{"id":187,"date":"2026-10-01T19:18:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T19:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187"},"modified":"2026-10-03T03:55:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T03:55:32","slug":"astana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187","title":{"rendered":"Astana AI Film Festival puts artificial intelligence at centre of global filmmaking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Astana: Artificial intelligence is rapidly emerging as a new creative force in cinema, with filmmakers from around the world showcasing how generative technologies can reshape storytelling, visual production and the future of filmmaking at the Astana AI Film Festival (AAIFF 2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three-day final stage of the international competition opened in Astana yesterday, bringing together filmmakers, technology innovators, investors and creative professionals to explore the expanding intersection of cinema and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The festival has attracted submissions on an unprecedented international scale, with 8,067 films received from 125 countries. Following the selection process, 25 films advanced to the final stage, representing a diverse range of approaches to AI-assisted filmmaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The finalist films span 19 genres and were created using more than 80 generative AI models, demonstrating the rapidly expanding range of tools now available to filmmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Across the competition, the total running time of submitted films exceeded 100,000 minutes, underlining the scale of global experimentation with artificial intelligence in creative production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The festival\u2019s winners will be announced today, October 3, at the conclusion of the three-day final programme in the Kazakh capital.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Beyond competition, AAIFF 2026 is also positioning AI filmmaking as an emerging investment and technology sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The festival has a combined $2 million prize and investment fund, offering financial awards to winning filmmakers while also directing capital towards promising AI teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The $1 million prize fund has been provided by the Freedom Shapagat Corporate Foundation of Timur Turlov\u2019s Freedom Holding Corp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A further $1 million investment fund, provided by entrepreneur and investor Balaji Srinivasan, is intended to support promising AI teams and the development of AI-powered film production and Kazakhstan\u2019s wider artificial intelligence ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Srinivasan is a former chief technology officer of Coinbase, former general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and founder of The Network School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The finalists are being evaluated by an international jury representing cinema, culture, artificial intelligence, investment and technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The jury includes Audrey Azoulay, former Director-General of UNESCO and former French Minister of Culture; Ma Ping, dean of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence Research at China Film Group; Wang Hao, deputy dean of the Animation Faculty at Beijing Film Academy; entrepreneur and investor Balaji Srinivasan; and Li Long, general manager of BytePlus for the Middle East and Africa, India, T\u00fcrkiye and the CIS countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The festival is being held from October 1 to 3 as part of AI Month and the AI & Digital Bridge 2026 international technology conference in Astana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wider programme is bringing together technology companies, investors, researchers and policymakers, creating a platform for discussions on how artificial intelligence can be integrated into different sectors of the economy and creative industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the opening closed screening, the finalist films were also brought before the public, allowing audiences to experience the emerging possibilities of AI-generated cinema on the big screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On October 2, audiences watched the competing works at Chaplin Cinema at the MEGA Silk Way shopping and entertainment centre in Astana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With its combination of international competition, substantial investment funding and participation from leading figures in technology and cinema, AAIFF 2026 is highlighting the growing convergence of artificial intelligence, creative industries and investment \u2014 while positioning Astana as a venue for an emerging global conversation about the future of filmmaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Astana: Artificial intelligence is rapidly emerging as a new creative force in cinema, with filmmakers from around the world showcasing how generative technologies can reshape storytelling, visual production and the future of filmmaking at the Astana AI Film Festival (AAIFF 2026). The three-day final stage of the international competition opened in Astana yesterday, bringing together […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kazakistan","category-top-stories","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n
Astana AI Film Festival puts artificial intelligence at centre of global filmmaking -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Astana AI Film Festival puts artificial intelligence at centre of global filmmaking -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Astana: Artificial intelligence is rapidly emerging as a new creative force in cinema, with filmmakers from around the world showcasing how generative technologies can reshape storytelling, visual production and the future of filmmaking at the Astana AI Film Festival (AAIFF 2026). The three-day final stage of the international competition opened in Astana yesterday, bringing together […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-01T19:18:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-03T03:55:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/c.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"234\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jan Ali\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Newswireisd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Newswireisd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jan Ali\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?p=187#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?p=187\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jan Ali\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/dcef74b6f2c5d76b9aad8827ecdf52a9\"},\"headline\":\"Astana AI Film Festival puts artificial intelligence at centre of global filmmaking\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-01T19:18:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-03T03:55:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?p=187\"},\"wordCount\":536,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?p=187#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/c.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Kazakistan\",\"Top Stories\",\"World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?p=187\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?p=187\",\"name\":\"Astana AI Film Festival puts artificial intelligence at centre of global filmmaking -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?p=187#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?p=187#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/c.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-01T19:18:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-03T03:55:32+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?p=187#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?p=187\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?p=187#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/c.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/c.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":234},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?p=187#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Astana AI Film Festival puts artificial intelligence at centre of global filmmaking\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Covert.com.pk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Covert Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/h2-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/h2-2.png\",\"width\":118,\"height\":59,\"caption\":\"Covert Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/Newswireisd\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/dcef74b6f2c5d76b9aad8827ecdf52a9\",\"name\":\"Jan Ali\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d145b94ec10f9a032db6916d821f9ba812ddf2a9fb390b576ef2621979f4f5a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d145b94ec10f9a032db6916d821f9ba812ddf2a9fb390b576ef2621979f4f5a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d145b94ec10f9a032db6916d821f9ba812ddf2a9fb390b576ef2621979f4f5a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jan Ali\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/covert.com.pk\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Astana AI Film Festival puts artificial intelligence at centre of global filmmaking -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Astana AI Film Festival puts artificial intelligence at centre of global filmmaking -","og_description":"Astana: Artificial intelligence is rapidly emerging as a new creative force in cinema, with filmmakers from around the world showcasing how generative technologies can reshape storytelling, visual production and the future of filmmaking at the Astana AI Film Festival (AAIFF 2026). The three-day final stage of the international competition opened in Astana yesterday, bringing together […]","og_url":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187","article_published_time":"2026-10-01T19:18:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-03T03:55:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":400,"height":234,"url":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/c.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jan Ali","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Newswireisd","twitter_site":"@Newswireisd","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jan Ali","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187"},"author":{"name":"Jan Ali","@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/#\/schema\/person\/dcef74b6f2c5d76b9aad8827ecdf52a9"},"headline":"Astana AI Film Festival puts artificial intelligence at centre of global filmmaking","datePublished":"2026-10-01T19:18:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-03T03:55:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187"},"wordCount":536,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/c.jpg","articleSection":["Kazakistan","Top Stories","World"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187","url":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187","name":"Astana AI Film Festival puts artificial intelligence at centre of global filmmaking -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/c.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-01T19:18:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-03T03:55:32+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/c.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/c.jpg","width":400,"height":234},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?p=187#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Astana AI Film Festival puts artificial intelligence at centre of global filmmaking"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/","name":"Covert.com.pk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/#organization","name":"Covert Magazine","url":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/h2-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/h2-2.png","width":118,"height":59,"caption":"Covert Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/Newswireisd"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/#\/schema\/person\/dcef74b6f2c5d76b9aad8827ecdf52a9","name":"Jan Ali","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d145b94ec10f9a032db6916d821f9ba812ddf2a9fb390b576ef2621979f4f5a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d145b94ec10f9a032db6916d821f9ba812ddf2a9fb390b576ef2621979f4f5a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d145b94ec10f9a032db6916d821f9ba812ddf2a9fb390b576ef2621979f4f5a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jan Ali"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/covert.com.pk"],"url":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":200,"href":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions\/200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/covert.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/d-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n