Akool Is Offering Up To $500,000 In Rewards For 30 To 90 Second AI Films Made With Its Tools
Akool's AI Film Challenge asks creators for a 30 to 90 second trailer or short made with its platform, with $100 for qualified entries and larger awards for the best. Deadline 20 November 2026.
A trailer for a film that will never exist. A short that could not have been shot with any crew you could afford. A scene that breaks physics and does not apologise for it. Those are the three doors into the Akool AI Film Challenge, and each one asks for the same thing: something between 30 and 90 seconds long, made with Akool's video generation suite, and posted where anyone can watch it.
The headline number is a $500,000 creator rewards pool. The part you can count on is smaller. According to the announcement, qualified entries can earn $100 each, with larger awards reserved for top entries. The page does not say how many $100 payments are available, what counts as qualified, or how the bigger awards are split, so treat the half-million as a ceiling on the programme, not a figure to plan your month around.
What you submit
You choose one of three categories: COMING NEVER, AI SHORT FILM, or IMPOSSIBLE. The piece must be an original trailer or film running 30 to 90 seconds, and it must use Akool "meaningfully", a word the announcement does not define. The Akool logo has to appear prominently at the top or in a corner of the video.
The finished work then needs to be posted publicly on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram. Use the hashtags #AKOOLClash, #AKOOLFilmChallenge, #AIVideo and #AI, and tag @AkoolInc. Finally, submit through the official application form before the deadline. Posting alone does not enter you; the form is the entry.
Prize structure
The announcement gives three tiers of information. A $500,000 figure is described as creator rewards. $100 is available for qualified entries. Unspecified major awards go to top entries. It is not stated whether prizes are paid in cash, platform credits or something else, so confirm the form of payment on the application page before you commit production time.
Winners are announced on 5 December 2026.
Terms worth reading
The summary we have comes from a social post by a third-party creator account, not from Akool's own rules document. That matters, because several questions are unanswered: who owns the finished film, whether Akool may reuse it in marketing, what licence you grant by submitting, and whether there is any entry fee. The post mentions none of these, and we cannot say they are absent from the full terms.
What is clear is the branding requirement. Your work must carry the Akool logo on screen and be published publicly, so the film doubles as promotion for the platform. That is a normal trade in a brand-run challenge, but it means the piece may not suit a festival that bans branded material or requires premiere status.
Read the full terms on the application page before you generate anything, and check eligibility by country and age while you are there.
Dates and utility
The deadline is 20 November 2026. No cutoff time or timezone is published, so submit with a day in hand. Winners are announced on 5 December 2026.
Entry route: Akool film challenge application. Reference post: announcement on X.
Source: Official announcement page