AI Film Festival Launched in Expo City Dubai
Expo City Dubai launched the Artificial Intelligence Film Festival inviting submissions of short films with AI-generated content.
The cinematic world has been undergoing another technological revolution with the rise of artificial intelligence tools and capabilities, and Expo City Dubai is leading the way by unveiling the first Artificial Intelligence Film Festival (AIFF) in the region. Intended to explore the integration of AI with creative storytelling and filmmaking, this groundbreaking festival advocates creativity driven by humanity and enhanced by AI technology. It is a bold move that might change the narrative surrounding technology and creativity in the Middle East.
The AIFF is promoted to be a “dynamic experience” that will run for six months and invite global submissions for the awards. AIFF is casting its net wide for a diverse range of creators and artists to participate, including experienced directors and enthusiastic amateur filmmakers, and the outstanding films will be honored at a ceremony on February 29, 2024. The entry criteria is the incorporation of one or more of the listed techniques into one of the three pillars of films: text, audio, or video; and the techniques account for 25% in award evaluation.
Here is the aforementioned list – and also a peek into the roles which AI has mastered in filmmaking:
Natural language processing
Speech recognition
Music and sound generation
Voice synthesis
Text-to-speech synthesis
Text-to-image synthesis
Text-to-video synthesis
Image-to-image translation
Video editing with AI features
Animation tools
Motion capture
Lip-sync
AI video editing/mastering
Besides the international film competition, the festival also includes innovative film screenings, panel discussions with leading AI experts and filmmakers, exhibitions on the impact of AI in storytelling and cinema, as well as hands-on workshops allowing creators and industry professionals with insights into the integration of this developing technology.
In the words of Marjan Faraidooni, chief of education and culture at Expo City Dubai, the AIFF is a first step into a series of initiatives, exploring “the relationship between creativity and technology, human ingenuity and artificial intelligence”.