A new AI film festival is emerging in Toronto.
But this one feels different.
SHAIKE is proud to partner with Cinema Shift Festival, a curated event dedicated to films created through AI-assisted or hybrid filmmaking workflows.
The inaugural edition will take place on June 5, 2026 at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema.
The festival brings together filmmakers, researchers and industry voices exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping filmmaking.
But unlike many AI-focused events centered on tools, Cinema Shift Festival puts storytelling first.
As curator and advisor Fabio Montanari puts it:
“AI should serve storytelling, not replace it. We’re interested in films where technology becomes part of the creative process, while authorship and narrative remain at the center of the work.”
And that philosophy goes deeper into how the films are evaluated.
Rather than building a jury composed mainly of AI creators, the festival deliberately brings in established voices from traditional cinema, including:
• Fabio Montanari – screenwriter (Netflix / HBO) and professor at York University
• Samantha Wan – filmmaker, writer, and director
• Ann Marie Fleming – award-winning filmmaker and animator
• Boris Licina – screenwriter and founder of Cinema Shift Festival
The goal is clear:
to judge AI-assisted films through a cinematic and storytelling lens, not just technical execution.
For SHAIKE, this is exactly the kind of initiative that matters.
AI filmmaking is evolving fast.
But tools alone don’t define cinema.
Creative direction, storytelling, and vision do.
And that is the space where festivals like Cinema Shift position themselves.
Submissions for the 2026 edition are now open.
Final submission deadline: April 15, 2026
Submit your film here:
We encourage all SHAIKERS working on narrative AI films to take part.