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Festival Week: Genflick, Neu Wave, Austin and a Music Video Showcase, and What Each Asks You to Disclose
ยท RenderBob team
LA Tech Week puts several AI film events in one week. Their rules differ on what counts as AI work and what you must disclose.
LA Tech Week puts several AI film events in one week. Their rules differ on what counts as AI work and what you must disclose. Prepare one submission pack that satisfies all of them.
This week has an unusual density of AI film events. The rules behind them differ more than the branding suggests.
This week
Genflick AI Film Fest takes over Playa Vista tonight, 13 October at 7:00 PM PT, as part of LA Tech Week. It is a hackathon format: bring a script, pitch a 3 to 5 minute short treatment, and compete for a prize for the best treatment of the night. The Neu Wave AI Film Festival holds its Hollywood gala on 14 and 15 October, also timed to LA Tech Week. It screens its top five projects for executives, agents, and producers, with categories for AI long film of 10 minutes or more, AI TV commercial, AI music video, experimental work, and a two-minute vertical drama. The vertical category requires Topview.ai and carries a $5,000 cash prize. The Austin AI Film Festival is listed for 17 October on a community events calendar, and we have not confirmed its programme. The 13th AI International Music Video Festival follows on Sunday 18 October at the Los Angeles Performing Arts Conservatory.
Just beyond the week
IA en Corto, an online festival, runs 20 to 24 October. The CSFCCA International AI Film Festival announces its official selection on 23 October and holds its event on 20 November, and it requires works completed on or after 1 January 2026. The first German AI Film Festival in Biberach runs 28 October to 1 November and accepts films up to two years old, premieres or repeat screenings. All Is Prompt runs 29 October to 4 November.
The rules are not the same
Token AI Film Festival in Chicago, whose screening window ran from 12 September to 10 October, asks filmmakers to disclose exactly how and how much AI shaped each three to 15 minute film. Biberach wants AI to play a significant role in the creative production process. Some festivals want AI central. Others want a documented mixture. A film built mostly on conventional footage with one generated sequence can be too little AI for one entry form and too much for another.
One submission pack
Prepare it once and adapt it:
- A generation log listing tool and version, prompt, date, references with their rights, and where each clip appears.
- A statement of what was human-made: script, direction, performance, edit decisions.
- Voice and likeness consents stored beside the cut.
- A clean screening file, and a statement of what the festival may reuse for promotion. Most entry forms ask for a licence to screen and promote the film.
What to watch
Whether the vendor sponsorship visible at Neu Wave, where ElevenLabs, ByteDance, and Higgsfield are named as participants, shapes programming, and whether more festivals adopt the Token model of mandatory disclosure.
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