Austin AI Film Festival Reveals 40-Film 2026 Lineup
Austin AI Film Festival has selected 40 films from more than 700 submissions for its 2026 event, spanning features, series, documentaries and hybrid filmmaking.
The Austin AI Film Festival has revealed the 40 films chosen for its 2026 Official Selection after receiving more than 700 submissions from filmmakers. The second annual festival takes place October 16 and 17 in Austin, Texas, bringing generative and AI-assisted films to the big screen alongside the creators who made them.
The new lineup was announced on October 1 and spans 11 competitive categories, showing just how quickly AI filmmaking is expanding beyond the short experimental clips commonly associated with generative video. Features, documentaries, series episodes, music videos and productions combining live-action footage with AI are all represented in this year’s selection.
More than 700 films competed for 40 places
Only 40 films have made the final selection from more than 700 entries submitted for the 2026 festival. Those chosen will compete across categories covering feature films, shorts, micro-shorts, documentaries, music videos, series episodes, movie trailers, avant-garde work, commercial productions, student films and hybrid live-action projects.
That range is particularly interesting because it reflects how creators are beginning to use artificial intelligence across very different types of screen entertainment.
AI filmmaking is no longer limited to creating a single visually impressive sequence, with filmmakers increasingly attempting longer narratives, episodic stories and projects combining traditional production with generative tools.
The festival describes its focus as generative and hybrid cinema, with the human filmmakers themselves remaining central to the programme. Rather than simply screening the finished films, creators will also discuss how their projects were made and the choices behind the technology used on screen.
Austin puts the filmmaking process on stage
The festival begins on Friday, October 16 with a day focused on the craft behind AI-assisted production. The programme includes a keynote, panels and masterclasses where filmmakers and studio founders will break down how individual projects moved from an initial idea through to finished screen work.
Saturday, October 17 then moves the emphasis onto the Official Selection itself. The 40 chosen films will screen at The Topfer at Zach Theater, with filmmakers appearing after screening blocks to discuss their work before the festival concludes with its 2026 awards.
Film and television figures join the judging panel
The judging panel brings together people from traditional filmmaking alongside specialists working with emerging technology.
Director and cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg is among the judges, alongside production designer Rick Carter, producer and director Sarba Das and generative artist BLVCKL!GHT.
Fox Entertainment is also represented through Jon Flynn, who leads FoxNXT, the company’s innovation group exploring new production technology. Journalist and filmmaker Seema Mathur completes the announced judging lineup.
The speakers programme reaches further into the developing AI production industry, with representatives from studios and creative companies including Secret Level, Native Foreign, GRAiL, Infinite Studios, Exact and others involved in generative filmmaking and production technology.
Can the public attend the Austin AI Film Festival?
Yes. The Austin AI Film Festival is open to the public, with several different ticket options available depending on how much of the two-day event visitors want to attend.
A Saturday Screening Pass gives visitors access to the Official Selection films, filmmaker discussions and the awards ceremony, while the Friday Summit Pass focuses on keynotes, panels and filmmaking masterclasses. Two-day Festival and All Access passes are also available for anyone who wants to attend the wider programme.
The festival takes place October 16 and 17, 2026 at Zach Theater in Austin, Texas, with tickets and the full programme available through the official Austin AI Film Festival website.
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