by FilmInk Staff
Creators from more than 70 countries have submitted their AI-generated films to the OMNI AI Film Festival, an Australian-founded AI film screening initiative-now preparing their second showing in 2025. With the deadline now pushed back, established and aspiring filmmakers around the world are being encouraged to be part of this growing global movement.
The OMNI AI Film Festival, a dedicated platform for AI-driven cinema, is planning OMNI 1.0, the festival’s second award ceremony this year which will screen its winners in November 2025.
As AI reshapes industries from publishing to music, filmmakers are now turning to generative tools to push the boundaries of visual storytelling. The OMNI AI Film Festival has become a unique and independent stage where this new creative movement is playing out. Following a sold-out inaugural awards screening earlier this year, which attracted a large wave of generative creative works, OMNI has rapidly established itself as the global hub for the emerging new AI-generated film format. Two Australian films were shortlisted at OMNI 0.5, setting the standard for OMNI 1.0.
At the OMNI 1.0 screening, the OMNI AI Film Festival expects an audience made up of filmmakers, technologists, creatives, and the simply curious who are leading the charge in the industry’s evolution. Judged by filmmaking veterans, including George Miller, the director of Mad Max and Happy Feet, Yan Chen, a former Disney and DreamWorks animator, and Jonathan Zawada, an award-winning artist, the night is set to showcase the best of the best in this new era of filmmaking from across the globe.
Founded in Australia to leverage the country’s strong creative industries and progressive approach to technology, OMNI poises Australia’s film industry to lead the global discussion on the value of AI cinema. The film festival was born from an observation that technology and human imagination are evolving cinema into uncharted territory, backed by its founders and pioneers in the AI filmmaking space, Aryeh Sternberg and Travis Rice, who both boast backgrounds in creative innovation and cutting-edge media.
“Storytelling has always evolved with technology,” says co-founder Sternberg. “From the printing press to the camera, every new medium has challenged us to think differently. AI is simply the next frontier.”
Rice adds, “We see OMNI as more than a film festival, it’s a dialogue about creativity: how do we engage with technology in the modern era and how do we value the attention we give to screens that are telling the stories of tomorrow.”
By creating OMNI, Sternberg and Rice wanted to give AI cinema both legitimacy and to focus the conversation, a space where innovation can thrive while still being guided by creativity and storytelling.
“By prioritising the story in filmmaking, and focusing on in person events- we’re ensuring this isn’t just a showcase of technical feats, but a meaningful exploration and engagement in a new creative medium”, says Sternberg.
Corporate partners, including leaders in creative software and hardware, will also join the conversation, demonstrating how industry collaboration can empower artists while setting new standards for transparency and accountability.
Submissions are now open until September 15, 2025, offering creators worldwide the chance to shape the future of cinema. The festival will be held in late 2025, where winners will be announced and screened. OMNI also welcomes partners and sponsors who share its vision for ethical innovation in cinema and encourages anyone interested to get in touch.
For more details, visit: https://omnifilmfestival.com.
About the OMNI AI Film Festival
The OMNI AI Film Festival is Australia’s first festival dedicated entirely to generative and AI-driven cinema. Founded by Aryeh Sternberg and Travis Rice in 2024, OMNI is an International, bi-annual film festival, a snapshot of what is possible in the world of Generative and Artificial Intelligence-powered video and film creation. Created in December 2024 with a vision for surfacing and spotlighting quality in this newly emerging form, the festival is focused on bringing global independent International stories to live audiences.
