AI Festival 2026: Runway unveils its ten finalists

Runway selects ten finalists for its fourth AI Festival film category, competing for a $50,000 Grand Prize at galas in New York and Los Angeles this June.

Runway is kicking off the fourth edition of its AI Festival, an event initially launched in 2022 focusing on generative film and now open to six categories: Film, New Media, Gaming, Design, Advertising, and Fashion. Ten finalists have been selected for the Film category and will be screened at two gala screenings: on June 11 at Alice Tully Hall (New York), then on June 18 at the Broad Stage Theater (Los Angeles). The winning works will then be featured in partner festivals worldwide. The total prize money exceeds $135,000 across all categories. For the Film category alone, the Grand Prize is $50,000 accompanied by one million Runway credits, followed by a Gold award of $15,000, a Silver award of $10,000, two Honoree mentions, and five Merit mentions, each awarded with cash and platform credits. This year, the festival brings together a panel of partners including Lionsgate, Tribeca Festival, The Gotham, Monks, Adobe, Roku, and Nvidia. Tickets for both evenings are already available on the official website.