IA Play International Film Festival MADRID (1)

Festival start: 01 March 2027      Festival end: 20 March 2027

The IA Play International Film Festival is an international audiovisual competition comprising a series of festivals where works from around the globe compete in iconic international cities, bridging culture, technology, and creativity. Featuring local screenings, audience voting, a professional jury, and a Grand International Final, the festival aims to promote, recognize, and reward audiovisual creations that explore new forms of expression emerging from the use of artificial intelligence.

The festival invites creators, digital artists, filmmakers, and experimenters worldwide to participate with works that investigate, experiment with, or integrate artificial intelligence tools at any stage of the creative process—including, among others, image generation, animation, script development, editing, sound design, or narrative construction.

Cash Prizes: 1,200€

AWARDS

All films selected for the Official Sections will receive an Official Certificate of Selection.

At each festival venue, four (4) awards will be presented, along with Special Mentions if the jury deems appropriate, and two (2) Grand Finale Awards.

Jury Award: €250 for the Best AI Audiovisual Work, plus the official Silver Competition NFT. (All categories are eligible for this award.)

Online Audience Award: €150 for the Best Audiovisual Work, plus the official Silver Competition NFT. (All categories are eligible for this award.)

Best Creative Use of AI Award: Official Competition NFT. (All categories are eligible for this award.)

Highest Impact Award: Official Competition NFT. (All categories are eligible for this award.)

Grand Finale Awards

Grand Finale Jury Award: €500 for the Best AI Audiovisual Work, plus the official Gold Competition NFT. (All categories are eligible for this award.)

Grand Finale Online Audience Award: €300 for the Best Audiovisual Work, plus the official Gold Competition NFT. (All categories are eligible for this award.)

NFT Awards

Participation NFT: Awarded to every participant whose submission has been validated. This NFT certifies the participant's official entry into the competition and authorizes the use of its image as a watermark or badge on works and promotional materials related to the festival.

Winner NFT: Awarded exclusively to participants who win in any competition category. This NFT certifies the recipient's status as an official winner and serves as formal recognition granted by the festival organization.

Ownership of an NFT does not imply the transfer of any intellectual property rights related to its design, unless expressly authorized by the festival organization. NFTs are personal, non-transferable identifiers associated with the competition and may only be used in accordance with these Rules and Regulations.

OBJECT AND PURPOSE

IA Play International Film Festival aims to establish a competitive space for the exhibition, dissemination, and evaluation of audiovisual works that incorporate artificial intelligence as a relevant element within their creative proposal. Furthermore, it seeks to foster development, innovation, and reflection regarding the use of new technologies within the audiovisual industry.

The festival is configured as an audiovisual, cultural, artistic, industrial, and educational platform aimed at boosting new talent and promoting emerging works at an international level.

DATES IAPlay International Film Festival MADRID

Submission Period: From July 17, 2026, to January 1, 2027
Notification of Selected Works: January 15, 2027
online Screening (100 selected works): January 20 to March 10, 2027
Event: Gala in Madrid – March 20, 2027, at Cine Artistic Metropol

SECTIONS

International Competition 100% AI: Fiction, Documentary, and Experimental (Open theme).
International Competition 100% AI Animation: Open theme.
International Competition Hybrid Narrative (AI + traditional production): Fiction, Animation, Documentary, and Experimental (Open theme).
Web Series / Video Art / New Narratives: Fiction, Animation, Documentary, and Experimental (Open theme).

Note: The Festival reserves the right to modify, expand, or reduce these categories.



REQUIREMENTS FOR THE WORKS

Submitted works must meet the following requirements:

Incorporate the use of artificial intelligence in a relevant, intentional, and creative manner.
It is not mandatory for the entire work to be generated via AI, but its use cannot be merely incidental or technical.
Comply with the maximum duration established by the organization.
Indicate the original language and, if applicable, include subtitles in the language required by the Festival (Spanish).
Adhere to the requested technical formats.

CONDITIONS ON THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Participants must:

Declare the artificial intelligence tools used in the creative process.
Guarantee the originality of the work.
Ensure they possess the necessary rights over the contents used, including those generated or assisted by AI.
The Festival is not responsible for the improper use of tools or materials by the participants.



SUBMISSIONS

The call is open to creators, digital artists, filmmakers, and experimenters from all over the world.
Submission Period: From July 17, 2026, to January 1, 2027.
Audiovisual works up to 30 minutes in length are accepted.
Works completed from January 2023 onwards are eligible.
Films cannot have been submitted to previous editions of the festival.
Participants may submit as many films as they wish.
Film submission is subject to an Admission Fee of 6 Euros.



SELECTION

The IA Play International Film Festival organization will announce the OFFICIAL SELECTION on social media starting January 15, 2027. Film representatives will also be notified via email.

A selection committee, comprised of members of Cultural Beast, and a jury made up of personalities from the film industry, will be responsible for choosing the selected and awardwinning works.

Important: If selected, the participant MAY NOT withdraw their film once the selection has been made public by the Festival organizers. They also commit to sending a highquality screening copy by January 20, 2027.



COMPETITION SYSTEM

The competition process of the IA Play International Film Festival will take place in several phases, structured as follows:

1. Official Selection

From all submitted works, the selection committee will choose a total of one hundred (100) audiovisual works to form the Festival's Official Selection. These works will be screened online through platforms designated by the organization.

2. Finalist Classification Phase

During the online exhibition, the works will compete to enter the final phase. A total of ten (10) finalist audiovisual works will be selected, distributed as follows:

Five (5) works selected by public vote.
Five (5) works selected by the official Festival jury.

3. InPerson Screening of Finalists

The ten (10) finalist audiovisual works will be screened at one or more of the Festival's physical venues as part of the official inperson screenings.

4. Selection of Winners

Among the ten (10) finalists, the following recognitions will be awarded:

One (1) winner chosen by the official jury.
One (1) winner chosen by public vote.

5. Qualification for the Grand Finale

The two (2) winning audiovisual works (Jury Award and Audience Award) will advance to the final stage of the Festival circuit.

6. International Grand Finale

The qualified works will compete in the Grand Finale, featuring the winning audiovisual works from the different host cities of the Festival (four in total). The final awards of the IA Play International Film Festival will be determined during this phase.

The organization reserves the right to adjust the number of selected works or the competition phases due to organizational or scheduling reasons.



awards

All films selected for the official sections will receive a Certificate.
There are 4 awards granted at each venue, Special Mentions if the jury deems it appropriate, and 2 Grand Finale awards.

Award Prize Category Eligibility

Jury Award (Silver Competition) €250 + Official NFT All categories compete
online Audience Award (Silver Competition) €150 + Official NFT All categories compete
Best Creative Use of AI Official NFT All categories compete
Highest Impact Award Official NFT All categories compete

Grand Finale awards

Jury Award (Gold Competition): €500 to the best AI audiovisual work + Official NFT. (All categories compete).

online Audience Award (Gold Competition): €300 to the best audiovisual work + Official NFT. (All categories compete).

NFT Specifications

Participation NFT: Awarded to every contestant whose submission is validated. This NFT certifies official participation in the contest and includes authorization to use its image as a watermark or badge on works and publications related to the contest.
Winner NFT: Awarded exclusively to participants who win in any of the contest categories. This NFT certifies their status as a winner and constitutes an official recognition granted by the organization.
Ownership of the NFT does not imply the transfer of intellectual property rights of the design, unless expressly authorized by the organization. The NFTs are personal and identifierbased for the contest and may be used in accordance with these terms.



LEGAL TERMS

1. AI Disclosure Statement

Participants must clearly and truthfully declare the use of artificial intelligence tools in any phase of the creative process of the work, including, but not limited to, image generation, video, sound, script, animation, or postproduction.

2. Originality and Authorship

Submitted works must be original. The use of artificial intelligence does not exempt the participant from their responsibility regarding the authorship and originality of the presented work.

3. Rights to Generated Content

The participant guarantees that they possess the necessary rights for the use, exploitation, and exhibition of all elements comprising the work, including those generated through artificial intelligence, in accordance with the terms of use of the tools employed.

4. Use of Datasets and Training Materials

In the event of using models trained with their own or thirdparty datasets, the participant declares that such datasets have been obtained and utilized in compliance with applicable legislation, particularly regarding intellectual property and data protection.

5. Image and Voice Rights

If the work includes identifiable faces, voices, or representations of real people generated or modified via AI (including deepfakes or similar techniques), the participant must obtain the corresponding express authorizations.

6. Sensitive Content and Ethics

Works that use artificial intelligence to generate content that violates fundamental rights, promotes misinformation, identity theft, hate speech, or any form of illicit or ethically questionable content will not be admitted.

7. Liability

The participant shall be solely responsible for any claim arising from the use of artificial intelligence in the submitted work, exempting the Festival from any legal or financial liability.

By submitting, the participant declares that they are the owner of all rights to the entered film, its sound and/or visual files, and exonerates the IA Play International Film Festival from any claims that third parties may make regarding the public exhibition, intellectual property, and/or economic rights of the work within the framework of the IA Play International Film Festival.

Participants whose works are part of the OFFICIAL SELECTION agree to the free reproduction and/or dissemination of fragments of their works, as well as trailers, posters, or photos, for informational and/or promotional purposes related to the Festival.

During the celebration of the IA Play International Film Festival, the organization reserves the right to screen films that are part of the OFFICIAL SELECTION free of charge at all festival venues, at no cost to the organization. The organization also commits not to screen films participating outside the Festival without notifying those responsible.

Participation in the Festival implies full acceptance of these regulations and the waiver of any legal claims. Any matter not explicitly covered in these rules will be decided by the aforementioned Selection Committee.