Project Odyssey is offering $78,000 in cash prizes for AI-assisted short films up to three minutes long
The Project Odyssey AI Film Championship is open to filmmakers worldwide, free to enter, and accepts any AI tool. Submissions close 30 September 2026.
A $78,000 cash prize pool for a three-minute film is a straightforward proposition, and Project Odyssey is putting that on the table for AI filmmakers right now. The championship is free to enter, open to anyone on the planet, and places no restrictions on which AI tools you use, whether that means video generation, voice synthesis, music composition, or any combination of the above.
The competition puts storytelling at its centre. The organiser's framing is that technical novelty alone is not enough; the judging criteria reward creative skill alongside the use of AI in the filmmaking process. With a runtime ceiling of three minutes, the format pushes entrants to work economically and purposefully, which tends to surface cleaner narrative decisions than open-length categories do.
What to submit
Submissions are short films of up to three minutes in length. Any AI tool is permitted. The competition sits in the short film category, and the official site is the place to check for any specific technical delivery requirements such as resolution, codec, or aspect ratio before you export your final cut.
Prize structure
The total prize pool is $78,000 in cash. The breakdown across individual prize tiers is not detailed on the aggregator page, so visit the official Project Odyssey site for the full prize schedule, including how many winners are recognised and at what levels.
Terms worth reading
Entry is free, which removes one common barrier. The competition is open to all filmmakers worldwide with no stated regional exclusion. Because the full ruleset lives on the organiser's own site rather than the aggregator listing, you should read the terms at projectodyssey.ai before submitting, paying particular attention to any licence granted to the organiser over submitted work, ownership of winning films after the competition closes, and whether submitting constitutes consent to use your film in promotional materials. None of those clauses are flagged as problematic on the listing, but they are standard points to verify on any film competition with a significant cash pool.
Deadline
Submissions close on 30 September 2026. No cutoff time is published on the listing, so treat end-of-day in your local timezone as the working assumption and aim to submit at least a full day in advance to avoid any platform issues near the deadline.
The entry and full rules are on the official site. Review the delivery specs there before you render your final file.