A new AI film festival is coming to Marseille.
SHAIKE is officially partnering with MarsAI Festival, an event dedicated to emerging forms of AI storytelling, creative filmmaking, and new cinematic languages.
And what makes the festival interesting is not just the technology.
It’s the vision behind it.
“We Are Living a Méliès Moment”
For Bruno Smadja, in charge of the festival, AI is not simply a tool.
It’s a new cinematic language.
As he explains:
“We are living a Méliès moment. AI is a new material in the hands of creators, and like every new cinematic language, it needs artists to bring it to life.”
The ambition of the festival is clear:
to support the creators shaping this new language and help build a real ecosystem around AI cinema, connecting artists, schools, studios, institutions, and audiences.
A Festival Built Around Creative Constraints
One of the festival’s most unique aspects is its format:
One minute.
A creative constraint inherited from the Mobile Film Festival, which has helped reveal filmmakers over the past two decades.
And according to Bruno Smadja, that limitation matters.
“One minute forces creators to choose, to focus, to truly say something. That level of creative precision is exactly what we’re looking for.”
A Call for AI & Hybrid Films
MarsAI Festival is currently accepting submissions for both AI-generated and hybrid films.
The format is simple:
• Maximum duration: 1 minute
• All genres accepted
• Fiction, documentary, animation, experimental
• Free submission
The 2026 theme is:
“Imagine desirable futures.”
And beyond visibility, the festival will also award a 10,000€ production grant to support emerging creative projects.
Submission deadline: June 1, 2026
Vision Over Tools
MarsAI Festival also embraces both fully AI-generated films and hybrid productions equally.
Because for them, the important thing is not the tool itself.
It’s the creative intention behind it.
“The festival is not a showcase for tools. It’s a stage for creators who have something to express through them.”
And honestly, that philosophy feels very aligned with where AI filmmaking is heading next.
SHAIKE × MarsAI Festival
SHAIKE is proud to support MarsAI Festival as an official partner and help highlight the creators and films emerging from this new generation of AI cinema.
Because the future of AI filmmaking will not be built by tools alone.
It will be built by artists with vision.
