The world's first festival to showcase the tools of artificial intelligence and the values of cinema.
World AI Film Festival
WAIFF is organised by the EuropIA Institute, the Dรฉpartement des Alpes Maritimes and the Maison de l'Intelligence Artificielle, with the support of prestigious partners including Studio Laffitte, Genario, ClapAction and TechCannes.
The World AI Film Festival (WAiFF) is the first international festival dedicated to films and screenplays created with artificial intelligence.
It is organised by the EuropIA Institute, the Alpes-Maritimes Department, and the House of Artificial Intelligence, with the support of prestigious partners such as Studio Laffitte, Genario, and techCannes.
This festival celebrates a new generation of creators who are pushing the boundaries of storytelling and visual expression through AI tools. For its 2025 edition, WAiFF has generated global excitement, receiving over 1,500 submissions from more than 80 countries.
A success that reflects the rise of a new cinematic era, where AI is becoming a true creative partner. The Best AI Film award recognises a work that combines strong storytelling with bold use of artificial intelligence. The Best Feature Film Synopsis and Best Series Bible awards honour original scriptwriting projects in which AI enhances narrative and character development. Finally, the Best Smartphone Film award highlights a creative and accessible approach, proving that innovation matters more than technical means.
At stake for the winners: prestigious trophies, international visibility, unique opportunities for collaboration with leading figures in the film and technology industries, and a total prize pool of โฌ36,000.
More than just a competition, WAiFF is a showcase for the creators of tomorrow โ a space where artificial intelligence and artistic expression come together to reinvent cinema.
Mock trial
๐ง๐๐ ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ โ centred on the film ๐๐๐๐ข
AI IN THE DOCK
It all began on 11 April 2024 at the Faculty of Law in Nice, where Franceโs very first mock trial of artificial intelligence was held.
Co-organised by the EuropIA Institute, the Alpes-Maritimes Department, the House of Artificial Intelligence and SICTIAM, this unique concept immediately captured the attention of both the public and the media.
The aim? To stage, in an educational and engaging way, the major issues that artificial intelligence raises in our societies.
The ECHO Case: when a film without humans is judgedโฆ by humans
One year later, on 11 April 2025, the format took on a new dimension. The opening night of WAiFF 2025 featured an extraordinary mock trial: that of ECHO, a global phenomenon seen by over 18 million viewers, entirely generated by artificial intelligence โ script, music, direction โ without any human involvement.
On stage, the theatre troupe led by Tom Borloo and Juliette Ray brilliantly embodied judges, lawyers, witnesses and experts in a trial as gripping as it was unsettling. One central question guided the debate:
Can we still call it โcinemaโ when no human hand has shaped the work?
Blending humour, depth, and dramatic tension, the performance transformed the venue into a true cultural courtroom. The audience, placed in the role of judge, was invited to reflect:
Is AI a new creative partnerโฆ or a threat to our collective imagination?
The verdict? โPending.โ
A deliberate non-judgement, befitting the ethical, artistic and technological complexity of the subject.
The Russian Sleep Experiment โ Nicolas Pomet
๐๐๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ โ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ โ ๐ช๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ
We delve into the darkness with The Russian Sleep Experiment, winner of the Best IA Film award.
This urban legend has been turned into a visual nightmare.
Nicolas Pomet adapts this web myth, turning it into a chilling plunge into a fictional Soviet laboratory where science goes off the rails and AI exacerbates the tension.
This hard-hitting psychological horror film blends genre codes and generative aesthetics to create a disturbing and hypnotic cinematic experience.
Storyboarding, animation, dubbing and sound design: Nicolas Pomet has harnessed the full power of AI to create a coherent, immersive and perfectly realised psychological horror film.
Lโespace tombe sur la Terre โ Nicolas Russeil
๐๐๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ โ ๐ฎ๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ โ ๐ช๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ
We're taking off with L'espace tombe sur la Terre, which won second prize in the Best AI Film category.
L'espace tombe sur la Terre โ Nicolas Russeil
This interstellar adventure is told with all the spontaneity of those who dream big.
In L'espace tombe sur la Terre, imagination takes the form of an epic extraterrestrial adventure full of spaceships, mysteries and well-placed 'boom-tadams'.
The AI accompanies a close-knit duo where each has found their place: one imagines and the other directs, and the result is enough to make more than one adult smile.
The jury was touched by the work's freshness, its approach, and the father-son bond it depicts.
Thiaroye 44 โ Hussein Dembel Sow & Papa Oumar Diagne
๐๐๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ โ ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ โ ๐ช๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ
A look back at a forgotten history with Thiaroye 44, which won the 3rd Prize for Best AI Film.
Thiaroye 44 โ Hussein Dembel Sow and Papa Oumar Diagne
A tribute film, a powerful reconstruction, a duty to remember.
Thiaroye 44 revisits a long-erased episode of French colonial history: the 1944 massacre of Senegalese infantrymen.
Using AI, the filmmakers offer a sensitive and committed portrayal of this lesser-known tragedy, making this the first African short film to be created entirely with artificial intelligence tools.
Thank you to Hussein Dembel Sow, Papa Oumar Diagne, Laura Bui and Jean Pierre Seck for this powerful work. You have accurately and emotionally told a story that has been ignored for too long. Both the jury and the audience were deeply moved.
The World A.I. Film Festival (WAiFF) is an international competition that showcases video creations and screenplays that have been made using artificial intelligence tools. The festival rewards innovation and creativity across a range of categories.
Best AI Film:
1st Prize: โฌ10,000
2nd Prize: โฌ5,000
3rd Prize: โฌ2,000
Best Screenplay & Best Series Bible:
Production opportunities and meetings with industry professionals.
Best Smartphone Film:
Free access to ClapAction services.
Best AI Film
Best Fiction Screenplay
Best Series Bible
Best Smartphone Film
For this first edition of the World AI Film Festival, an exceptional jury brings together leading figures from the worlds of cinema and innovation.
The jury is chaired by screenwriter and director Thomas Bidegain, alongside honorary president Claude Lelouch, an iconic figure of French cinema.
Joining these two distinguished names are renowned professionals such as Julie Gayet, Jean-David Blanc, Alexia Laroche-Joubert, Marianne Carpentier, and many others, each bringing their own unique expertise.
Discover the full list at the bottom of the page:
https://instituteuropia.eu/fr/actualites/world-ai-film-festival
Applications must be submitted via the official WAiFF website.
Please follow the specific instructions for each category and ensure that all formats and deadlines are respected.
The full rules are available on the World AI Film Festival website or upon request at: contact@instituteuropia.eu