Canada's first dedicated AI film festival will screen sixteen shorts at Toronto's Carlton Cinema in February 2027

Toronto is hosting what organisers describe as Canada's first film festival dedicated entirely to AI filmmaking. Veritas AIFF will take place on 20 February 2027 at the Carlton Cinema, a well-known repertory venue on College Street, and the programme is fixed at sixteen AI-made short films selected from global submissions. The format is deliberately compact: one day, one screening, one cohort of filmmakers whose work has been chosen to represent where the medium currently stands.

For a filmmaker working with AI tools, the appeal is straightforward. A physical Canadian premiere, with your name attached to a curated selection of sixteen, carries more weight on a festival CV than a streaming-only credential. The organisers have kept the submission process through FilmFreeway, which means your existing account and file uploads transfer without friction. All genres are accepted, and there is no restriction on which AI tools you use, so whether your workflow centres on image generation, video synthesis, audio models, or some combination, the call is open to you.

What to submit

Films must be under seven minutes in length and must have been created using AI tools. Beyond those two requirements, the page states no genre restrictions and no limitation on country of origin. Filmmakers worldwide are eligible. The festival date is 20 February 2027 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, so films with winter or urban themes may resonate, though that is purely a creative consideration rather than a stated preference.

Prize structure

The prize is festival screening and recognition. There is no cash component listed. Selected filmmakers receive official selection status, a screening at the Carlton Cinema, and the laurels that come with it. If a cash or merchandise prize exists beyond what is described on the entry page, it has not been published on the listing verified as of 11 September 2026. Apply with that expectation in mind.

Entry fee and submission route

Entry costs $9 USD, paid through FilmFreeway at the time of submission. Submissions opened on 20 February 2026 and the deadline is 30 November 2026. FilmFreeway's platform handles the fee and file delivery. The direct submission link is filmfreeway.com/VeritasAIFF, and the contest listing is tracked at the Veritas AIFF page on AI Film Contests.

Terms worth reading

The listing does not detail specific rights terms beyond what FilmFreeway's standard submission agreement covers. Before submitting, check the FilmFreeway submission page for any licence grants the organisers require for screening or promotional use of your film. Standard festival agreements typically ask for a non-exclusive licence to screen and promote the selected work; confirm whether Veritas AIFF's terms match that norm or go further. The entry fee is non-refundable regardless of selection outcome, which is industry standard but worth noting.

The submission deadline is 30 November 2026. No cutoff time is published on the listing, so submitting by 23:59 on 29 November 2026 in your local timezone gives you a practical buffer against last-minute platform issues.

Source: https://aifilmcontests.com/contests/veritas-ai-film-festival-2026