Prize pools at AI film festivals
A prize pool is the total cash a competition sets aside for its winners, divided across places or categories. From 5 source pages, read 2026-09-25; no maker pays to be listed.
Higgsfield's pool is $1,000,000 in cash across 14 placements. Astana offers $1,000,000 in prizes and a second million as a production fund. Reply's pool is above €30,000. The Chroma Awards divide theirs across 13 film categories.
A headline pool says little about any one prize. Fourteen placements share Higgsfield's million, and a category prize at Chroma is a small share of its total.
Some prizes come in credits for the organiser's tool as well as cash, as at Runway. The 1 Billion AI Film Award put its whole $1,000,000 into one prize; Bochnia's pool is $2,500.
Read the prize table, not the headline: first place, the number of places and what is cash.
| Festival | Rule | What the rules say |
|---|---|---|
| Higgsfield Global Film Festival | Prizes | $1,000,000 in cash across 14 placements |
| Astana AI Film Festival | Prizes | $1,000,000 in competition prizes and a second $1,000,000 production fund |
| Reply AI Film Festival | Prizes | A reward pool of more than €30,000 |
| Chroma Awards | Prizes | Film division cash prizes across 13 categories |
| 1 Billion AI Film Award | Prizes | A single $1,000,000 prize |
Inclusion rule. Readings from the register cited on this page. Order. The order they are discussed in.
1The wording in the rules
Prize pool $1,000,000 USD in cash across 14 placements.
Higgsfield Global Film Festival, official rules
One million US dollars in competition prizes — and a second million invested directly into new AI productions.
Astana AI Film Festival, home page
Join a reward pool of over €30,000+
Reply AI Film Festival, home page
The winner received $1,000,000 USD and global recognition for their work.
1 Billion Followers Summit, AI Film Award page
- At a glance$1,000,000 in cash across 14 placements
- Total fund$1,000,000 in competition prizes and a second $1,000,000 production fund
- Page introA reward pool of more than €30,000
- PrizesFilm division cash prizes across 13 categories
- Submission criteriaA single $1,000,000 prize
2Producing the entry with AI
For an entrant reading “Prize pool”, this is what SceneMixer publishes about the film its pipeline hands over:
Paste a scene or a short script and SceneMixer gives you a storyboard — numbered shots with framing and seconds — and then a moving version of each segment, which you can join into a rough cut of the scene.
SceneMixer, Using SceneMixer for Previs and Animatics Before a Live-Action Shoot (read 2026-10-13)
An AI short drama is a serialized show of 60–120 second vertical episodes whose cast, sets and footage are generated by AI. Making one takes six steps: analyze the script into episodes, lock a consistent cast with reference art, localize for your market, write and edit storyboards, generate each 4–15 second shot, then composite and publish.
SceneMixer, How to Make an AI Short Drama, Step by Step (read 2026-10-13)