AI Filmmakers Have Until 5 November to Enter New Festival Celebrating Impossible Stories
AI filmmakers have until 5 November to enter I’Mpossible Film Festival, with six categories for human-led AI shorts, documentaries and experimental films.
Filmmakers using artificial intelligence to recreate lost memories, explore inaccessible locations or tell stories that would be difficult to produce conventionally have until Thursday 5 November 2026 to enter the inaugural I’Mpossible Film Festival.
The international competition, founded by filmmaker and technology journalist Nima Akbarpour, is accepting submissions across six categories, including narrative shorts, documentary reconstructions, music videos and films exploring migration and exile.
Its first edition, titled The Unfilmable Edition, places particular emphasis on human creativity, with entrants required to demonstrate that artificial intelligence has played a meaningful part in realising their original artistic vision.
A Festival for Stories That Are Difficult to Film
The competition has been developed around the idea that some stories remain difficult to tell because conventional filmmaking cannot easily recreate the people, places or experiences involved.
That could include memories of events for which no footage exists, historical experiences affected by censorship, locations that are unsafe to visit or personal stories shaped by migration and displacement.
Rather than treating AI-generated imagery as the main attraction, the festival is looking for productions in which the technology serves a clear storytelling purpose.
Entrants must demonstrate meaningful human involvement in writing, directing and editing, with films created through fully automated processes without substantial creative supervision ineligible.
Six Categories Accept Different Types of AI Film
The AI Short Film category accepts narrative productions lasting between three and fifteen minutes, while AI Microfilm is designed for shorter works running between sixty and one hundred seconds.
Documentary filmmakers can enter AI Doc Reconstruction with productions lasting between five and thirty minutes, provided generated material is used to recreate experiences or events that could not easily be filmed.
The AI Experimental & Concept category accepts productions between one and fifteen minutes, including abstract, animated and concept-driven work, while AI Music Video covers productions lasting from one to eight minutes.
The final category, AI Exile & Memory, accepts productions from three to ninety minutes exploring subjects including displacement, migration, censorship, diaspora and personal history.
Unlike festivals requiring exclusively generated footage, I’Mpossible allows qualifying productions to combine AI-created material with conventional filming, although the technology must contribute substantially to the finished work.
Filmmakers Must Explain How AI Was Used
The festival requires entrants to disclose their use of artificial intelligence and retain responsibility for the material included in their productions.
Documentary reconstructions must clearly distinguish AI-generated sequences from genuine archival footage, particularly when depicting real people or historical events.
Filmmakers must also hold the necessary rights and permissions for music, images, performances and other protected material used in their submissions.
The competition is open internationally, with the organisers offering a limited opportunity to request submission fee waivers for filmmakers facing financial or other significant barriers.
Submission Deadline and Awards Announcement
The festival was established by Akbarpour, who spent fifteen years producing and presenting the BBC technology programme Click and has worked across television, journalism and filmmaking.
Official selections will be announced on Tuesday 24 November 2026, followed by the winners on Saturday 12 December.
Selected films will receive official recognition and digital certificates, while category winners may receive further awards, including physical trophies for a limited number of recipients.
Submissions must be made through FilmFreeway, with filmmakers advised to check the individual category rules and the platform's applicable closing time.
Final submission deadline: Thursday 5 November 2026.
Submit a film: I’Mpossible Film Festival on FilmFreeway.
