An AI short film you make this autumn could earn you an IMDb credit and $300 cash at a March 2027 screening

Getting an IMDb credit attached to your name is genuinely difficult as an independent filmmaker, and it typically requires a festival with qualifying status to do it for you. LundinStudio's Ai Film Festival is one of the few events in the emerging AI cinema space that carries that designation, and its 2027 edition is currently open for submissions with a final deadline of 21 January 2027 and a screening event planned for 18 and 19 March 2027.

The festival is run through FilmFreeway and targets filmmakers who use artificial intelligence as a meaningful part of their creative process, not just as a post-production filter. The rules specifically require that AI-generated shots appear in every scene of your film, and entries must include an original script. That combination of scriptwriting rigour and pervasive AI imagery is what separates this from looser "AI-assisted" categories at more general festivals. Tools listed as acceptable include Runway, Sora, Kling, Pika, MidJourney, and ElevenLabs, though the rules do not limit you to that list.

What you submit

Films must be between one and ten minutes long, including credits. The categories are Short Film and Experimental. Entry is open worldwide, and the festival accepts online submissions exclusively through FilmFreeway. There are staged monthly cutoff dates before the final deadline: 15 October, 19 November, and 17 December 2026, then the final cutoff of 21 January 2027. Submitting to an earlier round may carry a lower fee tier.

Prize structure

The winner of the Best AI Short Film category receives:

- $300 USD cash
- A full refund of the submission fee paid
- An IMDb-qualifying festival laurel, which allows the film to be listed on IMDb
- Premium AI tool subscriptions (specific tools not named on the listing)
- A slot in the March 2027 screening event, described as online plus hybrid

This is a cash prize, not credits or vouchers, which is worth noting in a space where many festivals pay out in platform credits alone.

Terms worth reading

Entry fees run from $5 to $25 depending on which FilmFreeway tier you choose, so this is not a free-to-enter contest. The tiered structure means submitting earlier is likely cheaper as well as safer. The page does not detail the festival's licensing terms for submitted films, so you should review the full terms on FilmFreeway before submitting, particularly around whether the festival retains any rights to screen or share your film beyond the March event. The contest page notes it is verified against the organiser's official page daily, with the most recent check recorded on 8 September 2026.

The final deadline is 21 January 2027. No cutoff time within that day is published, so submit at least a day in advance to avoid any last-minute FilmFreeway processing issues. The official entry page is filmfreeway.com/AifilmFestival.

Source: Ai Film Festival — IMDb-Qualifying Screening 2027 on AI Film Contests