Los Angeles is running a monthly AI film awards cycle that culminates in a Beverly Hills gala this December
LAAIMPA accepts AI-assisted films of any length on a rolling monthly basis, with free entry, monthly winners announced publicly, and a year-end ceremony in Beverly Hills.
Los Angeles has long been the symbolic home of film awards culture, and LAAIMPA, the Los Angeles AI Motion Pictures Awards, is planting a flag for AI-assisted filmmaking squarely in that tradition. The contest runs on a rolling monthly cycle throughout 2026, accepting submissions across five categories and announcing nominees on the 28th of each month, with winners declared on the final day. It is one of the few major AI film award programmes to give filmmakers repeated chances across a single calendar year rather than a single annual cutoff.
The year closes with an in-person gala in Beverly Hills on 31 December 2026, to which monthly winners are invited. For independent AI filmmakers who have built their practice without institutional backing, that kind of public recognition in a city synonymous with the industry carries genuine weight. There is no submission fee at any stage, which removes one of the more common friction points for global entrants working outside well-funded production environments.
What you submit
LAAIMPA accepts AI-assisted films across five categories: Short Film, Feature Film, Animation, Music Video, and Experimental. The contest is open globally and places no restriction on the AI tools used, meaning work produced with any generative video, image, or audio pipeline is eligible. There is no stated minimum or maximum runtime beyond the category label, so even short experimental pieces qualify. Each monthly submission window closes on the 20th of that month, making the final deadline 20 December 2026 (no cutoff time is published, so submit with a day in hand to be safe).
Prize structure
There is no cash prize attached to LAAIMPA. Winners receive:
- Public announcement and recognition on LAAIMPA's own channels and LinkedIn
- An invitation to the in-person Beverly Hills ceremony on 31 December 2026
- Feature placement across LAAIMPA media
The monthly rhythm means a single filmmaker could theoretically submit multiple times across different windows. Travel and accommodation arrangements for the Beverly Hills gala are not detailed on the listing, so prospective entrants from outside the Los Angeles area should contact the organisers at laaimpa.com to confirm what "flown to Beverly Hills" covers before treating that as a confirmed travel grant.
Terms worth reading
The official page does not publish a detailed terms and conditions document within the contest listing as aggregated here. Specifically, there is no stated language around intellectual property, licensing of submitted work, or rights the organisers retain over screened films. Before submitting, creators should review the full terms at laaimpa.com and confirm whether LAAIMPA claims any broadcast, promotional, or archival rights to submitted or winning films. Entry is free and eligibility is global, both of which are creator-friendly baseline conditions.
The contest is listed and tracked via AI Film Contests, which updates its database daily and is a useful reference for comparing this against other open AI film competitions running concurrently.