THE AI STEAM ENGINE
Best Short Film
For the film that pulls the whole night behind it.
01 / MANIFESTO
Manifesto
Every film here started as a job on a bench.
Write it.
Build it.
Now carry it into a dark room full of strangers.
AI Toronto Shorts gathers new short films and puts the best of them on one screen, for one night, in a city that makes things for a living.
A film is a built thing.
It gets written, lit, cut, scored, and bolted together by hand.
Craft is a verb here.
So is courage.
This festival belongs to filmmakers who treat every frame as a working part and ship the whole machine on deadline.
The bench holds pencils.
It holds lenses.
It holds code.
When the lights drop and the first frame lands, the room belongs to the story. That is the whole job.
Toronto is a working city. It makes things.
- RAILWAYS
- FACTORIES
- ARCHITECTURE
- INNOVATION
- AND CINEMA
AI Toronto Shorts celebrates independent filmmakers, experimental creators, animators, and storytellers who pick up every tool on the bench and put it to work.
BRING US SOMETHING YOU BUILT.
02 / OFFICIAL SELECTION
SEVEN FILMS
CLEARED FOR THE FLOOR.
Seven films made the cut. Each one was written, assembled, and finished by people who sweat the details. The award winners take the screen on the night.
-
F-01
OPENING NIGHT FILM
SMOKE OVER SPADINA
A retired crane operator climbs her old machine at dusk and watches the harbour she built glow under a red sun.
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F-02
TUNGSTEN
A lamp restorer in a basement workshop coaxes a hundred year old filament back to light while the city sleeps above her.
-
F-03
THE NARROWS
Two sisters meet at the middle of a footbridge over the river that runs through their hometown and talk until the streetlights come on.
-
F-04
THE NIGHT DESK
A late night radio host leans into the microphone and keeps a stranger on the line until sunrise reaches the studio window.
-
F-05
AFTER THE WARD
A night nurse walks the long road home through warm rain and counts the streetlights like a rosary.
-
F-06
THE NITRATE ROOM
A film archivist spends her final shift in the vault, rewinding a nitrate reel by hand under one red safelight.
-
F-07
THE SILO KEEPER
The keeper of a decommissioned grain silo walks his morning round and hears the building breathe with the wind.
03 / OFFICIAL AI AWARDS
TEN AWARDS.
HEAVY ENOUGH TO MATTER.
THE AI LAST HUMAN
Best Director
For the director whose fingerprints show in every frame.
THE AI BLUEPRINT
Best Screenplay
For the writing that holds the whole build together.
THE AI ASSEMBLY LINE
Best AI Film
For the film that puts AI to work in service of the story.
THE AI SPARK
Best Experimental Film
For the experiment that catches fire on screen.
THE AI FACTORY LIGHT
Best Cinematography
For the eye that knows exactly where the light goes.
THE AI IRON MIND
Best Editing
For cuts timed like a well kept engine.
THE AI NEW MACHINE
Best Emerging Filmmaker
For the newcomer whose first builds already hum.
THE AI POWER GRID
Audience Award
Voted by the full room on the night.
THE AI TITANIUM GEAR
Grand Jury Prize
The festival’s highest honour, decided by the full jury.
04 / WINNERS · SUMMER 2026
SUMMER 2026.
THE WINNERS.
The jury watched every frame, argued it out, and signed off. These are the films that took the awards home in the Summer 2026 season of AI Toronto Shorts.
-
W-01
✦ Best AI Short Film
FRAGMENTS
Different stories, one unseen connection. Reality is only one piece of the truth.
-
W-02
✦ Best AI Director
THE BELL
-
W-03
✦ Best AI Screenplay
T3X-R3
-
W-04
✦ Best AI Cinematography
MARS BEYOND 2100
-
W-05
✦ Best AI Sound Design
ALCOR
-
W-06
✦ Best AI Visual Effects
THE ART BETWEEN
-
W-07
✦ Best AI Vertical
THE KING AND THE THIEF
-
W-08
✦ Best AI Editing
JUST AIN’T MY DAY
05 / THE ENGINEERS
QUALITY
CONTROL.
Six people watch every frame before an award leaves the shelf. Each of them earned a seat the slow way, one film at a time.
-
ELENA VARGA
Festival Director
Started three festivals with folding chairs and a rented projector. Treats a programme like a building, with every film carrying weight.
-
MARCUS OYELARAN
Head of Programming
Screens a thousand shorts a year for festivals on three continents and remembers the good ones shot for shot.
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DR. INGRID HALVORSEN
Technical Curator
Machine learning researcher who moved into curation. Sees the pipeline behind every frame and respects the craft that sits on top of it.
-
TOMÁS REYES
Jury Chair
Spent twenty years in cutting rooms before chairing juries. Trusts a tight cut, a clear scene, and a steady hand.
-
NAOMI FISCHER-KATO
Industry Juror
Produces documentary and animation across three time zones. Champions work with a pulse of its own.
-
DEV ANAND RAO
Animation & Experimental Curator
Animates by hand in the morning and runs render queues at midnight. Holds every method to the same high bar.
06 / SPECIFICATIONS
RULES
OF THE
FLOOR
- Films from every country are welcome.
- AI-generated, AI-assisted, hybrid, and traditionally produced films compete equally.
- Maximum runtime: 40 minutes.
- Films completed after January 1, 2024 are eligible.
- Non-English films must include English subtitles.
- Multiple submissions are permitted.
- Filmmakers retain all ownership and copyright.
- Award-winning films are screened at the festival evening; selected films may be featured in promotional materials.
- Jury decisions are final.
We watch for original thinking.
We reward honest craft.
GREAT CINEMA HOLDS THE ROOM LONG AFTER THE LIGHTS COME UP.
07 / RUN OF SHOW
ONE EVENING.
ONE ASSEMBLY LINE.
The award-winning films in two screening blocks, ten awards, and a room that stays warm past closing. Every minute of the night is planned.
AUGUST 28 · NOEMA STUDIO · TORONTO · DOORS 5:00 PM
-
17:00
DOORS OPEN
The room fills. Badges at the door, drinks at the rail, projector warming.
-
17:45
OPENING
The festival director takes the floor and sets the night in motion.
-
18:00
BLOCK I
The first block of award-winning films rolls.
-
19:15
INTERMISSION
Stretch your legs, refill your glass, and meet the person two seats over.
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19:45
BLOCK II
The second block of award-winning films rolls.
-
21:00
THE AI AWARDS
Ten awards cross the stage, winning filmmakers take the floor for short Q&A moments, and the titanium gear finds its owner.
-
22:00
AFTER
The room loosens. Filmmakers, jurors, and the audience talk it all through.
08 / THE EVENING
AUGUST 28
VENUENOEMA STUDIO · TORONTO
DOORSOPEN 5:00 PM
FORMATONE EVENING · ONE SCREEN · WINNING FILMS · TEN AWARDS
One night, one room, one screen. The award-winning films run in two blocks, ten awards cross the stage live with short Q&A moments from the winning filmmakers, the full room votes the Audience Award, and the conversation keeps going at the after-party long after the credits. Plan to stay late. The best part of any build is standing around it afterwards with the people who made it.
The floor is swept. The screen is hung. The current is on.
The room is ready.
Show us what you made.
“A short film is a small machine with a heart in it. Build yours well and it will run in someone’s head for years.”
09 / FREQUENTLY ASKED
READ
THE
MANUAL
WHO CAN SUBMIT?
Anyone, anywhere. Films from every country are welcome, from independent, student, and studio filmmakers alike. If you made it, send it.
DO I HAVE TO USE AI?
No. AI-generated, AI-assisted, hybrid, and traditionally produced films compete equally. The jury watches the film and scores the film.
HOW LONG CAN MY FILM BE?
Maximum runtime is 40 minutes. Films of every length under that limit compete together on the same programme.
WHEN MUST IT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED?
Films completed after January 1, 2024 are eligible. We programme fresh work straight off the bench.
IS THERE A SUBMISSION FEE?
Submissions run through FilmFreeway. Current fees, categories, and deadlines are listed on our FilmFreeway page.
MY FILM ISN’T IN ENGLISH. CAN I SUBMIT?
Yes. Non-English films must include English subtitles, so the whole Toronto room can follow every line.
CAN I SUBMIT MORE THAN ONE FILM?
Yes. Multiple submissions are permitted. Submit each film separately and give every build its own entry.
WHAT DO SELECTED FILMMAKERS GET?
Eligibility for all ten AI Awards including the Grand Jury Prize, a place in the festival’s promotional materials, and, for the award winners, a screening on August 28 at NOEMA Studio. You retain all ownership and copyright.
HOW DO I REACH A HUMAN?
Open a line below, or write the operators directly at information@aitorontoshortsfest.com. A person reads every message and a person writes back.
SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN.
SEND US YOUR WORK.
10 / TRANSMISSION
OPEN
A
LINE
Press, partnerships, submission trouble, or a question the manual missed. Write plainly. A person reads every transmission.
OR WRITE US DIRECTLY information@aitorontoshortsfest.com