Following the launch of our Call for Submissions for the 2nd HKUST AI Film Festival, the Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC) is excited to announce an expansion of submission categories, a larger prize pool, together with an extension of submission deadline, opening the festival to an even broader range of AI‑driven creative practices.

Updated Submission Categories

Building on the two original categories: Main Competition and Student Works, the festival now in addition welcomes works that extend cinematic thinking into AI Music and AI Vertical Shorts.

🏆 Submissions are now open for the following four competition categories:

AI Film Main Competition 🎥
Open to broad creative visions, exploring the infinite possibilities of AI in cinematic storytelling.

Student Work Section 🎓
A dedicated track for students, igniting the sparks of art and technology across schools and institutions.

AI Music Section (New) 🎵
This section invites AI-generated or AI-assisted musical works, including compositions, soundscapes, and audio‑visual music pieces.

AI Vertical Shorts Section (New) 📱
A platform for short-form, vertical‑format AI works created for mobile‑optimized viewing and contemporary digital platforms, expanding cinematic language into new spatial and narrative forms.

A Larger Pool of Prizes

To accommodate the increase in categories and also the vast number of submissions, we are expanding our prize pool and the prizes available. From the coveted Best Film Award, the frontier Best Auteur Expression Award, to the premier Best Music Award and Best Vertical Film Award, opportunities await as participants mine their way through creative expressions and algorithms to our HKD30,000 prize pool.

Extended deadline

To ensure every participant have ample time to refine and hone their work to the finest before submission, the submission deadline has been extended accordingly.

🗓️ New Submission Deadline: March 20, 2026

On this boundary-defying stage where narratives, formats and dimensions are explored and challenged beyond perceived limits, we seek only the best and the finest creative work from you.

Submission Portal:
https://filmfreeway.com/HKUST-AI-Film