Fifteen teams get one evening and a seed clip to make a short film at Google DeepMind in San Francisco, with $2,000 on the table for first place

There is something bracingly honest about a film jam that gives you a single evening. The Gossip Goblin GenJam, hosted at Google DeepMind's San Francisco office on 20 October 2026, does exactly that: fifteen accepted teams receive one Gossip Goblin seed clip at the start of the night and must return a finished short film, up to two minutes long, before the evening closes. Organisers 645 Ventures, Machine Cinema, Google DeepMind, Showrunner and Gossip Goblin are co-presenting the event, which sits squarely in the emerging tradition of generative-AI film hackathons where constraint is the creative engine.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and close on 10 October 2026, ten days before the event. Because slots are limited to fifteen teams and the review is rolling, submitting early is a practical necessity rather than mere courtesy. You can apply as a team or as a solo creator, and any AI tools are permitted, so the toolchain is entirely your call.

What you submit

The application process comes first: you apply via the official Luma event page at luma.com/f7lrl8gr and wait for acceptance. Once accepted, you attend in person at Google DeepMind, San Francisco on 20 October 2026. On the night, your team receives a Gossip Goblin seed clip as your creative starting point and has one evening to produce a short film of up to two minutes. No pre-made films are accepted; the work is created on the day.

Prize structure

Cash prizes are awarded across three places, with additional credits and event tickets at each level.

- 1st place: $2,000 cash, plus credits and premiere tickets
- 2nd place: $1,000 cash, plus tickets and credits
- 3rd place: $500 cash, plus tickets and credits

The credits are not further specified on the official page, so it is worth confirming with organisers which platforms or services they cover before factoring them into your calculus.

Terms worth reading

Entry is free; there is no submission fee. The event is application-only, meaning acceptance is not guaranteed, and with only fifteen team slots the selection rate will be competitive. Attendance is strictly in person in San Francisco, so remote or hybrid participation is not on offer. No additional licence terms or rights-grab clauses are listed on the official contest page, which is a reasonable sign for creators, though the full event terms on the Luma page should be checked before you apply. The use of any AI tools is explicitly permitted, removing the ambiguity that sometimes surrounds tool eligibility at hybrid-AI events.

Deadline note

Applications close 10 October 2026. No cutoff time is published, so submit at least a full day in hand. The event itself takes place 20 October 2026 in San Francisco.

The official contest listing and application link are both at aifilmcontests.com/contests/gossip-goblin-genjam-sf-2026. Apply directly through luma.com/f7lrl8gr.

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Source: https://aifilmcontests.com/contests/gossip-goblin-genjam-sf-2026