Festival rules

This English version is a courtesy translation. In case of discrepancies, the German version prevails (Deutsch).

Dates & fees

Early Bird deadline	31 May 2027	€15.00
Regular deadline	31 July 2027	€25.00
Reduced fee (school, apprenticeship, university)		€9.00
Selection announced	By 31 August 2027
Screening	9 October 2027, Vienna

All fees are non-refundable processing fees (see the terms). All dates reflect the current plan and may change (see terms, § 5).

Reduced fee

The reduced fee applies to people who, at the time of submission, are school pupils, apprentices or regularly enrolled university students; what counts is the person submitting. When you submit, you confirm this and name your school, training company or university.

On request, and at the latest when your film is selected, you provide valid proof (pupil, apprentice or student ID, or a current confirmation from your school, training company or university). You may black out everything except your name, the institution and the date of validity. We use the proof only to check your eligibility and delete it afterwards.

Entries at the reduced fee are eligible for all awards, including the Grand Prix.

Missing proof: If you do not provide valid proof or your declaration was incorrect, the submission will be disqualified. The fee paid will not be refunded; an additional payment is not possible.

Categories

• Best AI Short Film — Main category, all genres

One category for every genre. For our first edition, we deliberately chose a single, open category: fantasy, drama, action, comedy, animation, a stop-motion look or something that doesn’t exist yet – everything competes together. The only requirement: your film’s entire visual world is created with generative AI (see Image and sound). In addition, we present the Young Talent Award for directors up to 25 and the Audience Award, decided by the cinema audience.

Eligibility

• Open to filmmakers worldwide, regardless of experience or production budget (except the persons named under “Not eligible”).
• Maximum running time: 15 minutes, including credits.
• The film meets the rules under Image and sound.
• The film must have been completed in 2026 or later (no earlier than the year before the festival edition). False information on the year of completion leads to exclusion.
• Both premieres and films that have already been shown are eligible — a particular premiere status is not a requirement.
• Films in languages other than English require English subtitles.
• Persons under 18 may take part only with the consent of their parents or legal guardians. If a director is under 18, state this when submitting. Proof of consent must be provided on request. In this case, prize money is paid to the parents or legal guardians.

Image and sound

NovaScreen screens short films whose entire visual world is created with generative AI. Concept, direction and editing remain human.

1. Image. Everything on screen (characters, objects, places) is created with generative AI. Not permitted: filmed or photographed footage, stock material (including third-party AI-generated material and filmed effect elements), and characters, objects or places from 3D software, drawing or traditional animation.
2. Post-production. Editing, compositing, color grading, retouching, masking, upscaling and effects (e.g. light, blur, grain, smoke, particles) are allowed with any tool, such as Premiere, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve or After Effects. So are titles, credits (including logos), subtitles and on-screen text.
3. Guidance material. Your own sketches, reference images and motion recordings may drive generative tools (e.g. motion control). What appears on screen must not simply be the source material: filmed or photographed material that has only been restyled, filtered or animated does not count as generated.
4. Sound. Music, voice and sound are open: AI-generated, recorded or licensed. You must hold the rights for public screening at the festival.
5. Disclosure. With your submission, list the tools used for the image, any guidance material, and the source of music, voice and sound. Selected films may be asked for proof (e.g. raw generations, prompts, project files). False statements lead to disqualification, including after selection.

In case of doubt, the festival management decides whether a film meets these rules.

Not eligible

To keep the selection independent, the following persons are excluded from participation. This applies to their own submissions as well as to films on which they worked in a significant role (e.g. direction, production, screenplay, editing):

• members of the jury and of the festival management;
• persons involved in preparing and running the festival (for example employees, freelancers, contractors and helpers), as well as the operator of the festival;
• sponsors and partners of the festival at all partner levels (Platinum, Gold, Silver) as well as funding and media partners, and in the case of companies their owners, management and the staff working with the festival;
• close relatives of all persons named above (spouses and partners, relatives in the direct line, siblings);
• companies and production companies in which the persons named above hold a significant interest.

By submitting, you confirm that you do not belong to this group of persons. Submissions that violate this rule will not be considered. If the violation only becomes known after selection, screening or an award, the submission may also be excluded retroactively.

Sanctions: Also excluded are persons, companies and organisations listed on a sanctions list of the European Union, the United Nations or the Republic of Austria, as well as companies owned or controlled by them.

Prohibited content

The following content leads to exclusion from participation, even retroactively if it is only discovered after selection or screening:

• Pornographic or sexually explicit content
• Depictions of violence against real persons
• The depiction of a recognisable real person — as a likeness or as a cloned/imitated voice — without their explicit, verifiable consent. This also applies to yourself, team members, family, celebrities and historical persons.
• Protected trademarks, characters or other third-party content without the necessary authorisation
• Unlawful or defamatory content, or content that otherwise infringes the rights of third parties
• Minors (under 18): Fictional, AI-generated characters who appear to be children are only permitted if they do not resemble any real person, are not shown in a sexualised or violence-glorifying context and are not depicted as victims or perpetrators of violence. Real minors — including your own children or those of relatives — may not be depicted, not even as an AI-generated likeness. Their voice is only permitted as a genuine recording (e.g. a speaking role, narration, singing), with the written consent of their parents or legal guardians, to be provided on request. AI clones, AI imitations or AI conversions of the voice of real minors are not permitted. The character voiced is subject to the same limits as fictional child characters.

Submission

Submissions are made via a free account on this website, by link to the film on a video platform (e.g. Vimeo or YouTube; public, unlisted or password-protected). The link must remain accessible until the end of the festival. Alternatively we also accept submissions via FilmFreeway — the fee is identical on both channels.

You can submit several films with one account. The submission fee applies to each film separately. Each film may be submitted only once, either here or via FilmFreeway. A submission cannot be changed once it has been sent; for corrections, please email festival@novascreen.ai.

Rights

By submitting, you confirm that you hold all necessary rights to the submitted material (including music, imagery, AI-generated content, guidance material and any contributors’ rights), that the terms of the tools used allow public screening and that the film contains none of the prohibited content listed above. You grant NovaScreen the non-exclusive right to show the film as part of the festival event(s). Excerpts or stills are used for the festival’s promotion only if you have agreed to this separately when submitting.

Jury & notification

All submissions are reviewed by the festival jury. You will be informed by email, at the address given at registration, whether your film has been included in the programme. There is no entitlement to individual reasons for the decision.

Prizes

A total of €2,000 in prize money will be awarded:

• Grand Prix: €1,000
• Second Prize: €500
• Audience Award: €250
• Young Talent Award: €250

The Grand Prix, the Second Prize and the Young Talent Award are awarded by the festival jury from among all films shown at the festival. The audience decides the Audience Award (see below). Further prizes, in particular in-kind prizes from partners, may be added and will be announced separately.

The jury may split prizes or not award individual prizes if the quality of the submissions does not justify it. A film receives at most one jury prize; in addition, it can receive the Audience Award. The jury’s decisions are final.

Attendance: Attending the festival in Vienna is not a requirement for an award. Travel and accommodation costs are not covered. We will ask prize winners who cannot attend in person for a short video message for the award ceremony in advance.

Entries at the reduced fee (pupils, apprentices, students) are eligible for all awards, including the Grand Prix.

Young Talent Award

• Films shown at the festival are eligible for the Young Talent Award if they were registered for it when submitted (tick box in the submission form) and all directors are at most 25 years old on the cut-off date (their 26th birthday falls after it). The cut-off date is the day of the regular submission deadline (31 July 2027). The age on the cut-off date applies, even if you submit earlier.
• When registering, you enter the date of birth; if there are several directors, that of the oldest. If their 26th birthday falls on or before the cut-off date, registration is not possible; the film then takes part in all other awards.
• On request, and at the latest before the award is given, you provide an official photo ID for the directors. You may black out everything except the name and the date of birth. We use the proof only to check eligibility and delete it afterwards.
• For submissions via FilmFreeway, register the film for the Young Talent Award by email to festival@novascreen.ai by the regular submission deadline and state the date of birth (if there are several directors, that of the oldest).
• Entries at the reduced fee, and films that are also eligible for other awards, take part as well. If a film wins the Grand Prix or the Second Prize, the Young Talent Award goes to the next-ranked eligible film.
• The jury decides on the award; it may decide not to award it if no eligible film justifies it.

Audience Award

• Visitors with a regular ticket receive a personal QR code on their ticket that leads to a rating page. There they can rate the films they have seen on a scale from 1 to 5.
• Each ticket code counts once, and per film only one rating per code is counted.
• The Audience Award goes to the film with the highest average rating, provided it has received at least 15 valid ratings. In the event of a tie, the films concerned share the prize money in equal parts.
• Free tickets (e.g. for filmmakers, jury, festival team, sponsors and guests) do not entitle the holder to rate.
• Rating is anonymous; the ticket code is used solely to check that it is only used once. Attempts at manipulation (e.g. using other people’s codes) lead to the exclusion of the ratings concerned.
• In case of technical problems, the festival management may set a substitute procedure (e.g. paper ballots).

Payout

Prize money is paid out within 30 days after the festival to the submitting person or production company, provided complete payment details are available. Payment is made in euro: to accounts in the SEPA area (for example in the EU, the EEA, Switzerland or the United Kingdom) by SEPA transfer, outside the SEPA area at our choice by international bank transfer or via a payment service (e.g. Wise or PayPal). We bear the fees of our own bank; fees of intermediary banks, the recipient’s bank or the payment service on receipt, as well as currency conversion costs, are borne by the recipient.

Before payment we may request proof of identity (an official photo ID, or a current company register extract for companies) and check the details against sanctions lists. If a payment is not possible for legal reasons (in particular because of sanctions), or if complete payment details have not been provided six months after the festival despite a request, the claim to the prize money lapses; the award itself remains.

The distribution among a film’s contributors is the responsibility of the submitters. Any taxes and duties on prizes are borne by the prize winners themselves. If we are legally required to withhold tax, we pay out the amount after this deduction.