Poland's Regis Cinema will screen winning AI films from this $2,500 festival closing on 15 August
The Bochnia International AI Film Festival hands out $1,200 for Best AI Film and $800 for Best AI Visual Artistry, with winners screened at a historic Polish cinema on 17 September.
Poland has been building a quiet reputation as a serious host for AI-assisted cinema, and the Bochnia International AI Film Festival, known as BIAIFF, is the clearest evidence of that. The 2026 edition puts up a $2,500 cash pool across three awards and closes submissions on 15 August 2026, meaning anyone reading this has a matter of hours to get a film in. Winners are screened at the Regis Cinema in Bochnia on 17 September 2026, a venue whose history gives the event a material weight that purely online festivals rarely carry.
The festival is open globally and requires only that AI was used somewhere in the creative process, which is a deliberately broad threshold. That openness is the point. Whether a filmmaker used AI for a single visual effects shot, generated the entire film from prompts, or built a hybrid production with AI scoring and human-directed photography, all of it qualifies. The categories span short film, feature, and visual effects, giving specialists in any discipline a relevant place to enter.
What you submit
Submissions are filed through FilmFreeway, the festival's official entry platform. The entry fee is tiered on FilmFreeway's standard scale, meaning cost varies by submission date and category. Check the FilmFreeway listing directly for the current fee tier, as it may have changed in the final hours before the 15 August deadline. Eligible work includes short films, features, and visual-effects-focused pieces that incorporate AI at any stage of production.
Prize structure
The $2,500 pool breaks down as follows:
- Grand Prix, Best AI Film — $1,200
- Best AI Visual Artistry — $800
- Audience Award — $500
All prizes are listed in USD. Winners are announced and films are screened at the Regis Cinema in Bochnia, Poland, on 17 September 2026.
Terms worth reading
The official rules are hosted at biaiff.pl, and the full entry terms are governed by FilmFreeway's submission framework. The page does not publish a specific licence grant or rights-transfer clause in the text available here, so creators should review the festival's FilmFreeway listing carefully for any screening rights or archival permissions it requests over submitted work. Entry fees are non-refundable under standard FilmFreeway practice. Given the 15 August deadline with no published cutoff time, submit before end of day on 14 August to avoid any timezone-related risk.
The official contest listing and the festival entry page have full details.
Source: AI Film Contests — Bochnia International AI Film Festival 2026