An Italian festival in Turin is accepting AI-made films, animation and documentaries from creators worldwide until 31 October 2026
The (UN)REAL AI Film Festival comes to Turin on 27 November 2026, welcoming short films, documentaries, animation and experimental works where AI plays a significant creative role.
Turin will host the (UN)REAL AI Film Festival on 27 November 2026, organised by Feat. Ventures and CAIA Consulting. The festival positions itself as a dedicated showcase for cinema made with or through artificial intelligence, covering the full range of moving-image formats: narrative short films, documentaries, animation, and experimental or hybrid works. Submissions are open to filmmakers, digital artists and creatives from anywhere in the world, with no restriction on nationality or country of production.
What distinguishes this call from many AI film competitions is its breadth on the tool side. The organisers place no restrictions on which AI systems you use, so whether your workflow leans on generative video models, AI audio, machine-learning-assisted editing or some combination, all of that qualifies, provided AI is a significant creative element in the finished work. The festival date of 27 November gives selected filmmakers roughly four weeks between the submission deadline and the live event in Turin.
What you submit
The festival accepts work across six categories: short film, animation, experimental and hybrid works, documentary, and further subdivisions judged separately. The entry process runs through the official festival site at unrealfilmfestival.com. The listing on the aggregator page notes "see official site" for the entry fee, which means a fee may apply. Check the official site directly before submitting to confirm whether there is a cost and what technical specifications are required for your file.
Prize structure
The awards are symbolic rather than financial. There is no cash prize attached to any category. The Grand Prix goes to the single best film of the festival as judged across all categories. Six Best of Category awards cover the individual strands. Three further named awards recognise Best Original Screenplay, Best Technical Achievement and Best Acting. An Audience Award is also given. If you are entering primarily for monetary return, this festival does not offer that. If you are entering for festival recognition, a Turin screening credit and jury feedback, the award slate is reasonably detailed for a non-cash event.
Terms worth reading
The official page does not reproduce the full terms and conditions within the aggregator listing. Before submitting, visit unrealfilmfestival.com and review the submission agreement carefully for any clauses covering screening rights, publicity use of your work, or licence grants to the organisers. The listing does not flag any known rights-grab, but that absence of information makes reading the official terms yourself essential. Entry fee status is similarly unconfirmed from the aggregator page alone.
Deadline and practical notes
The submission deadline is 31 October 2026. No cutoff time or timezone is published on the aggregator page, so treat end-of-day Central European Time as a reasonable assumption and aim to submit at least a day in advance to avoid last-minute technical problems. The festival date is 27 November 2026 in Turin, Italy. The aggregator listing was last verified against the organiser's page on 18 September 2026.
Submit through the official festival site: unrealfilmfestival.com. The contest listing is also tracked at aifilmcontests.com.
Source: https://aifilmcontests.com/contests/unreal-ai-film-festival-2026