DISRUPT ANNOUNCES FIRST ROUND OF CREATIVE JURY FOR THE 2026 AI FILM FESTIVAL
The DISRUPT AI Film Festival has announced the first members of its 2026 Creative Jury, bringing together leaders across creativity, academia, AI, technology and policy to judge Australia’s first dedicated generative AI film festival.
Chaired by Paul Reardon, chief creative officer, TBWA\Melbourne, the jury includes Max Schleser, associate professor in Film and Television, Swinburne University of Technology; Dr Luke Heemsbergen, senior lecturer, Deakin University; Stephen de Wolf, national chief creative officer, Clemenger BBDO; Andrea Martens, chief executive officer ADMA; Lee Hickin, executive director, National AI Centre; and Lucinda Longcroft, director of policy and government affairs, Tech Council of Australia.
Further jury members will be announced in due course.
The jury will assess work from Australian creators using generative AI as part of the filmmaking process, with entries judged on originality, storytelling, craft, human intent and the role AI plays in the final work.
The 2026 theme, Humans and Their Tools, reflects the festival’s central position: AI is changing how films are made, but human critical judgment, craft and intent remain the creative edge.
Submissions open 15 June 2026 and close 6pm AEST, 20 October 2026.
Created by TBWA\Australia, the DISRUPT AI Film Festival is more than a screening platform. It was built as a research and training platform to better understand how Australian creators are using generative AI, what skills are emerging, and where capability needs to be strengthened.
The involvement of leaders such as Andrea Martens, Lee Hickin and Lucinda Longcroft is critical to that ambition. Their perspectives help connect the festival’s creative agenda with the broader questions facing Australia: how we build AI capability, support responsible adoption, and ensure creators are part of the national conversation.
Insights from the 2026 festival will contribute to the next wave of research examining how generative AI is being used by Australian creators, with a focus on creative practice, authorship, tools, skills and capability.
Download Creative Ai as a National Infrastructure: https://www.daiff.com.au/ai-whitepaper
Media contact:
Jane Fraser | Communications | 0455541055
About DISRUPT AI Film Festival
DISRUPT AI Film Festival is Australia’s first dedicated GenAI film festival. Created by TBWA\Australia, the festival brings together filmmakers, creators, academics, technologists and industry leaders to examine how generative AI is changing screen production, storytelling, authorship and creative judgement.
About TBWA\Australia
TBWA\Australia is The Disruption® Company, part of the global TBWA\Worldwide collective, and Omnicom Oceania. As a collective we work with some of Australia's most notable brands, including; National Australia Bank, AFL, Apple, Woolworths Rewards, Australian Defence Force Recruiting, Nissan, and Patties Food Group —across creativity, strategy, experience, and innovation.
With offices in Melbourne and Sydney, we harness our trademarked Disruption® methodology to build stronger brands that own an unfair share of the future.
As part of a global network of 11,000+ minds in over 40 countries, we deliver work recognised as some of the world's most innovative and effective. We dismantle the status quo and replace it with something bold and new.
Disruption® isn't what we do. It's who we are.
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TBWA\Australia is also part of Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC)