THE
FESTIVAL
DISRUPT AI Film Festival (DAIFF) is Australia’s first Gen AI film festival — a national platform for filmmakers, artists, technologists, and students to explore storytelling powered by AI. Anchored by the theme “Humans and Their Tools”, the festival champions human-in-the-loop creativity — where technology becomes a co-creator, not a competitor.
The second edition of DISRUPT will culminate in a national screening and awards showcase, featuring the best entries at a Melbourne Gala on 18th of November, with a Sydney screening to follow.
2026
THEME
HUMANS AND THEIR TOOLS
A bone lifted as a hammer. A brush pulled across canvas. A camera capturing a moment. Gen AI responding to a prompt. They are all tools. What matters – what’s always mattered – are the humans that use them.
The theme for this year’s DISRUPT Festival, Humans and Their Tools, explores this premise.
SUBMISSIONS
Submissions for DISRUPT 2026 are now closed. Thank you to every filmmaker, student, creative professional, technologist and AI-curious creator who entered. Stay tuned for shortlist notifications and the announcement of our winners at the Melbourne Gala Night.
2026
JUDGES
HERE’S HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR FILM
-
Your film must only involve the use of Generative AI tools — for visuals, audio, effects, animation or anything else.
Films must be completed within the past 12 months.
They must be Australian-made and not yet screened or distributed in Victoria before 29 October 2026.
Submissions must be final cuts (no works-in-progress).
-
Best Short Film (under 3 minutes)
Best Long Film (3–15 minutes)
Best Student Film (under 3 minutes — you’ll need to show proof of current student enrolment)
All entries are automatically considered for the Grand Prix
-
When entering, we’ll ask you for:
Basic film info – title, synopsis, team, runtime, etc.
Posters & stills – one horizontal and one vertical poster, 5x film stills
Your AI Process –
What tools you used (e.g. Runway, Midjourney, ChatGPT)
A few example prompts
Your role as “the human in the loop”.
This doesn’t need to be overly technical — we just want to understand your creative thinking.
-
You’ll upload your screener (via Vimeo, YouTube or direct upload), enter your details, and hit submit. Submissions open on 15 June 2026, with entries closing on 16 October 2026.
Questions? Reach us anytime at daiff-au@tbwa.com
DISRUPT @ Swinburne
For the first time, DISRUPT is coming to Swinburne University of Technology on 17 November.
Bringing together filmmakers, creatives, technologists, students, researchers and industry leaders, DISRUPT @ Swinburne will explore what happens when human creativity meets new AI tools. Through workshops, conversations and practical demonstrations, you’ll discover new ways of working, share ideas and connect with Australia’s growing creative AI community.
DISRUPT
FEED
SPONSORS
SUPPORTED BY:
AWARDS
NIGHT
Date: 18th November 2026
Location: TBC
The winners of the festival will be announced at a gala event in Melbourne in November, followed by a screening Sydney. The gala evening in Melbourne will bring together creators, innovators, and decision-makers, for a night of celebration, conversation, and bold storytelling. While both events will feature a screening of select finalists, and the announcement and screening of the winners for each category, including the Grand Prix winner. The event will once again host short panels, featuring special guests, who will continue to explore the future of creativity, IP and ethics in an AI-powered world. Attendance by invitation.