African AI filmmakers get Hollywood stage in new two-continent festival

African and diaspora filmmakers using artificial intelligence are getting a new international platform, with a festival launching in Hollywood before taking the same work to audiences in Uganda.

The inaugural African AI Film Festival takes place in Los Angeles on 21 November, followed by a screening in Kampala on 12 December. Rather than treating AI itself as the attraction, organisers say the focus will remain on African stories, languages, history and culture.

AI must be more than a gimmick

Films can qualify through an African or diaspora filmmaker, an African story or setting, cultural or language connections, or collaboration with African creators.

Generative AI must also play a meaningful part in production. Using it only for something minor such as basic colour correction is not enough, while filmmakers must disclose which AI tools they used.

Entries span AI short films, animation and documentaries alongside a category for students and emerging filmmakers. The judging criteria are equally revealing, with storytelling and emotional impact considered alongside creative AI use, cultural authenticity, technical craft and originality.

Founder Patrick Sekyaya, a Ugandan filmmaker based in Los Angeles, argues that falling production costs could open doors for creators previously kept outside expensive film industries. His aim is to ensure African filmmakers are helping shape AI cinema rather than simply consuming technology developed elsewhere.

Nine awards will be presented, including Best of Festival, Cultural Resonance and an Audience Award. Selected filmmakers can also receive AI-tool credits, mentoring and pitching opportunities rather than the event concentrating solely on cash prizes.

The final submission deadline is 20 October, with the first selected films due to be announced in early November.