Astana AI Film Festival spotlights experimental cinema, distribution challenges and new platform

The useful part

The festival received more than 8,000 applications with 25 selected for the final stage in Astana. Agibay Ayapbergenov The festival seeks to become more than a film competition. They want to turn it into an annual international festival in Astana and develop a dedicated streaming platform Mooncast.ai for films, allowing works that did not make the final selection to reach a wider audience.

How it works

• After reviewing more than 8,000 submissions, the jury chose approximately 200 works.
• They also launched Mooncast.ai, a streaming platform being developed specifically for films to present other works.
• Beyond traditional cinema For AAIFF 2026 Co-Founder and Creative Director Aizatulla Hussein, the more important question is what AI can do to cinema itself.
• "Everyone is trying to repeat traditional cinema with the help of AI, but it seems that AI technology allows you to find some other forms of cinema," Hussein told The Astana Times.
• Rather than simply reproducing the production methods and visual language of traditional cinema, creators can use AI to explore new approaches to storytelling, visual design and filmmaking.

What to take from it

The festival's thematic category, "The Future Worth Living In," was designed as a response to another familiar pattern in cinema: the way Hollywood often portrays the future as a dangerous place. AI makes filmmaking easier, but not simple While AI technologies help to overcome some technical barriers to visual production, the organizers mention that technology alone does not guarantee a strong film. "It's not difficult to generate," he said, referring to the technical process of creating AI content.

Example or evidence

• This would give AI filmmakers a distribution channel beyond individual competitions and could help build an international audience for a new category of film.
• According to the creative director of AAIFF 2026, producing a short AI film can cost between $3,000 and $5,000.
• It means that AI is changing the filmmaking process without necessarily eliminating the need for creative expertise.
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Details worth keeping

Astana AI Film Festival Opens New Chapter For Cinema Industry. 1-3 in Astana as part of AI Month and AI & Digital Bridge 2026. The finalists' films are being screened publicly on Oct.

Related coverage

• Astanatimes: Kazakhstan and around the world.