HKUST AI Film Festival 2026

HKUST's second AI Film Festival, themed New Boundaries, New Life, added AI Music and AI Vertical Shorts alongside the Main Competition and Student Work sections. The 2026 call is closed and the event has taken place.

Deadline20 March 2026 — closed

FeeEntry fee unconfirmed; do not assume free entry.

EligibilityAn international call. Main Competition judging considers storytelling, production quality and creative, effective AI use. Full age, nationality,…

Key restrictionNo premiere or prior-publication restriction was stated in the three-page PDF. This does not guarantee that public releases qualify. The same film…

Edition	Second edition · 2026 archive
Location	Hong Kong
Deadline	20 March 2026 — closed The university extended the call to this date without a closing time or time zone. The festival took place on 16–17 May; those are event dates, not submission deadlines.
Fee	Entry fee, currency, student discounts and refund terms remain unconfirmed. A possible registration-fee waiver for selected creators is not evidence of free submission.
Eligibility	An international call. Main Competition judging considers storytelling, production quality and creative, effective AI use. Full age, nationality, student-status and category-specific conditions have not been established.
Runtime / category	Main Competition: more than three minutes, with no maximum stated. Student Work: more than one minute. Vertical Shorts: under ten minutes in portrait format. The latter two also refer to all Main Competition rules, leaving an overlapping minimum to clarify. The music duration is unconfirmed.
AI policy	AI-generated and AI-assisted work are covered. Main Competition entrants must document the tools and process; no fixed AI percentage is stated. The three-page PDF does not contain the complete rules for every added category.
Premiere / public release	No premiere or prior-publication restriction was stated in the three-page PDF. This does not guarantee that public releases qualify. The same film submitted to an earlier edition will not be reconsidered.
Disclosure	Film entries require a PDF listing AI tools, production time, workflow and explained screenshots or images; cloud-storage links are accepted. Non-English films need English subtitles. Music documentation follows the separate two-stage rules on the university-linked platform.
Rights / licence	Submission grants a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence covering the film, process PDF, trailer, stills and poster for festival and associated-event screenings, promotional excerpts, education, archives and non-commercial academic research. Research may analyse the PDF and publish papers or reports, with creator credit. No licence end date is stated. Entrants must clear music, visuals and real people's likenesses.
Source review	Partial source review 2026-10-24; full verification incomplete

Fee breakdown by category and stage

No 2026 entry-fee schedule was established from the three-page PDF, university notice or closed platform text. Entry fees remain unconfirmed.

A possible registration-fee waiver and partial travel support for selected creators are conditional benefits, not proof of free submission.

Other costs

Production, delivery and attendance costs are separate from an entry fee; their exact amounts or support were not established.

Refunds: Entry charges and refund terms remain unconfirmed.

Fee details checked 2026-10-24. Historical fee information only; a future edition requires a fresh check of its own rules and prices.

What to prepare

Film preview: MP4 or MOV, H.264, 1080p, stereo audio and burned-in subtitles; use English subtitles for non-English content.
Provide the AI-process PDF. The rules accept links from Google Drive, Baidu Pan, OneDrive and Quark Pan.
Selected screenings: at least 1080p, preferably 2K or 4K; stereo or 5.1 sound. A DCP may be requested, rather than required from every initial entrant.
If requested, the DCP uses JPEG 2000, up to 500 MBit/s, 24/25/30/60 fps and SMPTE or Interop; follow the listed HD/Full/Flat/Scope and 2K/4K specifications.
Music initially requires a high-quality WAV or MP3 and a description within 200 words. If shortlisted, supply the workflow PDF, stems or project files and a high-resolution cover within seven days; these requirements come from the university-linked platform, not the three-page PDF.
Previously submitted films are not reconsidered. Submission materials, including the AI-process PDF, may also be used for credited non-commercial academic research.

Source review and remaining questions

Partial source review 2026-10-24; full verification incomplete.

All three pages of the official 2026 PDF were read and visually checked. The university deadline announcement, its directly linked platform rules and official event archive were also reviewed. The PDF does not cover every added category; fees, full eligibility and conflicting runtime boundaries remain unresolved. This is a partial source review, not full verification.

Entry fees, currency, student discounts, refunds, event-registration charges and support conditions.
The Student and Vertical sections refer to all Main Competition rules despite their separate runtime lines; clarify overlapping minimums. Main/Student maximums and music duration were not established.
The homepage link summary says at least three minutes; the PDF and university-linked platform say more than three minutes. This record keeps the strict requirement.
Full age, nationality and student-status evidence requirements; exact closing time and time zone.
Premiere and prior-publication eligibility, licence duration and withdrawal mechanisms.

Official sources

This is an English summary, not the official rules. The organiser’s latest rules and written answers prevail. Inclusion is not an endorsement or a guarantee of selection.

Open official source ↗Add to calendar (.ics)Back to opportunities