Entry rules: prizes
The rules of 20 of the 25 festivals cover the prizes on offer. The reading met most often is “Cash prizes stated”, for 10. The table sets every festival's reading beside the words of its rules. As of 2026-09-25.
| Festival | Reading | In the rules |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Billion AI Film Award | Cash prizes stated | A single $1,000,000 prize |
| Academy Awards | None in the rules read | None in the rules read (2026-09-25) |
| African AI Film Festival | Awards without cash figures | Awards that stress prestige and opportunity over cash |
| AI Cinema Festival NYC | Awards without cash figures | A Grand Prix and craft awards, with no cash figures |
| AI Film Festival Japan | Awards without cash figures | Competition awards plus special awards sponsored by CapCut and ElevenLabs |
| AI for Good Film Festival | An invitation and a speaker pass | An invitation to the AI for Good Global Summit 2027 with a speaker pass |
| AI International Film Festival | Awards without cash figures | Jury and audience awards, judged blind |
| AI Shortest Film Competition | Cash prizes stated | First place $3,000 cash with tickets, travel and accommodation to Berlin |
| Artefact AI Film Festival | None in the rules read | None in the rules read (2026-09-25) |
| Astana AI Film Festival | Cash prizes stated | $1,000,000 in competition prizes and a second $1,000,000 production fund |
| Bochnia International AI Film Festival | Cash prizes stated | A cash prize pool of $2,500, with a trophy for the Grand Prix |
| Chroma Awards | Cash prizes stated | Film division cash prizes across 13 categories |
| Cinema Shift Festival | Awards without cash figures | Three awards, one of them for a Canadian film, with no cash figures |
| Higgsfield Global Film Festival | Cash prizes stated | $1,000,000 in cash across 14 placements |
| Human vs. AI Film Festival | Cash prizes stated | A Humanity Award of US$3,000 chosen from eight emotion-category winners |
| K-Culture AI International Film Festival | Awards without cash figures | Laurels from official selection up to a Grand Prize, with no cash figures |
| LifeArt AI Film Festival | Awards without cash figures | Awards with IMDb-qualifying status for official selections and winners |
| Project Odyssey | None in the rules read | None in the rules read (2026-09-25) |
| Reply AI Film Festival | Cash prizes stated | A reward pool of more than €30,000 |
| Runway AI Festival | Cash prizes stated | Grand Prix of $50,000 cash plus Runway credits; Gold $15,000; Silver $10,000 |
| Runway Gen:48 | Cash prizes stated | Grand Prix of $5,000 cash plus Runway credits; second to fifth place in credits |
| Sundance Film Festival | None in the rules read | None in the rules read (2026-09-25) |
| Turkey International AI Film Festival | Awards without cash figures | A trophy for a film placing in each category |
| World AI Film Festival | None in the rules read | None in the rules read (2026-09-25) |
| World AI Film Festival USA | Trophies and a path to Cannes | Eleven trophies, with five films advancing to WAIFF Cannes 2027 |
Inclusion rule. All 25 festivals on the register. Order. Alphabetical by festival name.
1About this rule
This rule records what winners receive. 10 festivals state cash prizes, 1 offer trophies and a path to a larger festival, 1 an invitation, 8 awards without cash figures, and 5 say nothing.
The largest figures come from platform contests and a festival with a production fund; others offer screenings, travel or a speaker pass. A prize tied to a platform usually comes with the obligation to have made the film there.
2Readings and their festivals
- Cash prizes stated: 1 Billion AI Film Award, AI Shortest Film Competition, Astana AI Film Festival, Bochnia International AI Film Festival, Chroma Awards, Higgsfield Global Film Festival, Human vs. AI Film Festival, Reply AI Film Festival, Runway AI Festival and Runway Gen:48
- Trophies and a path to Cannes: World AI Film Festival USA
- An invitation and a speaker pass: AI for Good Film Festival
- Awards without cash figures: African AI Film Festival, AI Cinema Festival NYC, AI Film Festival Japan, AI International Film Festival, Cinema Shift Festival, K-Culture AI International Film Festival, LifeArt AI Film Festival and Turkey International AI Film Festival
- None in the rules read: Academy Awards, Artefact AI Film Festival, Project Odyssey, Sundance Film Festival and World AI Film Festival
3Festivals with a detailed reading
- AI Film Festival Japan — Competition awards plus special awards sponsored by CapCut and ElevenLabs
- AI for Good Film Festival — An invitation to the AI for Good Global Summit 2027 with a speaker pass
- AI Shortest Film Competition — First place $3,000 cash with tickets, travel and accommodation to Berlin
- Astana AI Film Festival — $1,000,000 in competition prizes and a second $1,000,000 production fund
- Cinema Shift Festival — Three awards, one of them for a Canadian film, with no cash figures
- Runway Gen:48 — Grand Prix of $5,000 cash plus Runway credits; second to fifth place in credits
- Turkey International AI Film Festival — A trophy for a film placing in each category
4The other rules
What the rules ask of AI · Saying which tools were used · Running time allowed · Cost of entry · Latest deadline · Where winners are shown · What the entrant keeps or grants
5What a generator hands an entrant
For an entrant reading “Prizes”, this is what SceneMixer publishes about the film its pipeline hands over:
A script longer than about 10,000 characters (counted as Chinese-equivalent characters) is read in two passes: first the cast, sets and props, then the episode list with a short outline per episode.
SceneMixer, Long Scripts Are Read in Two Passes: What “Preparing Episodes” Means and Why Some Episodes Open Later (read 2026-10-13)
16:9 landscape (SceneMixer's default) and 9:16 vertical (the usual short-drama frame), chosen per project.
SceneMixer, Seedance 2.0 in a Real Short-Drama Pipeline — “Which aspect ratios does the pipeline generate?” (read 2026-10-13)