Hosted by the Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC), this year’s festival explores the theme “New Boundaries, New Life.” The HKUST AIFF leverages Hong Kong’s unique position as a cultural hub and the university’s distinctive strengths in AI-generated content research, technological expertise, and innovative spirit to transcend the boundaries between technology and art, Eastern and Western cultures, and tradition and avant-garde expression.

The festival will take place at HKUST on May 16–17, 2026, showcasing cutting-edge artistic and technological works from around the world. It will also bring together renowned scholars, industry leaders, and pioneering enterprises to share insights and engage in dialogue on the latest developments in AI and creative media.

Guest Speakers & Judges
This year’s lineup includes:
•    Paul Debevec (Netflix)
•    Tia Carrere (Hollywood actress, two time Grammy Award winner)
•    Tony Ngai (Asia-Pacific Governor, SMPTE)
•    Li Ding (Adobe)
•    Jiajian Min (Chair, MIT AI Film Hackathon)
•    Jean Peic Chou (Chair, Busan International Film Festival AI Section)
•    Jacob Adler (Runway AI Film Festival Gold Prize winner; Professor, University of Arizona)
•    Professor Lei Wang (Dean, School of Animation & Digital Arts, Communication University of China)
•    Professor Tao Tao (Central Academy of Drama; Gold Award, China Dragon Awards)

AI frontier companies like Google, Tencent, Kling, and Tapnow will also join, along with leading AI studios, startups, and top schools across Hong Kong. Supporting partners include the MIT AI Film Hackathon and the Beijing International Film Festival AIGC Section.

Awards and Prize
FREE entry with a HKD 30,000 prize pool for grabs.

Submission Details
Submission deadline: 23:59 (GMT+8), March 20, 2026
Submit your work through the following link: https://filmfreeway.com/HKUST-AI-Film 

Requirements  for Student Works
•    Minimum 1 minute in length
•    Multiple track submissions welcome

Please refer to submission website for details.