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Disrupt Butterfly

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 17th of November, followed by a screening in Sydney on 24th November.

More info

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. 

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SUBMISSIONS

You’ll upload your screener (via Vimeo, YouTube or direct upload), enter your details, and hit submit. 
Submissions open in June 2026. Deadline TBC. 

Questions? 
Reach us anytime at daiff-au@tbwa.com

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 in June 2026. Deadline TBC. 

    Questions? 
Reach us anytime at daiff-au@tbwa.com

SOCIAL

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The Creative AI as National Infrastructure whitepaper from TBWA\Australia’s DISRUPT AI Film Festival, in partnership with Deakin and Swinburne Universities, uncovers three critical insights for Australia’s creative future.   First, c
A new white paper, Creative AI as National Infrastructure, authored by Deakin University and Swinburne University of Technology using data from TBWA\Australia’s DISRUPT AI Film Festival, reveals how creative AI is reshaping production, par
TBWA\Australia hosted partners, clients, and thought leaders for the launch of “Creative AI as National Infrastructure”, a new whitepaper authored by Deakin University and Swinburne University of Technology using data from TBWA\Australia&
AI insights shared at our community show and tell at the first DISRUPT AI Community Connect.   🦴Presented by Rhys Delios Callanan 🦴   Stay tuned for our next DISRUPT AI Community Connect where the growing AI community meets up, network an

AWARDS
NIGHT

Date and location to be announced

The winners of the festival will be announced at a gala event in Melbourne in 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.