Expo City Dubai’s Artificial Intelligence Film Festival (AIFF) unveiled on Friday its top 10 shortlisted films – an outstanding global lineup showcasing incredible creativity and technological innovation – and invited the public to vote for their favourite to determine the winner of the Audience Choice award.

Anyone, from anywhere around the world, can now engage in this exciting cinematic journey by viewing the 10 short films on the AIFF website before casting their vote ahead of the 9 February 2024 deadline.

Dr Magd Zoroob, Senior Vice President – Future Technologies, Expo City Dubai, said: “From an expansive, diverse pool of quality submissions, our judges had the difficult task of narrowing the entries down to a shortlist of just 10 films. We are proud to share these with the global community and invite everyone to immerse themselves in their magic, emotion and creativity, and decide for themselves which best exemplifies the limitless possibilities that AI brings to cinema.”

The creators of the 10 films, summarised below, will participate in the grand awards ceremony on 29 February at Expo City Dubai, where winners across AIFF’s four award categories – Audience Choice, Best Film, Best Director and AI Choice – will be recognised and rewarded.

The shortlist, in alphabetical order, is:

Buyer Beware by Christian Fleischer (Germany): In a last-ditch attempt to save his career, a dodgy salesman tries to sell the Earth to aliens, but they shockingly refuse his offer, triggering an eruptive event to save humanity
The Enfilade of Worlds by Artem Golenkov (UAE): An exploration of the lives of those who have travelled between worlds – eternal wanderers who have witnessed wonders but lost their homes and identities along the way
The Final Ascent by Emad Khalid (Pakistan): After surviving an avalanche, a lone mountaineer hears a mysterious voice guiding him to the summit. Alone and determined, he follows the ethereal presence towards the peak
My Word by Carme Puche Moré (Spain): Who defines who we are? What happens when images betray our words? How do we survive in a world that constantly misunderstands us? Follow in the steps of a woman on a journey to define herself
One More Pumpkin by Hansl von Kwon (Republic of Korea): An elderly couple farming pumpkins in a rural Korean village are rumoured to have lived more than 200 years. Once the messengers of death hear about this, they visit the couple to investigate
Oracle by Thibaud and Claire Zamora (France): Dive into the adventures of the Oracle's guardians as we follow three inseparable friends on their perilous journey, where each step unveils a secret world with challenges to overcome
PLSTC by Laen Sanches (Netherlands): Welcome to the world of PLSTC, an undersea dystopia that submerges you in the disturbing reality of plastic pollution in our oceans. The film confronts the devastating consequences of our habits on marine life, leaving viewers gasping for breath
The Sad Clown Pagliacci by Alessandro Carnevale (Switzerland): The incredible story of a sad clown born and raised in a travelling circus who, when he grows up, decides to leave and follow his dreams. His journey is extraordinary, exciting and full of imagination
The Seed by Daniel Ortiz (Spain): A solitary man, haunted by a pervasive sense of detachment, shares his troubles with an attentive bartender and seeks solace and answers from his psychiatrist and an enigmatic woman
TRETA by Francesco Siro (Italy): A dreamy fable, full of symbolism, where man is unconsciously controlled by an evil jester, while in another mysterious dimension an advanced civilisation of sentient beings lines up for battle
The competition’s 12 expert judges evaluated the submissions based on film production quality, narrative and message clarity, innovation and creative exploration and the integration of AI. The highest average scores determined the shortlist as well as the winners of the Best Film and Best Director categories.

The fourth and final award is the unique AI Choice Award, decided by Expo City's proprietary AI model and sponsored by G42, which uses a combination of the latest AI technologies to assess the films by evaluating the audio, images, scenes and storyline. The model offers a new lens through which films can be appraised and evaluated, not only created.

AIFF continues to explore the intersection between AI and filmmaking through interactive sessions that provide participants with a deeper understanding of technology’s role in creative expression. Past and future sessions are accessible at Expo City’s dedicated online platform EXSTREAMS in both on-demand streaming and Metaverse formats.

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

To request interviews with any of the shortlisted entries or judges, please contact press.office@expocitydubai.ae.

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