A $1 million prize is on offer for the best AI-made short film, with the winner premiering in Dubai
The 1 Billion AI Film Award hands $1,000,000 to the top AI-generated short film, with a public premiere at the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai. Free entry, worldwide eligibility, deadline 30 Sep 2026.
A single $1,000,000 prize for a short film made with AI tools is not a figure that appears often in any filmmaking calendar, let alone one open to entrants from every country on earth at no cost to enter. The 1 Billion AI Film Award, organised through hollywood.ai/awards and tracked at AI Film Contests, sets that as its top prize, with the winning work receiving a public premiere at the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai.
The competition sits squarely in the short film category and explicitly welcomes any AI tools in production, which means the field is as wide as the entrant wants to take it: fully generated footage, AI-assisted editing, synthetic voices, AI compositing, any combination. What the organisers are looking for, in their own framing, is innovative storytelling through AI, a brief that leaves considerable creative latitude but clearly values narrative ambition alongside technical craft.
What you submit
Entrants submit a short film produced using AI tools. The competition sits within the short film category and is open to filmmakers worldwide with no geographic restriction stated. Entry is free. The submission route is through the official organiser site at hollywood.ai/awards. No runtime limits, language restrictions, or subject constraints are specified on the tracked page; check the official submission portal directly for any technical delivery requirements before the deadline.
Prize structure
The stated prize is $1,000,000 (USD), awarded as a single top prize. No runner-up prizes or category breakdowns are listed on the contest page. In addition to the cash award, the winning film receives a public premiere screening at the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai, UAE, which adds meaningful real-world exhibition exposure to the monetary value.
Terms worth reading
The contest page does not publish a detailed rulebook inline, so specific terms around intellectual property, licensing of submitted films, or rights the organisers retain are not visible at the tracking stage. Before submitting, creators should locate and read the full terms on the official portal. Key questions to resolve: whether the organisers claim any licence to screen, distribute, or promote submitted films beyond the premiere event; what format and delivery specifications apply; and whether there is any eligibility threshold around prior publication of the work. Because none of those points are answered on the tracker page, treat them as open until confirmed.
Entry fee is confirmed as free. Eligibility is confirmed as worldwide. AI tools of any kind are explicitly permitted.
Deadline
The submission deadline is 30 September 2026. No cutoff time or timezone is published alongside the date, so submit at least one full day in advance to avoid any timezone ambiguity. The tracker page was last verified against the official organiser page as of the morning of publication.
For full submission requirements and to enter, visit hollywood.ai/awards directly.