Unhuman Shorts Season 2 (2)

Festival start: 27 February 2026      Festival end: 28 February 2026

An international AI short-film contest exploring how humans and technologies create together.

We believe that the future of art lies not in competition, but in co-creation – where technology acts as a true creative partner.

Our mission is to empower a global community of authors who use AI with artistry and integrity, promoting transparency in shared authorship and reflection on how technology transforms art without diminishing the artist.

Season II theme – “The Trace”

This year, we invite filmmakers to explore the traces left by human-AI creation – not only in the visible outcomes of art, but in the invisible shifts of thought, perception, and intention. The theme reflects on how technology inscribes itself into creative consciousness: how our tools shape the stories we tell, how they alter authorship, and how, in turn, we leave our imprint on them. “The Trace” is both evidence and inquiry – an invitation to reflect on what remains after the act of co-creation between human and machine.

ACE Studio is providing the following for UnHuman Shorts II creators:

Aftertone Winner
- Lifetime ACE Studio Artist Pro license
Shared Trace,

Visual Impact & Narrative Consequence Winners
- 6 months of free Artist Pro access
- 30% discount thereafter

People’s Choice Award Winner
- 3 months of Artist Pro access
- 30% discount

All Shortlisted Creators
- 30 days of Artist Pro access
- 30% discount

Further partner prizes will be announced later this season. In the previous edition it reached $10 000 USD, shared among category winners and the People’s Choice Award – which returns for public voting on shortlisted films.

Judging Criteria

Every submissions will be reviewed by our international jury of leading professionals from film, sound design, AI art, and contemporary media.

Entries are evaluated within the following categories, each a different lens on the season's theme:

Shared Trace – For works of total art, where image, sound, and story fuse into a cohesive statement. Evaluated on direction, composition, and the creative dialogue between human and AI as co-creators.

Aftertone – Dedicated to the architecture of sound. Evaluated on how sound design, music, silence, and rhythm build atmosphere and emotional depth.

Visual Impact – for creators defining a new visual language, experimenting with form, light, and texture. Evaluated on the originality, strength, and expressive power of the image.
Narrative Consequence – For architects of story.

Evaluated on dramatics, character, rhythm, and the lasting emotional impression of the narrative.

People’s Choice Award – selected by public vote on the official UnHuman Shorts YouTube channel (based on likes counted until the announced deadline).


The Submission Pathway

Category Limits - Each category will accept a maximum of 50 qualified entries. Once a category is full, it will close, and creators will be guided to submit to other open categories.

Quality Gate - All works must pass a preliminary review for technical standards, thematic relevance, and artistic quality. Only approved works will enter the category longlist.

Shortlist and Feedback - From the longlists, the jury will select a shortlist of 20 works (five per category). Each shortlisted creator will receive written feedback from the jury.

Winners - One winner will be crowned in each of the 4 categories, and one project will receive the People’s Choice Award.


General Requirements

Submissions - Entries must be submitted via the official Google Form on our website.

Submission Limit - Each participant may submit up to two distinct works.

AI Collaboration - Videos must be created using AI tools (e.g., such as video, sound or text generation, animation, voice synthesis.

Technical Specifications –
Duration: 3 to 15 minutes.

Quality: Full HD (1920x1080) or higher.

Format: MP4, MOV, or AVI.

Subtitles: English subtitles are required for any non-English dialogue or narration.

Contest Timeline:

Submission Window: October 24, 2025 – January 25, 2026

Shortlist Announcement: January 30, 2026

People’s Choice Voting: February 2 – 16, 2026

Nominees Announcement: February 20, 2026

Winners Revealed: February 27, 2026


Additional Conditions:

No edits are permitted after submission.

While not mandatory, premiere status is preferred.

Videos must be free of logos or trademarks from other festivals.

To ensure absolute fairness, authors with a personal or professional relationship (familial, romantic, or close friendship) with any jury member will be ineligible for prizes.

The organizers reserve the right to adjust the rules or extend the submission period if necessary. Any changes to the schedule will be communicated promptly through our official channels.

Due to the high volume of submissions, we cannot provide individual feedback at the quality gate stage. Written feedback is a privilege reserved for our shortlisted creators.


Ethical Commitment

UnHuman Shorts is dedicated to the responsible, imaginative, and ethical use of AI.

Entries containing extreme violence, pornography, hate speech, or discriminatory content will not be permitted under any circumstance.

Neutrality and Focus on Art

We uphold a principle of artistic neutrality, creating a sanctuary for creativity away from the noise of ideology.

We welcome creators from all backgrounds and cultures, however, we exclude political, extremist, or conflict-related topics.

Our mission is to preserve a space of clarity and creative trust where the partnership between human and machine can be explored freely and meaningfully. In a world saturated with conflict, UnHuman Shorts aim to be a threshold into pure imagination.