to 60 second spot with one clear idea. Check every shot for stray logos and clear any brand you show.

  • 05

    AI Music Video

    AI-generated visuals for music, listed on both the official page and Festhome.

    The rights clause covers audio too. Use your own track or a licensed one and keep the licence in your files.

  • 06

    AI Visionary Award

    Honours a creator or team whose work sets a new benchmark and shows foresight, according to Festhome.

    It rewards a body of work more than one film. Document your method: how screenplay, storyboard and footage connect.

The 2026 showcase

What the showcase tells you.

The Hollywood 2026 showcase at EyeMix Studios is a curated exhibition chosen from more than 600 global submissions to the festival. Its pages show the selected films with their running times. No list of winners was online on the day of reading.

  1. 01

    The selection is tight. More than 600 entries became a short loop of films. Your first minute has to work with no explanation.

  2. 02

    Short films fill the room. The selections on the AI page run from 17 seconds to 10 minutes 38, and seven of the nine are under five minutes.

  3. 03

    The reward is recognition. The official page lists IMDb recognition, a certificate of Official Selection, promotion and media coverage, and no cash for the main awards. The $50,000 that circulates belongs to another contest, described in the FAQ.

  4. 04

    The organiser has history. LifeArt has run since 2016 and cites submissions from more than 60 countries and screenings in Los Angeles, Athens and Mumbai.

Show your method

Lost Garden: the note behind the shot.

LifeArt asks you to disclose which AI step produced what. Here is one scene from Lost Garden, episode 2, an animated series made by the ScreenWeaver team with Seedance, laid out the way a disclosure note would be: the screenplay page, each shot as a storyboard frame, then as 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, runs 21 minutes. LifeArt states no duration limit and has sections for short films, features and web or TV series, so an episode can find a place. The film opens at this scene in the player.

The script

A 5 minute film in five movements.

LifeArt states no length, and the selections on its page are mostly short. Five minutes means 5 screenplay pages and 50 to 70 shots of 4 to 6 seconds.

  1. 0:00 to 0:30

    The promise

    State the idea in one image, before any title.

  2. 0:30 to 1:30

    The rule

    Who the film follows, and what AI makes possible here that a camera could not.

  3. 1:30 to 3:30

    The escalation

    Each scene raises the cost for the character. This is where innovation shows.

  4. 3:30 to 4:30

    The choice

    The moment the film is about. Give it sound, and give it silence.

  5. 4:30 to 5:00

    The after

    A last image, then a card that names your tools.

Non-English dialogue needs English subtitles. Burn them into a copy and keep a clean master. A closing card that lists the tools matches the transparency the festival asks for.

Day by day

From today to the last date on Festhome.

If Festhome’s 9 October is right, you have eight days: enough to submit a film you have already made, not to make one. In that case, read this as the plan for the next call. Write to the festival first.
  1. 01

    1 October

    Ask which deadline applies

    Write to ai@lifeartfestival.com, the address on the Festhome page: is the call open for your section, and until when? Fees are never refunded.

  2. 02

    2 October

    Write the AI note

    One paragraph per step: script, image, animation, voice, editing. Name the tool and the version, and the rights for every element. The form asks for it.

  3. 03

    3 October

    Subtitles and link

    Non-English films need English subtitles. Festhome wants an online link and its password in the form, so test the link in a private window.

  4. 04

    4 and 5 October

    Pick the section

    An entry can go into several sections, each at its own fee. Choose one, two at most, where the film fits best.

  5. 05

    6 to 8 October

    Pay and submit

    Pay by card on Festhome. Check that your section is still open before you pay, since nine sections closed on 1 September.

  6. 06

    9 October and after

    Keep the files ready

    Notification is listed for 1 November. If selected, you will be asked for stills, a director’s biography and full credits.

Ways to lose an entry

Eight traps in the rules.

Most of them sit in the legal text of the rules, below the FAQ. Read it before you pay.

  • Paying before checking the dates

    The sources disagree and fees are non-refundable under any circumstance. Get the deadline for your section in writing.

  • No English subtitles

    Projects not in English must include English subtitles. Without them an entry may be disqualified.

  • A blurry AI note

    The form asks you to clearly disclose AI use in scripting, animation, direction, editing, voice synthesis or effects. A vague line wastes the transparency criterion.

  • Real faces, real voices, real data

    You confirm rights to datasets, models, voices and imagery. A cloned voice or a celebrity look-alike is the quickest way to a disqualification.

  • Expecting the $50,000

    The main awards list no cash. The $50,000 production budget belongs to the separate AI Short Content Award, which is for vertical series.

  • Backing out once selected

    Once a film is selected it cannot be withdrawn, and screenings are scheduled at the festival’s sole discretion. Be sure before you enter.

  • Promotion rights you did not read

    Selected films grant free use of excerpts, up to 30 seconds for shorts and 60 seconds for features, plus stills and trailers, on all platforms. Check that your music and voices allow it.

  • A link that does not open

    Festhome wants an online link with its password in the form. A private link that fails is a film nobody watches.

Why ScreenWeaver

LifeArt takes any tool. ScreenWeaver keeps the proof.

ScreenWeaver connects the writing, the storyboard and the footage in one project, which is also what a clear disclosure needs.

  • No imposed tool, so choose shot by shot

    LifeArt welcomes any generative AI technology. ScreenWeaver’s footage pipelines are powered by Seedance, and the same project holds the screenplay, the storyboard and the shot list your note describes.

  • The note comes from the project

    Every shot links to its scene, its storyboard frame and its prompt. The step-by-step note LifeArt asks for becomes a read of the project, not an effort of memory.

  • Film, series, commercial or music video

    LifeArt has sections for shorts, features, web series, commercials and music videos. ScreenWeaver builds all of those formats, so the same characters and references can serve more than one entry.

  • Start free today

    Writing in ScreenWeaver is free, with no expiry. Adding the storyboard costs $9.99 a month with Storyboard Beta. Shot-by-shot footage arrives with the Filmmaker plan.

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 festivals and awards

Read next

Guides before you enter

FAQ

LifeArt AI Film Festival, your questions

How do you win the LifeArt AI Film Festival?
AI submissions are judged on artistic merit, innovation, ethical use and transparency, with no published weights. Tell one clear story, use AI for what a camera cannot do, clear every right, and disclose each AI step in the form.
What are the LifeArt AI Film Festival deadlines?
The sources conflict. The official page lists 1 August 2026 (regular) and 1 September 2026 (late). Festhome lists a final deadline of 9 October 2026, with nine sections closing on 1 September, and notification on 1 November. Write to ai@lifeartfestival.com before you pay.
Do I have to disclose AI at LifeArt?
Yes. Projects that use AI partially or entirely must clearly disclose it in the submission form. AI-generated and AI-assisted works are both welcome, and entries that use AI deceptively can be disqualified.
Is there prize money?
The official page lists IMDb recognition, a certificate, promotion and media coverage, not cash. A $50,000 budget exists for the separate AI Short Content Award, which is for vertical series.
What is the LifeArt AI Short Content Award?
A contest from LifeArt and AI Hollywood Studios for series of 40 to 60 episodes of 1 to 2 minutes in 9:16, fully AI-generated, with human editing allowed. You send three pilot episodes, ten scripts and a pitch deck. The page names a $50,000 total budget for season 1, shared among winners. No deadline was on the page.
Is any AI tool required?
Any. The official FAQ says no specific AI tool or platform is required and that any generative AI technology is welcome.
How much does it cost to enter?
The official page lists no fee. On Festhome the list price per section was $26 early, $36 standard, $42 late and $56 extended, with member discounts. Fees are non-refundable. The FilmFreeway fees could not be read.
Is LifeArt an IMDb-qualifying festival?
The festival says yes: selections and awards can be listed on IMDb, with an official IMDb event page. LifeArt does not appear on the Academy’s short film qualifying list updated on 10 April 2026.

Ask first, then make the film.

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