A $1,000,000 grand prize is on offer for AI films, and the deadline is 20 November
The 1 Billion Followers Summit has reopened its AI Film Award for a second edition, powered by Seedance, with a $1,000,000 grand prize and entries closing on 20 November 2026.
A million dollars is a rare number to see attached to a short film, and rarer still when the film can be made with generative tools. The 1 Billion Followers Summit has announced the second edition of its AI Film Award, with a $1,000,000 grand prize and a submission deadline of 20 November 2026. That leaves under two weeks from today.
The award is powered by Seedance, the video generation model, and the announcement was posted on the Summit's official X account on 27 October 2026. The post is short on detail. It names the prize, the deadline and the entry page, and little else. Anyone considering a submission will need to read the full terms on the entry site before committing a weekend to a cut.
What you submit
The call is for a film. The announcement does not state a minimum or maximum running time, a required resolution, or whether Seedance must be used for the whole piece or only for part of it. It describes the award as being "powered by Seedance", which suggests the tool is central to the programme, but the post does not say whether other generative tools are permitted. Those are the first questions to settle on the entry page.
Entries go through the award's own site, at 1billionsummit.com/ai-award-2027. The address carries a 2027 label even though the deadline falls in 2026, which presumably reflects the year of the Summit where the award is presented.
Prize structure
The only prize the announcement states is the $1,000,000 grand prize. The post does not say whether the money is paid in cash, whether it is split across winners, or whether it comes as production funding or in instalments. It also does not list runner-up prizes, category awards or screening opportunities. Treat the headline figure as the top of the structure, and look for the breakdown before you plan around it.
The post is tagged with TikTok MENA among others, which hints at the platform partners involved, but it does not explain their role in judging or distribution.
Terms worth reading
This is the section that matters most, because the announcement says nothing about rights. Before you submit, check the following on the entry page:
- Licence: whether the organisers take a licence to screen, distribute or promote your film, and for how long.
- Ownership: whether you retain full ownership of the work, including any characters or scripts.
- Disclosure: whether your film or your name will be shown publicly, including on partner platforms.
- Fee: the announcement mentions no entry fee, but confirm that on the entry page.
- Eligibility: age, country and team-size rules are not given in the post.
A prize of this size often comes with substantial conditions, so read the small print before you upload anything you cannot withdraw.
Timing and practical notes
The deadline is 20 November 2026. The announcement gives no cutoff time or timezone, so do not plan to submit in the final hours. Aim to upload a day early, which leaves room for file-format problems or a slow connection. With roughly thirteen days remaining from 7 November 2026, a short, finished piece is more realistic than a new ambitious one.
The official announcement is on X, and the entry route is the award page linked above. Start there for the full rules.
Source: 1 Billion Followers Summit on X