AI film launches extraordinary Oscar bid after cinema release delayed

One of the most ambitious AI films yet is heading into cinemas with an even bigger target in sight: an Oscar nomination.

Gods Don't Give Gifts, created by filmmaker Zack London under his Gossip Goblin name, has released its first full trailer while pushing its cinema release from October to 4 December. The team behind the sci-fi horror is now planning a campaign for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.

Watch the trailer here:

AI imagery meets a human creative team

The film takes place on Niiro Cradle, a future world where consciousness can be transferred between bodies, memories can be altered and biological humans are gradually replacing flesh with synthetic alternatives.

Its visuals make extensive use of generative AI, but describing the entire production as automatically generated would be misleading. Human voice actors perform the characters, while composers, animators, editors, sound specialists and other artists have worked alongside London on the project.

The 100-minute-plus feature expands the strange science-fiction universe that Gossip Goblin has built through shorter online films, which have collectively attracted a huge audience.

Its Oscar ambitions now give the experiment another test. An AI-driven feature moving from YouTube-style online filmmaking into commercial cinemas was already unusual, but campaigning alongside conventionally animated features puts it directly inside one of the industry's most established institutions.

The release has been moved to December as that awards campaign gathers pace, with screenings for Academy voters and critics planned before opening night.

Whether Oscar voters embrace it is another matter entirely. But Gods Don't Give Gifts is about to test whether AI filmmaking can move beyond online experimentation and demand a place inside mainstream cinema.