Welcome to GLOBAL AI FILM HACK
Global AI Film Hack @ MIT
2026 SEASON 4
"OPEN YOUR EYES"
Open Your Eyes is not simply about Vision.
It is about Perspective. Presence. Consciousness.
“The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe.” —— Ways of Seeing, John Berger
In 1972, Berger challenged the neutrality of vision. He argued that seeing is never passive, it is shaped by history, power, memory, and ideology. In an age of mechanical reproduction, he asked us to question how images construct meaning.
Today, in the age of generative AI, the question returns with new urgency. AI can generate endless faces and worlds, but storytelling demands more than that. It requires continuity, emotion, and characters who persists across time. A believable presence. A consistent inner life.
This year, we invite creators to move beyond image and into presence, work across 2D, 3D, live-action hybrids, and interactive forms to build AI characters that do more than appear on screen.
Not just visible, but vivid.
Not just generated, but felt.
Join us on this journey.
Poster designed by Jiajian Min with AI.
MEET OUR 2026 JUDGES & SPEAKERS
LEADING VOICES IN ART, TECH & CINEMA
Prof. Liam Young
Filmmaker, Architect, World-Builder
Sci-Arc, MS Fiction and Entertainment Coordinator
Dawei Tong
Chinese Actor and Singer
Prof. Jay Scheib
MIT Music & Theater Arts
Class of 1949 Professor
Section Head for Music & Theater Arts
Prof. Lev Manovich
Influential theorists of digital art and culture
City University of New York, Presidential Professor
Prof. John Rosenberg
Award Winning Film Editor
USC Cinematic Arts Professor of the Practice
Director of Undergraduate Production
Prof. Sylke Meyer
Emmy Award Winner
Northeastern University,
Professor of Creative Practice Research
John Gauntt
Seattle AI Film Festival, Creative Director
Culture & Code, Founder
Anna Borou Yu
MIT Global AI Film Hack, CoChair
MIT Music & Theater Arts. Artist
UCSB Media Art & Tech, PhD Student
Jaguar Bite, Founding Partner
Fidelio Films, Managing Partner
MIT Sloan EMBA Alum
Maya Georgieva
New School,
Senior Director of the Innovation Center - AI, XR and Quantum Labs
Jessie Qin
Founder, CEO @TapNow
Prof. Hongbo Fu
HKUST Division of Arts and Machine Creativity
Acting Head and Professor
Prof. Daniel Pillis
Emerson College,
Assistant Professor in Virtual Production
MIT Media Lab, Alum
Chloe Fang
OpenArt Al, Head of Strategy & Partnerships
MIT Sloan AI Club, President
Zoey Zhang
Flick (Fall 25 YC), Cofounder
2025 Hack Best Visual Winner
Ruihan Zhang
GoogleXR, Software Engineer
MIT Filmmakers Association, Founder
MIT Media Lab PhD Alum
Gibran Mourani
Minimax
Global Business & User Growth
Lilia Aramayo
The Wall Street Journal
Director Strategic Products, Video & Audio
ex Youtube, Hulu, HBO
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Jiajian Min
MIT Global AI Film Hack, Chair
MYStudio, Cofounder
Harvard, Guest Lectuer, Researcher
Dallas Poynter
Autodesk Flow Studio
Marketing Specialist
Reuben Fuchs
OpenArt Al, Creative Director
MIT Alum
Zimeng Cui
GoodShort
AI Director, North America
Awei Huang
TapNow
AI Director and Creative Growth
Xiao Wang
Beijing Film Academy
Lecturer
Zoey Zhu
IDEO, Creative Technologist
FuturePIXEL House, Creative Director
Matthew Spremulli
Autodesk
Research Manager
100+ Leading Voices bridging academia and industry
Join Our Visionary Panels!
Supports and Prizes to our Hackers
$50k+ Free Credits & Awards
Research Publication
Global Screening and Distribution
AI StartUp Incubator
Media Spotlights
Internship + Fellowship
Info Session
AWARD CATEGORIES
Short Film Track
Innovation Track
🏆 Short Film and Innovation Track Winners Prizes 🏆
• Spotlight Showcased on official website, social channels and media partners.
• Best Film will receive $10k+ Valued Production Support to develop your work into a feature film.
• Global screening opportunities with our festical partners like SXSW, Cinequest, Beijing IFF, HarvardXR and more!
• Research publication with MIT core team on AI Filmmaking at top Conference like CVPR.
Partnership Track
🏆 Autodesk Research Residency Award🏆
🥇 Winner: (Working with Autodesk Flow Studio) Eligible for the Autodesk Research Residency Program, with opportunities to:
• Collaborate with creative technologists and researchers
• Receive support from Autodesk Research
• Access Autodesk tools for your project
• Explore advanced Technology Centers in Boston, Toronto, and San Francisco
🏆 OpenArt Award 🏆
🥇 Winner：1 year wonder plan(1440$)
⭐ Nominee (x3)：6 months infinite plan (1000$)
• Priority to be enrolled in open artist/creative partner program
Spotlight feature - opportunity to be showcased on official social channels（500K followers）
• Enrollment into openart affiliate program
• Priority considered for openart intern or full-time roles when applicable
🏆 Flick Award🏆
🥇Winner:
• Flick Filmmaker Residency Summer 2026 Seat — mentorship and production support for your next film: https://flick.art/residency
• One-year free Flick Studio Subscription ($1440 value)
• Featured spotlight on Flick's app homepage and social media channels
🏆 TapNow Award 🏆
🥇 Winner: 100k Tapies ➕Lv4 Creator Role
⭐ Nominee (x3): 50k tapies + Lv4 Creator Role
• Featured spotlight on TapTV
($10k+ value in total)
🏆 Pixverse Award 🏆
🥇 Winner: One-year Premium Subscription + 100,000 Credits
⭐ Nominee (x3): 3-month Pro Subscription
✨ Winner Benefits (All Awardees)
• Spotlight Feature — Showcased on PixVerse's official website and social channels
• Top-tier works get showcased at major film festivals via PixVerse's industry network — from Busan to Berlinale and beyond
• Priority enrollment in our Creative Partner Program
• A fully-loaded account for seamless PixVerse CLI access
• Priority consideration for PixVerse Intern&Full-time positions when you apply
PIONEERING AI FILM & ART EVENT FROM MIT
This is not just a hackathon. It is a global call to reimagine character, storytelling, and the future of cinema.
Founded at MIT in 2023, Global AI Film Hack is one of the earliest and most internationally recognized platforms dedicated to AI Filmmaking, media art, and next-generation storytelling.
Each year, it brings together filmmakers, artists, researchers, technologists, students, and creative pioneers from around the world to explore how AI is transforming the language of film, digital media, and immersive experience.
SUPPORTED BY
A GLOBAL CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM
MIT Media Lab ● SXSW ● Google ● OpenArt ● Autodesk ● Runwayml ● StabilityAI ● CINEQUEST ● Seattle AIFF ● HKUST AMC ● Pixverse ● Deemos ● Meshy ● SAGA ● Molypix ● AIVA ● FLICK ● Imastudio ● Runway ● TripoAI ● MiniMax ● PikaAI
1500+ Participants
50+ Partners
50+ Countries
200+ Original AI Films
OUR CORE VALUES
“CREATIVITY BEFORE COMPUTATION”
IMAGINATION
We champion bold ideas that challenge assumptions and open unexpected directions for storytelling and artistic expression.
COLLABORATION
By connecting artists, technologists, researchers, and students, we create a community where shared knowledge leads to stronger, more ambitious outcomes.
EXPERIMENTATION
We encourage creators to push boundaries of technology and aesthetics, and explore the new language of AI art and film.
EVOLUTION
From 2023 to 2026, we continuously adapt to new ideas, new pipelines and new cultural shifts to ensure creativity keeps moving forward.
Global AI Film Hack @ MIT