Runway's 3rd AI Film Festival 'AIFF 2025' will be held, featuring 10 AI-based short films

Runway, a video generation AI developer, held the AIFF 2025 competition, a video production competition using AI-generated video content, and announced the 10 winning works. The Grand Prix winner will receive a prize of $15,000 (approximately 2.16 million yen) and 1 million credits to be used on Runway.

AIFF 2025 | AI Film Festival
https://aiff.runwayml.com/

Curated realities: An AI film festival and the future of human expression - Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/culture/2025/06/curated-realities-an-ai-film-festival-and-the-future-of-human-expression/

AIFF 2025 marks its third year, with 10 finalist films selected to be screened in New York and Los Angeles.

The Grand Prix winner at AIFF 2055 was 'Total Pixel Space' by director Jacob Adler, a work that positively examines the concept of AI art while asking philosophical questions.

Total Pixel Space - YouTube


The Gold Award winner was 'JAILBIRD' by director Andrew Salter, a documentary-style film about a prison program that employs chickens as companion animals for inmates.

JAILBIRD - YouTube


Ars Technica, an IT news site that attended the AIFF 2025 screening, said, 'Total Pixel Space and JAILBIRD left a clear impression on me.' In particular, they commented that Total Pixel Space was 'filled with compelling images that fit the theme, touching on some really interesting ideas, and even seeming profound and instructive at times,' acknowledging that they were moved by its expressive power.

Director Helinarivo Rakotomanana's 'More Tears Than Harm' is a 'sensuous collage' of childhood memories from his childhood growing up in Madaka Skull, depicted in a rotoscoped animation style.

More Tears Than Harm - YouTube


The sixth place winner, 'Fragments of Nowhere,' is a work by director Vallee Duhamel. It is a combination of strange images that are common in AI-generated videos, such as the interior of a house moving and deforming, a house emerging from clouds and flames, and humans moving their bodies in impossible shapes. Ars Technica commented that 'while there were some visually appealing scenes, it didn't seem much different from the nightmarish AI-generated videos we've seen in recent years.'

Fragments Of Nowhere Vallée Duhamel - YouTube


By the way, the Grand Prix winner of AIFF 2024, held in 2024, is below. 'Get Me Out' directed by Daniel Antebi, features unrealistic images that flow at a fast pace to the music.

Get Me Out — Daniel Antebi - YouTube


There are various issues surrounding the use of generative AI in the production of videos, including copyright issues, and Runway has also been involved in several lawsuits . In response, Runway co-founder and CEO Cristobal Valenzuela suggested that the studio is concerned about responsibility, not fundamental principles, saying, 'People often think of AI as a system that magically creates and summons something without user input. But that's not the case. To use AI, the user must do the work themselves. It is the user who is involved with AI, and as a user, they are responsible for how they use AI.'

'It was a bit scary because what we were experiencing was a big, fundamental change, but ultimately people embraced it,' said Bruce Marco, head of post-production at IMAX, at a press conference for AIFF 2025. 'The film and television industry has always been proactive in innovating, always leveraging new technologies to advance the state of the art and improve efficiency.' He cited generative AI as useful for provisioning, saying that while it will take time for people to get used to it, some filmmakers will adopt AI tools sooner than others.

According to The Verge , an IT news site, Runway said, 'If AI can speed up production in movie studios by 40%, it can probably speed up game development too,' demonstrating a positive attitude towards introducing generative AI into the gaming industry.