DUBAI, 1 March 2024 – A poignant South Korean tale of immortality and an Italian film symbolising human temptation have emerged triumphant at Expo City Dubai’s inaugural Artificial Intelligence Film Festival (AIFF) Awards Ceremony, marking the culmination of a six-month festival that celebrated the fusion of AI technology with human creativity.

The competition attracted more than 500 films from 89 countries, with a panel of 12 expert judges – including renowned filmmaker and actor Shekhar Kapur and award-winning creative technologist Ben Grossman – selecting the Best Film and Best Director. The general public voted for the Audience Choice award, while a first-of-its kind AI tool reviewed each submission’s audio, imagery and storyline to decide the AI Choice award.

Marjan Faraidooni, Chief of Education and Culture, Expo City Dubai, said: “The depth, diversity and quality of submissions underscores the success of the first AI Film Festival in the region in fostering a global platform for exploring technology and creativity and the potential of AI to advance the filmmaking landscape. The winning films exemplify the spirit of the festival and demonstrate how people’s imagination can find new ways of expression using the latest technology.

“AIFF has further solidified Expo City’s position as an AI innovation destination, a future-focused community and a global platform for collaboration on big ideas, and we look forward to further events and opportunities that will attract innovative pioneers and technologies to shape a brighter future.”

Winning both the Best Film and Audience Choice categories, One More Pumpkin by Hansl von Kwon from South Korea captivated audiences with a blend of folklore and technological innovation that told the story of an elderly couple rumoured to defy the bounds of time.

Italian director Francesco Siro’s TRETA secured the prestigious AI Choice award, sponsored by technology group G42, in which Expo City’s unique, purpose-built AI tool illustrated the alignment between human judgment and AI evaluation and demonstrated how technology can provide a new way to review works of art. Siro also claimed the Best Director award for his mesmerising fable of a clown posing as the king of human temptations and orchestrating an unprecedented battle for 'control'.

The ceremony was held at Expo City’s Connect Conference Centre (C3) and brought together jurors, visionary filmmakers and AI technologists for an evening of movie screenings, interactive AI showcases and a performance of an AI-generated music by Expo City’s all-women Firdaus Orchestra.

For more information about the Artificial Intelligence Film Festival, please visit the AIFF website.