From actor to AI filmmaker: Nikolay Shestak on his Astana AI Film Festival triumph
Latvian filmmaker Nikolay Shestak, winner of the Grand Prix at the Astana AI Film Festival, has revealed the idea behind his award-winning film and spoken about his journey into AI filmmaking, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Shestak said he began his career as an actor before moving into directing around four years ago. He started experimenting with AI-generated films two years ago.
His film is built around a simple moral idea: a person’s actions are reflected in their appearance.
“If people do bad things, they become ugly. So, if you do something bad, you’re ugly. If you are good, you’re not ugly,” Shestak explained.
The filmmaker said he decided to enter the Astana AI Film Festival after coming across the competition and realizing that its format matched the kind of work he was already pursuing.
He also pointed to the scale of the festival’s prize fund, saying that a prize of this magnitude was unprecedented for an AI film competition.
“It’s the first time in history someone gives you one million dollars in an AI festival. So, I think I have a chance to win, and I win,” he said.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Italian filmmaker Jacopo Reale won Best Direction at the Astana AI Film Festival 2026 for his thriller The Fracture.
