Tools evolve. endure.™
WAIFF World AI Film Festival

The road to Cannes starts here. Win in LA. Screen in Cannes.

Los Angeles, CA October 10-11, 2026
Venue to be announced. Venue partners welcome → partners@waiffusa.com
Submissions open May 1, 2026

Submissions open May 1, 2026. Submit via FilmFreeway when the listing goes live.

Questions? submissions@waiffusa.com

Submit Your Film

Submissions are open. Full deadline schedule and fees on FilmFreeway.

Questions? submissions@waiffusa.com

WAIFF World AI Film Festival

About

WAIFF LA USA 2026 is the American edition of the World AI Film Festival,
a global circuit building up towards WAIFF Cannes in 2027.

We publish our standards before we ask for your film.

Tools evolve. endure.™

The WAIFF USA Standards

Our line in the sand.

  1. 1. Disclosure.

    Every submission discloses the AI tools used, including generative image, video, voice, and audio systems, and the production pipeline behind them. Content Credentials (C2PA) encouraged on final files.

  2. 2. Likeness & Voice.

    Every recognizable face and voice requires documented consent, consistent with right-of-publicity law and the SAG-AFTRA Digital Replica Rider. No unauthorized synthetic replicas of real people, living or deceased.

  3. 3. Content Integrity.

    Submissions must comply with US federal and state law. No non-consensual intimate imagery. No deepfakes that defame or depict real individuals without consent.

  4. 4. Music & Clearance.

    All music, footage, and third-party material cleared at sync, master, and mechanical levels, or generated from licensed sources. Training-data provenance is not a substitute for rights clearance.

  5. 5. Human Authorship.

    Every film has a named director or creative lead who takes authorial responsibility for the final work. AI is a tool in the filmmaker's hands, not a replacement for the filmmaker.

The Categories

Eleven Ways to Enter.

  1. 1. Live Action Short Film3 to 40 minutes
  2. 2. Feature Film40+ minutes
  3. 3. Animated Short3 to 40 minutes
  4. 4. Documentary5 to 120 minutes
  5. 5. Vertical / Mobile Content30 seconds to 3 minutes
  6. 6. Music Video1 to 10 minutes
  7. 7. Advertisement / Commercial15 seconds to 3 minutes
  8. 8. AR / VR / XR Experience3 to 10 minutes
  9. 9. Gaming3 to 10 minutes gameplay
  10. 10. Student Workper entered category
  11. 11. Youth Work (13 to 18)per entered category

Full submission rules and runtimes on FilmFreeway.

The Awards

Eleven winners. Five for Cannes.
One Grand Prix.

Eleven Category Winners.
Five U.S. Representatives for Cannes.
One U.S. Grand Prix Winner.

Key Dates & Submit

  • Submissions OpenMay 1, 2026
  • FestivalOctober 10-11, 2026
Submissions open May 1, 2026
Submit Your Film

Full deadline schedule on FilmFreeway.

Questions? submissions@waiffusa.com

The Circuit

One Festival. Around the World.

  1. WAIFF Brasil São Paulo 27-28 February 2026
  2. WAIFF Korea Seoul 6-7 March 2026
  3. WAIFF Japan Kyoto 12-13 March 2026
  4. WAIFF China Beijing 15 April 2026
  5. WAIFF France Cannes 21-22 April 2026
  6. WAIFF USA Los Angeles 10-11 October 2026

WAIFF LA USA is the American edition of the World AI Film Festival.

Get Involved

Venue Partners

We are looking for the rooms where AI cinema's American debut will take stage and find its footing. Theaters, studios, museums, and cultural institutions to host the screenings, panels, and the gala.

→ partners@waiffusa.com

Founding Partners + Sponsors

Position at the front of AI cinema's American debut on the global stage. For brands, technology companies, studios, and cultural institutions. We are launching. Limited founding slots.

→ partners@waiffusa.com

Journalists, Critics, Media

Be among the first to cover American filmmakers entering AI cinema's global circuit. Accreditation, interviews, embargoed announcements.

→ press@waiffusa.com