AI Film Festival in Astana draws more than 8,000 submissions — Anadolu Agency
Astana AI Film Festival 2026 was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, receiving 8,067 entries from 125 countries. Organizers call the competition the world's largest international contest for films created using artificial intelligence, Anadolu Agency reports.
Geography of submissions
The highest number of entries came from the United States — 1,395. Kazakhstan took second place with 829 films. It was followed by India, whose authors submitted 702 works, China with 550 entries, and South Korea with 349.
Festival co-founder and board chair Almaz Zhali said that just a few months ago, the team was only launching the international competition, and it has now received more than 8,000 submissions from 125 countries.
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Themes and funding
The festival theme, “A Future Worth Living,” was explored in 3,138 works — nearly 40% of all submissions. Another 4,929 films were entered into the open competition, which covers 19 genres. The total duration of the submitted films exceeded 100,000 minutes. They were created by 4,756 authors who used more than 80 generative models.
The festival's prize fund totals $1 million: $750,000 is allocated for the main thematic program, while another $250,000 is intended for five open categories. Separately, entrepreneur and investor Balaji Srinivasan established a $1 million investment fund to support promising teams in the AI sector.
Festival creative director Aizatulla Hussein said that the idea of holding the event in Astana emerged in December 2025 amid the development of generative video technologies. Srinivasan also said that lower production costs could expand opportunities for creating content in the languages of small communities.
