Astana AI Film Festival crowns winners, $450,000 Grand Prize goes to Latvia
Kazakhstan has hosted the Astana AI Film Festival for the first time, attracting 8,067 entries from 125 countries and becoming the world’s largest international competition for AI-generated films, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The festival’s Grand Prix and $450,000 prize, equivalent to around 201.5 million tenge, went to Latvian filmmaker Nikolay Shestak for The First Honest Day.
Kazakhstan’s Myrzakhan Zhumakhan won the Best Character category for his comedy It Was Just a Joke. The film follows a dog and its owner’s brother as they quarrel over a prank, with events unfolding like a blockbuster. Zhumakhan said he enjoys pranks and humor, which inspired him to create the story.
The second-place award of $200,000, or about 89.5 million tenge, went to India’s SITARA, while Spain’s Looking For Perseida took third place and $100,000, equivalent to around 44.8 million tenge.
Only 25 films were selected from thousands of submissions to reach the final. They were evaluated by an international jury that included former UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay and investor Balaji Srinivasan.
The festival had a total prize and support fund of $2 million, or nearly 895.5 million tenge. Half was allocated to awards, while the remaining amount will support promising AI teams and the development of film production in Kazakhstan.
The festival’s debut in Astana marked a major step for AI-generated cinema, bringing international filmmakers together to showcase their work and compete for substantial prizes.
Earlier, Qazinform reported President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had taken part in the opening ceremony of the Astana AI Film Festival.