At The MasterCard invaluable lounge inside the Excelsior Hotel, during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, the second edition of the Festival AI Film Festival announced its winners. Created by the Global Consultancy Reply, the festival quickly became one of the most visible showcases for AI short film production.
More than 2,500 submissions have reached 67 countries, a sharp increase from 1,400 in the debut year of the festival. The issue for 2025 was a “generation of emotions”, guiding filmmakers to explore how AI tools can create authentic, emotionally resonated experiences. Of these thousands of entries, an international jury chose ten finalists whose project was screened and judged in Venice.
The Chairman of the Jury, Director Gabriele Muccino, participated in filmmakers and technologists such as Rob Minkoff, Caleb and Shelby Ward, Denise Negri, Dave Clark, Charlie Fink, Filippo Rizzante, Caroline Unborn, Paolo Moroni and Paolo Moroni and Guillem Martinez Roura. Together, three basic prizes and two special recognitions were awarded, referring to the originality, quality of production and stochastic use of AI throughout the creative process, from script to post-production.
The Great Prize of € 8,000 went Love at first sight by Jacopo Reale. ‘Winning with Love at first sight It is not only a great honor, but also a boost to continue exploring the visual and particularly narrative abilities that AI opens, “Reale said in his acceptance. AI makes me distil stories to their essence, giving rhythm and meaning to images that do not exist in a traditional sense, but can still cause deep emotions.
The chairman of the Jury Muccino described the experience of the crisis as revealing. “AI reaches a point that is incredibly difficult, really a tsunami that will change the world completely,” he told the public. “I was hit by the realism of some shorts, but what really led us is that the needle moves when something really moves you. If you are moved by something, this is the sign of a voice that talks to you in a way that is not others.
The winners of the 2025 AI Film Festival, from left to right:
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The second prize of € 5,000 was awarded to Cinema that was never by Mark Wachholz. The director called it “Love letter in the lost dreams of cinema”. He explained that AI acted as a “co-ancients of his imagination”, helping him explore a landscape of films that have never been made, stories of untold and unpaid ideas that still haunt the public. “The future of cinematic production is not automation,” Wachholz said, “it is a reinforcement of vision. That is why I am so grateful for the AIFF response that now brings the flares of these films that have not been to life in one of the focus of film history.”
The third prize of € 2,000 went Un rêve liquide By Andrea Lommatzsch. Having worked with AI for years, Lommatzsch described technology as a “true opportunity to create and build cinema”. The story, she said, was the one she had brought in for years, and AI finally gave her the opportunity to bring her on the screen.
In addition to the three main awards, two special awards highlighted distinct contributions. The Lexus Visionary Award went Instinct By Marcello Junior Costa, a work created entirely with material created by AI, but structured as a traditional film. “Gen-ai makes the directing more democratic: anyone, wherever, can now tell their stories,” Costa said. “I hope filmmakers continue to use it responsibly to promote creativity forward and give more voices a scene.”
The Ai For Good Award, presented with the International Telecommunications Association, was awarded to Clown by Shanshan Jiang. The film tells the story of a talented clown who loses a sense of herself while trying to thank the audience. Jiang described AI as a collaborator who deepen her narrative, extending artistic expression beyond traditional media.
The winners and judges in response 2025 at the 82nd Venice Film Festival.
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Techradar, which previewing the finalists in August, noted the diversity of screen approaches. Styles ranged from anime and noir to the almost photorealistic worlds. Standout entries are included Instinct‘S Neanderthal-Meets-Skyscraper Imagery and VFX-Driven Meme, me and ai From the private island studio in the United Kingdom. The publication emphasized that the films proved to be AI “should not mean the end of creativity”, reflecting the insistence of the jury that technology serves as a catalyst and not as a replacement.
Filippo Rizzante, the CTO and one of the jurors, accompanied the festival as “a workshop where cinema meets AI”. He claimed that when used consciously, artificial intelligence enhances artistic sensitivity instead of diminishing it. “Short award -winning films show that technology does not replace artistic sensitivity, but enhances it, offering new talent new opportunities to experiment with languages, emotions and innovative visions.”
By aligning with the Venice Film Festival and attracting thousands of international submissions, the AI Film Festival has bet a place as one of the leading venues to celebrate this fascinating new aspect of cinematic art.
