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The festival, founded in Nice, France last year, brought its third edition to Seoul, a city widely seen as a global hub of high technology and the Korean cultural wave.
The finale event on Friday at Lotte Concert Hall gathered filmmakers, technology companies, creators and audiences to explore how AI tools are reshaping storytelling and film production.
More than 2,000 entries were submitted to this year’s competition, up from 1,500 for the inaugural festival in Nice, reflecting rapidly growing global interest in AI-assisted filmmaking.
The concert hall was filled with attendees eager to witness the emerging field of AI cinema. The evening featured a purple-carpet reception, an awards ceremony and live performances, including a celebratory stage by Korean singer Insooni that drew enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Several cultural figures also attended the event. Actress Hwang Seok-jeong highlighted how new technologies are opening creative opportunities for storytellers.
“Anyone can now express their ideas and stories through visual media,” she said. “Events like this show how storytelling will evolve in the AI era.”
The program began with a purple-carpet reception, followed by opening remarks, panel presentations and the awards ceremony.
Festival founder Marko Landi said artificial intelligence is helping democratize filmmaking by lowering barriers to entry.
“AI gives young creators the opportunity to make films faster and at lower cost,” he said. “One of the major objectives of this festival is to discover new talent, protect their rights and reward their creativity.”
During a panel discussion, the Cheif AI Officer at the Blue House Ha Jung-woo emphasized that artificial intelligence should be seen as a creative partner rather than a replacement for filmmakers.
“AI is not here to replace human creativity,” he said. “It is a tool that expands what creators can imagine and produce. The future of cinema will come from collaboration between human storytelling and intelligent technology.”
Screenwriter David Bendi, who presented the screenplay award, also underscored the enduring importance of storytelling in filmmaking.
“A story is the beginning of everything,” he said. “You can have all the tools in the world, but without a powerful story nothing truly happens.”
Several awards recognizing AI-assisted filmmaking were presented during the ceremony.
Director Kim Won-kyung won the grand prize in the AI short film category for “Known or Unknown.”
The excellence award went to director Lim Da-young for “Losing,” a film that explores the emotional tension before saying goodbye to a loved one through the perspective of a mother.
The encouragement award was presented to “The Dog, the Octopus and Me,” produced by AI content studio AI Revolution. The whimsical film depicts the unusual coexistence of a human, a dog and an octopus after the sea creature escapes being cooked.
Jessie Yang of MiniMax, who announced the Youth Film Award, praised the creativity of emerging filmmakers.
“The works submitted by young creators exceeded our expectations and showed remarkable individuality and potential,” she said.
Another standout entry, “We Looked Away,” centers on a mysterious door on a mountainside that a village community silently agrees to ignore. Through the villagers’ shared silence, the story explores themes of moral responsibility, collective denial and the choices people make when confronted with uncomfortable truths.
Accepting the award, filmmaker WK Kim said he had not expected the recognition.
“I flew in from Seogwipo in Jeju this morning hoping to attend the festival,” he said. “I had only used AI as a work tool before, and this was the first time I tried creating content with it.”
He added that the experience felt like “the beginning of a second chapter” in his life as a creator.
Organizers said the festival illustrates how AI technology is rapidly transforming the filmmaking landscape, opening new opportunities for independent creators while redefining the boundaries of cinematic storytelling.
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