Québec City is hosting its first AI cinema festival in February 2027, and submissions are open worldwide until 24 January
The inaugural AI Cinema Festival Québec City invites hybrid and fully AI-generated films across short, feature, documentary, experimental and music video categories, with a Grand Prix and four named awards.
Québec City is joining the growing circuit of dedicated AI cinema festivals with its first-ever regional edition, a three-day event running 19 to 21 February 2027. The festival is pitched not as a prompt showcase but as a genuine film culture event, judged across eight criteria: point of view, image, sound, editing, story, consent, responsibility and emotional impact. That last pair, consent and responsibility, signals that the organisers are paying close attention to how AI tools are used and attributed, not merely what they produce.
Submissions opened this year and the call is global, with no geographic restriction on who can enter. Both hybrid productions, those combining human creative direction with AI tools, and fully AI-generated works are eligible. Accepted tools listed by the organisers include Runway, Sora, Kling, Veo, Midjourney and ElevenLabs, though any AI tool is permitted. The festival accepts work across five categories: short film, feature, experimental, music video and documentary.
What you submit
Filmmakers submit through FilmFreeway via the official festival site. The entry fee is listed as "See FilmFreeway Festival," meaning the fee structure is published directly on the FilmFreeway submission page and may vary by category and submission window. Check the FilmFreeway listing carefully before submitting, as early and late deadlines often carry different fees.
Prize structure
Five awards are on the table at the Québec City event:
- Grand Prix Québec — the top festival honour
- Best Human + AI Direction
- Best AI Cinematography
- Responsible AI Cinema Award
- Audience Signal Award
The page does not specify cash values attached to any of these awards. They appear to be named festival awards and the prestige of the inaugural Grand Prix Québec, rather than monetary prizes. Confirm directly with the organisers if cash or distribution support is part of any category.
Terms worth reading
The official page is sparse on detailed terms; those are housed on the FilmFreeway submission page and the festival's own site at quebec.aicinemafestival.com. Before submitting, review the following:
- Licensing and screening rights: Festivals typically request the right to screen submitted works during the event. Check whether submission constitutes consent to public screening and any archival or promotional use.
- Consent and attribution criteria: The inclusion of "consent" and "responsibility" as judging criteria suggests the organisers may ask entrants to disclose how AI tools were used and whether any third-party material, such as training data or sourced footage, was used with appropriate permissions.
- Entry fee: Not disclosed on this listing page; retrieve the current fee from FilmFreeway before the deadline.
The submission deadline is 24 January 2027. No cutoff time is published, so submit at least a full day in advance to avoid any last-minute platform issues.
The official contest listing is updated daily by the tracker. For submission, go directly to the festival's FilmFreeway page.
Source: https://aifilmcontests.com/contests/ai-cinema-festival-quebec-2027