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UAE launches $1M AI Film Award (Dubai, Jan 2026)

September 22, 2025
UAE launches $1M AI Film Award (Dubai, Jan 2026)

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$1M AI Film Award | what matters

Dubai has launched a global AI short film competition with a one million dollar grand prize, organized by the UAE Government Media Office with the 1 Billion Followers Summit and in partnership with Google Gemini. Submissions are open now and the timeline is tight, which means teams that already have workflows for Gemini tools can move fast. The format is simple and ambitious. Deliver a polished 7 to 10 minute short where the majority of the creative lift comes from Gemini powered systems such as Veo for video, Imagen for images, and Flow for orchestration. The goal is not a tech demo but a watchable film that plays for a public audience during the summit in January 2026. If you have a strong concept and a production discipline that keeps rights clear, this is a rare chance to pair visibility with serious funding while AI filmmaking is still defining its playbook.

Key dates

Submissions opened on 23 September 2025 with a final deadline on 20 November. A Top 10 shortlist will be announced on 5 December, followed by public voting from 10 to 15 December. The Top 5 films are scheduled to premiere on 10 January 2026 in Dubai, with the winner revealed on 11 January at the summit. The cadence strongly favors teams that can iterate fast and lock a cut before the winter holidays. Plan your post schedule with buffer for music, mix, captioning, and export testing so you are not debugging deliverables at the last minute. If you intend to drive all creative generation through Gemini tools, set up a reproducible pipeline now and keep a short paper trail of prompts, seeds, and versions so you can explain your process if asked.

Specs and how to enter

The brief requires a 7 to 10 minute short with at least 70 percent of the work generated using Google Gemini tools. Many teams will mix Veo for primary sequences, Imagen for stills and design elements, and Flow to coordinate steps. The submission flow is straightforward. Upload an unlisted YouTube link for your finished film, then complete the entry form on the official site before the deadline. Read the rules carefully and confirm that your rights chain is clean. That includes any performers you depict, any real world brands or artwork in frame, and any training or third party assets you rely on. For international teams, check music licensing early and prepare localized captions. Judges and public voters pay attention to clarity and pacing as much as novelty, so test with fresh eyes before you lock.

Why this matters

This is the largest prize announced for AI driven filmmaking to date and it places AI shorts in front of a mainstream creator economy audience. The signal is clear. Big competitions are moving from speculation to delivery and are ready to reward films that can stand in a room. That will pull more producers into the space, set expectations for quality, and sharpen conversations about rights and disclosure. If you are already building with Gemini tools, this is a chance to validate your pipeline under pressure. If you are new, it is a concrete deadline that can focus a team and turn experiments into a finished piece with real stakes. Either way, the contest will generate case studies that show what works, what breaks, and where AI saves time without flattening taste.

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