Applications Open for the International Astana AI Film Festival Competition for Creators Worldwide
The official website of the Astana AI Film Festival aaiff.ai has opened submissions for creators from around the world to participate in the international AI film competition. The project concept, competition format, and launch details were presented by the organizers during a press conference in Astana.
According to festival organizer Almas Zhali, the competition program will feature two sections: the main competition centered around this season’s theme “The Future Worth Living In” and an open section featuring five award categories recognizing best directing, visual language, story, concept, and character.
A key requirement of the competition is that submitted films must be created using full AI technologies, where artificial intelligence serves as the core production method rather than merely a post-production enhancement tool.
“The festival will take place in Astana from September 28 to October 1, 2026, as part of Astana AI Week — a week dedicated to artificial intelligence. This connects AAIFF with the country’s крупнейшие technological events and strengthens the festival’s international positioning,” said Almas Zhali.
Participation in the competition is free of charge and open to everyone — both teams and individual creators — with no age or professional qualification restrictions. To participate, applicants must create an AI-generated short film of up to 10 minutes and upload it to the festival platform along with a project description.
“Applications are submitted through the festival website. Participants may either upload their work to YouTube and provide the link, or upload it to a cloud service and submit the corresponding link. All submissions are registered and managed by the organizers within a unified database, meaning creators do not need to manually track their application status,” said project co-author Aizatulla Khussein.
For videos uploaded to YouTube, the description must include the phrase “Special for Astana AI Film Festival,” the creator’s full name, and the hashtag #SpecialForAAIFF.
Following the selection process, the AAIFF team and international experts will shortlist 25 projects: 10 films in the main competition and 15 in the open section. The finalists will then be evaluated by an international jury composed of representatives from the film industry, AI community, and creative tech sector.
Submissions will remain open until August 15, 2026. The finalists will be announced in September, while screenings and the awards ceremony will take place in Astana during Astana AI Week.
Astana AI Film Festival is an international festival dedicated to films created using artificial intelligence technologies. The platform will bring together filmmakers, digital creators, technology companies, experts, and investors. The festival’s total prize fund amounts to USD 1 million.
The festival program will also include screenings, an AI content conference, panel discussions, and pitching sessions for creators and producers. Organizers plan to hold the festival annually, developing it into a sustainable international platform for AI cinema and emerging forms of digital creativity.
Official festival website: https://aaiff.ai/