World AI Film Festival 2027 · Guide

How to win the World AI Film Festival.Cannes, 6 and 7 April 2027. Deadline 15 February.

The rules of the Cannes 2027 call, the fees that rise on 15 November and 1 February, the city editions you may have to enter instead, and a plan from today to 15 February 2027. Then make the film in ScreenWeaver, from the screenplay to Seedance footage.
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  • Deadline 15 February 2027
  • Fee from €15, rising twice
  • 18 countries enter locally
Lost Garden · Episode 2

Independent guide. ScreenWeaver does not organise the World AI Film Festival and is not affiliated with Institut EuropIA or its partners. Rules read on 1 October 2026. Cannes 2027 page

Available today in ScreenWeaver: free screenwriting, and a storyboard generated from your screenplay with Storyboard Beta, $9.99 a month.

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The rules on one card

What the Cannes 2027 call asks for.

The World AI Film Festival, or WAIFF, runs city editions around the world and a grand finale at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. 2027 is the third edition: the first took place in April 2025, the second on 21 and 22 April 2026.
Cannes finale
6 and 7 April 2027, Palais des Festivals
Cannes deadline
15 February 2027, 11:59 PM
Fee per film
€15 until 15 Nov, €30 until 31 Jan, €60 after
Short film
5 to 15 minutes
Series
At least 2 episodes of 5 to 30 minutes
Feature film
30 minutes or more
AI rule
Significant AI use, English subtitles in the picture
Who enters Cannes
Not creators from 18 countries, who enter locally

Sources: the home page, the Cannes 2027 page and the registration form of worldaifilmfestival.com, read on 1 October 2026. Reports on earlier editions come from the organiser's 2025 page and from the press. The rules refer to a regulations PDF we could not read: check it before you pay.

Key dates

Five months, three fee windows.

The fee depends on the day you submit, not on the day you start. Count from the three dates that change the price.

  1. 15 Sep 2026

    The Cannes call opens

    Submissions open at 10:00 AM. The early bird fee is €15 per film.

  2. 15 Nov 2026

    Early bird ends

    From 16 November the fee is €30.

  3. 31 Jan 2027

    Standard fee ends

    From 1 February, the late fee is €60.

  4. 15 Feb 2027

    Cannes deadline

    The last day to submit, until 11:59 PM.

  5. 6 and 7 Apr 2027

    The Cannes finale

    Screenings at the Palais des Festivals. Winners get trophies, festival tickets, travel and accommodation, and access to the market.

Who decides

Independent juries, edition by edition.

The official page says independent juries review the films, and it does not name a 2027 jury. Where you enter decides who watches your film, so here is who judged before.

  • One jury per edition

    Each city edition and the Cannes finale has its own jury. Choosing the edition on purpose, within the limits of where you live, is part of the strategy.

  • Cannes 2026

    Agnès Jaoui led the jury, with the actress Elsa Zylberstein among its members, and Gong Li presided over the festival, according to Screen Daily. Thirteen prizes went to winners across two ceremonies. The prize list shows what film people reward: emotion, fantasy, animation, action, sound.

  • Cannes 2025

    Thomas Bidegain chaired, with Claude Lelouch as honorary president and members including Julie Gayet and Jean-David Blanc. The first edition also had a Best Fiction Screenplay category, so a screenplay that works on the page was part of the picture.

The categories

Pick the category by duration.

The Cannes 2027 call sorts films by format and by partner. Duration decides first: it tells you which door your film can use. Under each category, the angle we would take.

  • 01

    Short film

    5 to 15 minutes, all genres welcome.

    The natural home of a screenplay-first film. Costa Verde, the 2026 Best AI Film, ran 12 minutes according to Screen Daily. Aim for 8 to 12 minutes.

  • 02

    Series

    At least two episodes of 5 to 30 minutes each.

    The category that suits a series pipeline: one project, shared characters and places. Two episodes must look like the same world.

  • 03

    Feature film

    30 minutes or more: fiction, documentary or animation, fully AI or hybrid.

    A 30 minute floor is a production plan, not a prompt. Break it into scenes of two or three minutes and treat each as a short, with the same references.

  • 04

    Music video and advertising

    Music video has no length limit and takes horizontal, vertical or immersive formats. Advertising takes existing broadcast campaigns only.

    A new spot is not an existing campaign. Music videos are open: plan one shot per musical phrase.

  • 05

    The CapCut competitions

    A CapCut short film of 5 to 15 minutes, or a mini-drama of 4 to 6 vertical episodes of one minute. Both must use CapCut tools in a significant way.

    These categories require CapCut, so footage from ScreenWeaver alone does not qualify. You can still write and storyboard a vertical mini-drama here first.

  • 06

    Horizon and the city editions

    The Horizon competition is for international editions only. Creators in 18 countries enter their local edition, not Cannes.

    Check where you live first. Published dates: Buenos Aires 30 October 2026, Istanbul 9 November, London 24 November, Abidjan in February, Tokyo in March, Seoul 18 and 19 March, São Paulo 22 and 23 March. Los Angeles is listed as coming soon.

The winners

What Cannes selected before.

The second edition, on 21 and 22 April 2026, drew no fewer than 5,000 films according to Mediakwest. Screen Daily says more than 7,000. The first edition, in 2025, had more than 1,500 submissions from over 80 countries, and 15 films in the final round.

  1. 01

    Best AI Film 2026 went to Costa Verde, by Léo Cannone, which also took the Fantasy prize. A finished short with one strong world won out of thousands.

  2. 02

    Sound has its own prize. Steam, by Fabio Bonvicini, won the AI Soundtrack prize. In a festival that awards sound, emotion and animation separately, a film can win a niche and not only the top prize.

  3. 03

    The prize list is a map. 2026 rewarded Emotion, Animation, Action, Youth, Fantasy, Documentary (with MiniMax) and AI Soundtrack, plus Micro-series, First Film, 8th Art and Advertising. Read it as what the festival welcomes.

  4. 04

    Documentary and emotion both place. Napoléon III, le prix de l’audace, by Jacques Edouard, won Best Documentary. Beginning, by Ibraheem Diab of Jordan, won the Emotion prize.

  5. 05

    The first edition set the bar. In 2025, The Russian Sleep Experiment, by Nicolas Pomet, won Best AI Film, ahead of L’espace tombe sur la Terre and Thiaroye 44. The prizes were €10,000, €5,000 and €2,000.

From script to screen

Two episodes, one world: Lost Garden.

Take Lost Garden, an animated series by the ScreenWeaver team, made with Seedance. The Series category asks for at least two episodes, and Lost Garden has two. Here is one scene from episode 2 at each stage: the screenplay page, then each shot as a storyboard frame and 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, and episode 1 runs 17: both would sit inside the 5 to 30 minutes per episode that the Series category sets. Episode 1 was a finalist at the AI London Festival. The series is by the ScreenWeaver team, made with Seedance. The video starts on this scene.

The script

A 10 minute short in five movements.

For the Short category, 10 minutes is a comfortable target inside 5 to 15, and close to the 12 minutes of the 2026 Best AI Film. That is about 10 screenplay pages and 120 to 160 shots of 3 to 5 seconds.

  1. 0:00 to 0:40

    The cold open

    An image with a question in it, before any explanation.

  2. 0:40 to 2:20

    The world and its law

    Who lives here and what the one rule of this place is. Show it by action.

  3. 2:20 to 6:40

    The long middle

    Three escalating sequences, each in a different light or place so the film does not look repeated.

  4. 6:40 to 9:00

    The reversal

    The rule of the world turns against the character, or the character breaks it.

  5. 9:00 to 10:00

    The last image

    A picture that stays, then the credits.

The rules say English subtitles must be included directly in the video, whatever language the film speaks. Burn them into the picture in your master.

From today to 15 February

A calendar built on the fee windows.

Today is 1 October. Nearly twenty weeks separate you from 15 February. Finish by 31 January to pay €30 instead of €60, and treat the last two weeks as a reserve.
  1. 01

    1 to 14 October

    Pick your edition and category

    Check whether your country must enter locally. Choose Short, Series or Feature by duration, and note the fee dates.

  2. 02

    15 to 31 October

    The screenplay

    Use ScreenWeaver's free plan, in industry format. For a short, about ten pages. For a series, outlines of two episodes that share the same world rules.

  3. 03

    November

    References and storyboard

    One approved reference per character and per set, then the storyboard from the screenplay. Few films will be done for the €15 window: plan for €30.

  4. 04

    December

    Generate the footage

    Scene by scene. Keep prompts and versions: the registration form asks you to list the AI tools you used.

  5. 05

    Early January

    Edit, sound, subtitles

    Cut to length, mix, and burn in the English subtitles.

  6. 06

    By 25 January

    Prepare the files

    The registration form we read asks for a PDF presentation up to 5 MB, a horizontal and a vertical poster, a black and white portrait and a video file up to 5 GB. Prepare them before the last week.

  7. 07

    By 31 January

    Submit at the standard fee

    Submit before 1 February. The final cutoff is 15 February at 11:59 PM, at €60.

Traps to avoid

Eight mistakes that cost a submission.

They come from the Cannes 2027 page and the registration form. Read the regulations PDF too, which we could not open.

  • The wrong edition

    Creators in 18 countries, from Japan and South Korea to the UK and the USA, enter their local edition, not Cannes. Check the list on the Cannes 2027 page before you pay.

  • A fee that quadruples

    The fee goes from €15 to €30 to €60 depending on the day you submit. A film finished on 31 January costs half of one finished on 1 February.

  • English subtitles left out

    They must be included directly in the video, whatever the language of the film. A separate subtitle file is not what the rule describes.

  • A deepfake of a real person

    The rules forbid relying on deepfake technologies designed to imitate identifiable people without authorization. Invent your characters.

  • A thin AI contribution

    AI use must be significant and meaningful. Fully AI and hybrid films are both eligible. A film with one AI shot does not meet the rule.

  • The AI tool list

    The registration form we read asks you to list the AI tools used and flags a minimum of three. Screen Daily reported a three-tool rule for 2026, with one for image creation. It is not on the Cannes 2027 page: ask the organisers, and list every tool honestly.

  • A duration that fits no category

    A short is 5 to 15 minutes, a series needs two episodes of 5 to 30, a feature starts at 30. A 4 minute film or a single episode fits none of them.

  • A CapCut category without CapCut

    The CapCut Short Film and Mini-Drama categories need significant use of CapCut tools. Footage from other tools alone does not qualify.

Why ScreenWeaver

WAIFF imposes no tool. The film still needs a pipeline.

Outside the CapCut categories, the Cannes 2027 rules name no mandatory tool. What ScreenWeaver adds is one place for the whole film: screenplay, storyboard and footage in one connected project.

  • Seedance 2.0 and 2.5 inside

    Footage is generated with Seedance inside the pipeline. List ScreenWeaver and the Seedance version beside your other tools in the registration form.

  • A series that stays one world

    The Series category needs two episodes of the same universe. In ScreenWeaver, characters, locations and references belong to the project, not to a single clip.

  • From a short to a feature

    The same project holds a 10 minute short, a two-episode series or the scenes of a feature. Formats include films, series and short dramas in 9:16.

  • A first draft at no cost

    The Screenwriter plan is free with no end date, so the €15 to €60 you spend goes to the submission, not to the writing. Storyboard Beta is $9.99 a month, and video generation is rolling out 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 AI film festivals

Guides for other festivals

Go further

Guides for festival films

FAQ

The World AI Film Festival, your questions

How do you win the World AI Film Festival?
The pages we read publish no scoring grid. Juries choose the Best AI Film and category prizes: Emotion, Fantasy, Animation, Action and AI Soundtrack among them in 2026. Finish a short of 8 to 12 minutes with one strong world, English subtitles in the picture and a significant use of AI.
When and where is WAIFF 2027?
The grand finale is on 6 and 7 April 2027 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. City editions come before it: Buenos Aires on 30 October 2026, Istanbul on 9 November, London on 24 November, then Abidjan, Tokyo, Seoul and São Paulo in early 2027. Los Angeles is listed as coming soon.
What is the deadline and how much does it cost?
The Cannes deadline is 15 February 2027, 11:59 PM. The fee per film is €15 from 15 September to 15 November 2026, €30 from 16 November to 31 January, and €60 from 1 to 15 February.
Which countries must enter a local edition?
Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Chad, Togo, the USA, Argentina, the UK, China and Turkey, according to the Cannes 2027 page.
What length does each category take?
A short film runs 5 to 15 minutes. A series needs at least two episodes of 5 to 30 minutes. A feature runs 30 minutes or more. Music videos have no limit, and the CapCut categories have their own formats.
Which AI tools can I use?
No tool is imposed, except in the CapCut categories, which need significant use of CapCut. The registration form asks you to list the tools you used, so keep a record. ScreenWeaver's footage pipelines run on Seedance 2.0 and 2.5.
What do winners get?
The Cannes 2027 page lists trophies, festival tickets, travel and accommodation, a screening at the Palais des Festivals and market access. It states no cash. In 2025, the organiser paid €10,000, €5,000 and €2,000 for the top three of the Best AI Film award.
Can my film be in another language than English?
Yes, in any language, provided English subtitles are included directly in the video.

Twenty weeks to Cannes. Start with the page.

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