TBWA\AUSTRALIA LAUNCHES DISRUPT AI FILM FESTIVAL – THE NATION’S FIRST GENAI FILM FESTIVAL
TBWA\Australia today announced the launch of the DISRUPT AI Film Festival (DAIFF), the nation’s first GenAI film festival dedicated to reimagining the art of storytelling through generative artificial intelligence and video.
With a national scope and a culturally open theme — “Humans and Their Tools” — the festival invites filmmakers, technologists, students, artists and creators to submit original Human+AI generated films, which explore the evolving relationship between humanity and the tools we invent.
The festival, featuring a national showcase, a live screening of the winning entries, expert commentary, and panels on the future of talent, ethics, and AI-powered storytelling, will be held on 29th October 2025.
Says Paul Reardon, Chief Creative Officer at TBWA: “The DISRUPT festival is a platform for filmmaking with humans using GenAI tools. We’re looking to surface some amazing local Australian talent. It’s open to anyone here with an interest in film and storytelling.
“The theme was chosen very carefully, to prove a point. The creative tools Generative AI continues to deliver are incredible. But as with any tools in our history, it’s the skill of the craftsperson wielding them that makes the difference.”
While Australia has the capability, the craft, and the creative edge, as a market it’s not recognised at the same level as the GenAI Festivals in New York and London, who steal the spotlight, with Australia’s talent going largely unrecognised. DISRUPT is here to change this, putting Australia at the forefront of the global creative AI movement, where it belongs.
Says Lucio Ribeiro, Chief AI & Innovation Officer, TBWA: “We’re witnessing a rapid rise in international GenAI film festivals and Australia needs a seat at that table.
“DISRUPT provides this seat. We’re not here to observe the future of storytelling, we’re here to shape it with our own community. And we’ll do it with transparency, accountability, and humans at the centre.”
About DAIF:
DAIFF will celebrate standout work across four categories, cumulating in one Grand Prix overall winner with a prize purse of AUD 15,000.
The four categories include:
Best Short Film – under 3 minutes
Best Long Film – 3 to 15 minutes
Best Student Film – under 3 minutes
Grand Prix Winner – selected from the three category winners
While the criteria across all submissions will need to demonstrate a clear creative collaboration between human creators and generative AI tools. Filmmakers are asked to articulate the human contribution, whether through narrative, visual style, or direction, and disclose the tools used in the process.
Call for Entry:
Submissions open in July 2025 via www.daiff.com.au With several partnerships already underway, DISRUPT is gaining momentum, and TBWA welcomes new collaborators who share its vision to shape the future of storytelling, ethics, and creativity.
Adds Ribeiro: “We’ve kept year one intentionally simple. But the mission is ambitious and symbolic. DISRUPT AI Film Festival (DAIFF) is a festival, but it’s also a signal to the world that Australia has something important to say about creativity, technology, and the future of culture using GenAI.”
To express interest, or learn more, visit www.daiff.com.au or contact press@tbwa.com.au
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)