Pippit is offering $10,000 in cash for the best AI-generated short film submitted before 10 September 2026
Pippit's AI Video Contest 2026 awards $10,000 to the Champion Storyteller, with further cash prizes for second and third place. Entry is free and open to all filmmakers, including students.
A short-film competition with real cash on the table is rare enough; one that is free to enter and open to students alongside working professionals is rarer still. Pippit, the AI video generation platform, is running its 2026 AI Video Contest with a top prize of $10,000 in cash plus a year-long Pippit Pro subscription, and the submission window closes on 10 September 2026.
The central creative requirement is narrative cohesion: judges are looking for films that tell a coherent story, not simply a showreel of generated imagery. At least 70 per cent of the footage must be generated natively inside Pippit's own video tools, so the platform is not simply accepting anything made with third-party AI software and submitted under the banner. That native-generation rule shapes the creative brief meaningfully, and anyone unfamiliar with Pippit would need to spend time with the tool before the deadline.
What you submit
Entrants produce an AI-assisted short film in which a minimum of 70 per cent of footage is generated on Pippit. The contest category is Short Film. The official entry page is at pippit.ai/resource/ai-video-contest, and the competition is listed and tracked at aifilmcontests.com.
Prize structure
- Champion Storyteller Award: $10,000 cash plus a one-year Pippit Pro plan
- Elite Storyteller Award: $5,000 cash plus a one-year Pippit Plus plan
- Rising Storyteller Award: $3,000 cash plus a one-year Pippit Starter plan
All three tiers combine cash with a platform subscription. The subscription element is a product benefit, not a cash equivalent, so treat the headline figures as the cash component and consider the subscription separately.
Eligibility and entry fee
Entry is free. The contest is open to all filmmakers worldwide, including students. No professional credits or prior competition history are mentioned as requirements. The only tool-eligibility restriction is that Pippit AI tools must account for at least 70 per cent of the generated footage.
Terms worth reading
The contest page does not reproduce full terms and conditions in the text available here. Before submitting, check the official Pippit page for any licence grants over submitted films, rights to use entries in Pippit's promotional material, or data-collection provisions. Competitions run directly by AI platforms frequently include clauses permitting the host to display or market submitted work; if that matters to you, read the fine print at the entry URL before the deadline. No such clauses are confirmed or denied from the information currently available.
With the deadline at 10 September 2026 and no published cutoff time, submit at least a full day in advance to avoid any last-minute technical issues.