Runway AI Film Festival (AIFF) (2026)
Event Calendar: 2026-11-12 through 2026-11-14 • New York & Los Angeles, United States
Deadlines & Fee Structure
2026-08-15
Discounted Window2026-09-30
Standard Window2026-10-15
Final Standard Call2026-10-28
Program AnnouncementCategory Entry Fees (USD)
| Competition Category | Early Bird | Regular | Late |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Narrative Short (1-10 min) | USD 0 | USD 0 | USD 0 |
| Experimental Generative Short | USD 0 | USD 0 | USD 0 |
Premiere Rules & Category Requirements
Global (free to submit, open worldwide)
Open competition without geographic exclusivity restrictions; previously released films remain eligible for selection.
Potential Disqualification Risks
Based on official regulations for the 2026 edition. Review before locking in your festival submission strategy.
Screening at any public venue, festival, or ticketed event prior to selection will invalidate world/continental premiere categories.
Public streaming availability (outside password-protected review screeners) triggers immediate forfeiture in competitive sections.
Films produced outside the stated 12–24 month production window are ineligible without an official programming waiver.
Failure to provide an ethical AI disclosure statement or utilizing unlicensed voice/likeness models violates submission terms.
Exhibition DCPs without formatted French or English dialogue subtitles will be rejected at projection inspection.
Short film categories strictly enforce runtime limits including all opening/closing credit rolls.
AI & Synthetic Media Policy
Film must incorporate generative AI technology in a meaningful creative capacity (e.g. video generation, image-to-video, voice synthesis, style transfer). Purely traditional footage with minor VFX is ineligible.
- →AI Narrative
- →Experimental
- →Animation
- →Music Video
- ✓Prompt log detailing tools and iterative prompting workflow
- ✓Attestation of full music and voice clearance rights
Delivery Requirements
Distinguishing between mandatory festival-specific specifications and Creator Intel's master preparation checklist.
A. Runway AI Film Festival (AIFF) (2026) Official Specifications
High-Bitrate 4K Master Video
3840x2160 or 4096x2160 ProRes 422 HQ or H.264 (minimum 35 Mbps bitrate), 24.00 fps or 25.00 fps, Stereo or 5.1 PCM audio.
Note: No watermarks, no web-compression compression artifacts. Must include clear audio stems.
AI Production & Prompt Log
PDF document or text breakdown outlining tools (e.g. Runway Gen-3, Midjourney v6, ElevenLabs), prompt engineering techniques, and iteration pipelines used.
B. Universal Master Preparation Guide (General Best Practice)
In addition to festival-specific requirements, Creator Intel recommends preparing high-bitrate ProRes masters, separated 5.1 stems, bilingual subtitle files, and high-res EPK assets for universal circuit readiness.
Theatrical projection standard for A-list festival circuit.
High-fidelity digital archive and broadcast master.
Multi-channel cinema sound delivery.
Verified Source Ledger
Runway AI Film Festival Official Guidelines & Eligibility FAQ
Publisher: Runway AI, Inc.