Lumara Film Festival Presented by MoonPay and Venice Announces Finalists for Its Inaugural AI Film Festival
Lumara, the AI film festival presented by MoonPay and Venice, has named six finalists from 700+ submissions. Winners will be announced live in New York on October 26.
By Team MoonPay
Published on Oct 16, 2026
Last modified on Oct 16, 2026
More than 700 films came in from filmmakers around the world. Today, six are finalists.
Lumara Film Festival, presented by MoonPay and Venice, has announced the finalists competing for its Grand Prize and Jury Selection awards, along with 16 nominees across five category awards. Winners will be revealed live at the Lumara screening and awards night at the Roxy Hotel Cinema in New York City on October 26.
Lumara Celebrates the Next Generation of Filmmakers
Cinema is going through a transformative moment. AI has handed filmmakers a new set of tools and a new creative language, and it has opened doors that were closed to many artists. Lumara exists to find and celebrate the films coming out of that shift.
Submissions ran from July 24 to September 15. Entry was free and open worldwide, and filmmakers could use any AI filmmaking platform they wanted.
Who judged the Inaugural AI Film Festival
A jury of leading AI artists, filmmakers and internet-culture figures reviewed the submissions:
- Voidstomper
- Gossip Goblin
- Chris White (executive producer, A24's "Backrooms")
- JBoogxCreative
- Heavy Pulp
- SÜNDERMANN
- BLVCKL!GHT
- Ansem
- FaZe Banks
Films were judged on three things: the strength of the idea, the quality of the storytelling, and how well the filmmaker used AI.
The six finalists
The following films now compete for the Grand Prize ($32,000 and 3.2 million Venice AI credits) and the Jury Selection award ($20,000 and 2 million Venice AI credits).
- "Black Thunder" (Ryan Lightbourn)
- "Candy" (Jiaze Li)
- "Gabriel" (T Zhang)
- "Killabears – The Broadcast" (Mikael Tyrsen)
- "Living with a Merman" (Chris Capel)
- "Mianmian" (Yingjie Chen)
Category award nominees
Lumara also recognizes standout work across five categories. Each winner takes home cash and Venice AI credits.
Terminal Award (best experimental film): $12,000 and 1.2 million Venice AI credits
- "REVIVER" (Aleksey Dor)
- "Stories My Great Great Great Grandmother Told Me" (Philippe Noguchi)
- "THE LAST TRIBE" (Stephane Benini)
Serenissima Award (best film made with Venice): $12,000 and 1.2 million Venice AI credits
- "Black Thunder" (Ryan Lightbourn)
- "Er Loop" (Marco Magario)
- "Never Forget" (Allan Ecax)
Get Shorty Award (best film under two minutes): $8,000 and 800,000 Venice AI credits
- "Ato de [Later]" (Luke Mazey)
- "COMPULSION" (Gyuseon Lee)
- "Do Not Disturb" (Adrian Daniel Botnariu)
- "Summer Afternoon, July 1994" (Charlie Park)
Mouse Award (best film for children or young adults): $8,000 and 800,000 Venice AI credits
- "Far away home" (Siping Song)
- "FIX" (Eunha Lee, Sora Lee and Hakhoon Lee)
- "Roraima" (Ishan Devare Modi)
Rekt Award (best satire, comedy or musical about finance, markets or crypto): $8,000 and 800,000 Venice AI credits
- "Great Pepe Wars" (Aiden Guo)
- "JUST SAY SOLANA" (Yassine Le Gall)
- "ROLL EVERYTHING" (Ashanth Phillips)
Category winners will be announced on the Venice and MoonPay social media channels.
What happens next
October 26: Screening and awards night. The finalists will screen in full at the Roxy Hotel Cinema in New York City, and winners will be announced at the event. The evening will also feature screenings of the category-winning films and new work previews from members of the jury, including an exclusive look at Gossip Goblin's new film God's Don't Give Gifts, slated for a wide theatrical release at the end of this year.
October 27: Online premiere. The winning films will premiere online on X and YouTube.
For the latest, follow MoonPay and Venice on X for finalist spotlights. winner announcements, and more from Lumara.