AAIFF 2026 winners share stories behind their AI-generated films

Held from Ocober 1 to 3 as part of AI Month, the festival featured competitive screenings, a business program and panel discussions involving filmmakers and representatives of the creative industries.

This year, the festival received 8,067 entries from 125 countries, with 25 films selected for the final competition. The works were evaluated by an international jury that included former UNESCO Director-General and former French Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay, Ma Ping, Dean of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence Research at China Film Group, Wang Hao, Deputy Dean of the Animation School at Beijing Film Academy, entrepreneur and investor Balaji Srinivasan, and Li Long, BytePlus General Manager for the Middle East, Africa, India, Türkiye and CIS region.

Winners were selected in five special categories and the festival’s main thematic program, The Future Worth Living In.

In the special categories, Myrzakhan Zhumakhan won Best Character for IT WAS JUST A JOKE, 2xLabs won Best Story for The Last Span, Jacopo Zanetti won Best Visual for What’s the Job?, Jacopo Reale won Best Direction for The Fracture, and Zachary London won Best Concept for Pomegranate.

Each special-category winner received $50,000 (22.4 million tenge).

Kazakhstan’s Myrzakhan Zhumakhan wins Best Character

Kazakh filmmaker Myrzakhan Zhumakhan won Best Character for his comedy IT WAS JUST A JOKE.

The film follows a seemingly simple prank involving a dog and its owner’s brother that gradually develops into a serious conflict.

Zhumakhan said he wanted to keep the story light and entertaining rather than attach a deeper meaning to it.

“I work in the comedy genre. The film tells the story of how a dog and its owner’s brother start fighting because of a simple joke, and eventually everything turns into a serious conflict. I did not set out to convey some complicated or witty message. It is simply a light story that, to some extent, also describes me, because I love pranks and having fun,” he said.

The filmmaker added that he had been nervous about the competition given the quality of the entries.

“There are so many talented and great people here. All the participants put a lot of work and time into their films, so in my opinion, every one of them was a worthy competitor,” Zhumakhan said

Chinese filmmaker takes Best Story

Chinese filmmaker Liu Shuheng received the Best Story award for a film inspired by an ancient Chinese painting. The idea emerged from a conversation with a friend about separation and reunion.

The team used Seedance 2.5 and another exclusive tool to create the film.

“Our story was actually inspired by an ancient Chinese painting. When my friend and I first discussed the subject, the conversation happened to turn to separation and reunion. We found the theme very interesting, so we decided to use it as the basis for the story,” Liu said.

According to the filmmaker, his team spent about a month and a half developing and refining the screenplay.

“This award means a lot to us. We spent a month and a half refining the script at the development stage. We really put a lot of effort into this work and devoted ourselves fully to creating it. So receiving the award for Best Story is a great honor for us,” he said.

Jacopo Zanetti wins Best Visual

Italian filmmaker Jacopo Zanetti won Best Visual for What’s the Job?, a film exploring personal choices and the importance of following one’s own path against the backdrop of a familiar office environment.

“This film is essentially about choice. I decided to use classic offices associated with everyday work as the backdrop, but the story is really about life and how important it is sometimes to focus on your own path in order to make the right choice,” Zanetti said.

He noted that people often try to advise others or point them in a particular direction, but that does not necessarily lead them where they need to go.

“Everyone has their own path, and that is what the film is about,” he said.

Zanetti now lives and works in Milan. He works on visual projects for Italian startup UVI, which develops solutions for orchestras and classical concerts, while also making films for himself, competitions and clients.

He previously studied photography and later enrolled in mechanical engineering before deciding to leave university and pursue filmmaking.

“I decided to drop out to follow my dream — to make films,” he said.

After the awards ceremony, Zanetti said he was still struggling to fully grasp what had happened.

“I feel like I am living in a dream, some kind of fever dream. I still cannot fully understand what happened, and I cannot find the words. I am thrilled by this award. My passion for this work has become even stronger. I am very grateful,” he said.

Latvia’s Nikolay Shestak takes Grand Prix

The main thematic program, The Future Worth Living In, featured 10 finalists. The third-place prize of $100,000 went to Spanish filmmaker Ernest Desumbila for Looking for Perseida, while Indian director Abhik Banerjee took second place and $200,000 for Sitara.

The $450,000 Grand Prix went to Latvian filmmaker Nikolay Shestak for The First Honest Day.

Shestak, a former actor, began directing about four years ago and started making AI-assisted films two years ago. He said he had not expected to win given the number and diversity of films in the competition.

“I absolutely did not expect to win. There were so many incredible films and so many different genres that I am actually interested in why the jury chose my film. When I make films, I put something personal into them, my own thoughts, and all of that can be found inside my work,” Shestak said.

The filmmaker plans to continue making films and invest the prize money in new projects. He also said he wanted to explore Kazakhstan, including visiting Almaty.

“I just want to relax a little and enjoy Astana. Tomorrow I will fly to Almaty for the first time. I want to try your food, see the nature and talk to people. I really like Astana and Kazakhstan. I want to invest the prize money in making other films,” he said.

Abhik Banerjee explores the pursuit of recognition

Indian director Abhik Banerjee, who took second place with Sitara, tells the story of a man seeking recognition and trying to fulfill his potential despite difficult circumstances.

The protagonist is an ordinary employee with almost no personal life who wants to change his situation and pursue his ambitions.

“My film is about a person who wants to achieve something truly significant through what he does. He wants to fulfill himself and gain recognition, although it is very difficult for him,” Banerjee said.

The filmmaker said the story reflects a universal desire to get a chance to change one’s life and prove oneself.

“We are all waiting for our chance, and every person somewhere in the world is waiting for an opportunity to show what they can do. I guess I am very fortunate that such an opportunity came to me,” he said.

Banerjee said his visit to Kazakhstan was his first. He plans to continue working on several feature-film screenplays and submit his future projects to international festivals.

“I have written several feature-film scripts that I definitely intend to make. As usual, I want to take them to international festivals. They are interesting concepts, and I want people to see them,” he said.

Ernest Desumbila makes film in just 10 days

Barcelona-based filmmaker Ernest Desumbila won third place for Looking for Perseida, a story about Silas, a cowboy-like robot with a human soul who crosses a dystopian desert world in search of his love, Perseida. Dolphins serve as unusual villains in the story.

Desumbila had just 10 days to complete the film after learning about the festival from his wife.

“When I found out about the festival, there were only 10 days left until the deadline, and at first it seemed impossible. But I decided to give it a try. I literally locked myself at home and made the film in 10 days,” he said.

The film was inspired by the phrase “The Future Worth Living In,” which Desumbila turned into a scene before developing it into a full story.

“My film was inspired by the phrase ‘The Future Worth Living In.’ On the day I received the invitation from the festival in Barcelona, there was heavy rain in the sky. I imagined that scene as the ending of a short film and then created the entire story that would lead to it,” he said.

The award has encouraged Desumbila to continue developing his projects, while his long-term ambition remains making a feature film.

“I want to continue working on projects like this. But my long-standing dream has always been to make a feature film. I have several projects, and this award has given me even more strength and inspiration to make that dream a reality,” he said.

Desumbila also praised Astana’s architecture and the National Museum, as well as the hospitality he experienced during his visit.

“I really like this city. We were shown around Astana as part of the program, and interacting with other artists was the best part of the trip. I also really liked the hospitality of the local people. I feel at home here. It is amazing,” he said.

AAIFF highlights growing role of AI in filmmaking

AAIFF co-founder and creative director Aizat Kussainov said the festival demonstrated that the most important aspect of AI filmmaking is not the technology itself, but what creators can achieve with it.

“The most interesting thing about AI cinema today is not the technology itself, but what authors are beginning to create with it. At the festival, we saw very strong and completely different works — from unusual visual solutions to new ways of telling stories,” Kussainov said.

He noted that filmmakers from different countries are increasingly using AI platforms as creative tools and argued that AI cinema is becoming an independent direction within the global film industry.

AAIFF co-founder and board chairman Almas Zhali highlighted the international nature of the festival and its plans for further development.

“It is particularly important that such an international festival is being held in Kazakhstan. We want Astana to become one of the places where representatives of the film industry, technology and creative industries from around the world can meet,” Zhali said.

The total prize and investment fund of the Astana AI Film Festival amounts to $2 million. Of that amount, $1 million was provided by the Freedom Shapagat Corporate Foundation of Freedom Holding Corp. and distributed among the competition winners. Another $1 million is allocated as investment capital for promising AI teams to support production and the development of Kazakhstan’s AI ecosystem.

The finalists’ films were screened on the big screen at Chaplin Cinema in MEGA Silk Way shopping mall on October 2 and 3.

The inaugural Astana AI Film Festival brought together an international professional community focused on the development of AI-powered cinema and new opportunities for filmmakers and creative teams, creating a platform to discuss the future of cinema, the use of artificial intelligence in the creative process and the development of a new AI-driven creative industry.