The first-ever SHAIKE Trailer Competition has officially come to an end.
Creators from over 20 countries across 5 continents submitted trailers, each bringing their own culture, creativity, and cinematic vision.
From Japan, France, Indonesia, India, the United States, Brazil, Morocco, and many more, one thing became clear:
AI filmmaking has no borders.
More than a competition, this first edition celebrated a worldwide community of filmmakers shaping the future of cinema together.
Congratulations to our winners:
🥇 1st Place: Rit.ai (Rosa Lykiardopoulos)
🥈 2nd Place: DrMachakil (Mehdi Saqi)
Watch Trailer Here
🥉 3rd Place: Awn Raza (Aown Gurmani)
Watch Trailer Here
A Journey Through Cinema
Rosa’s winning trailer takes viewers on a journey through more than a century of film history.
Instead of recreating iconic scenes, she imagined a character accidentally falling into them, becoming part of each story before being thrown into the next.
As Rosa explains:
“I imagined a character accidentally falling through some of the most iconic moments in film history, from the very beginning of cinema all the way to the future. Every film literally throws her into the next one, so it becomes one continuous adventure through more than a century of storytelling.”
A Signature Style
Anyone who has followed Rosa’s work immediately recognizes her distinctive characters.
They have become part of her creative identity.
“My inflatable-headed characters have become my signature because they’re expressive, funny, and instantly recognizable.”
Rather than imitating classic films, Rosa wanted her own character to wander through cinema history while keeping her own visual language.
A Dream Screening
Winning the SHAIKE Trailer Competition means Rosa’s trailer will be screened during the SHAIKE Film Festival, inside the oldest cinema in the world.
For someone who studied film directing, the moment is especially meaningful.
“My favourite film has always been Cinema Paradiso, which celebrates the magic of going to the movies and how cinema connects people across generations. To now have one of my own films screened in such a historic theatre feels surreal.”
More Than a Platform
Rosa has been part of SHAIKE since the beginning.
For her, what makes the festival special isn’t only the films.
It’s the people behind them.
“SHAIKE has always felt like more than a platform. It’s been a community.”
“I think that’s what will make this first edition so memorable. It’s the first time this community gets to celebrate together, in the same room.”
Storytelling Comes First
One of the unique aspects of the SHAIKE Film Festival is that AI and non-AI films compete together.
For Rosa, that’s exactly where cinema should be heading.
“I’d love to reach a point where we stop separating films by the tools that were used to make them and simply judge them by whether they move us, surprise us or tell a great story.”
“AI isn’t a genre. It’s another creative tool.”
And perhaps her final thought says it best:
“What matters in the end is the storytelling.”
Congratulations once again to Rosa Lykiardopoulos, Mehdi Saqi, and Aown Gurmani.
And thank you to every creator who helped make this first SHAIKE Trailer Competition a success.
We’ll see you all this October at the very first SHAIKE Film Festival.
More information about the festival
