London · 5 to 16 October
Your film on the IMAX.Then on TV.
$50,000+ in prizes · Free to enter
Submissions close in
Midday, Sunday 11 October · UK time
Filmmakers.+AIdevelopers.=Newcinema.
Filmmakers bring vision, taste and craft.AI developers expand what can be made. Together, they create work neither could make alone.
The artists embracing these new tools are already making the next form of cinema. Traditional film institutions have not made enough room for them yet. Big Screen Hack does: a place to create, a cinema to show the work and an audience there to see it.
Pick a track.
- 01
The Greenlight
FairgroundThe winning concept becomes a funded series.
- 02
The Big Sell
OpenClips · The advertising trackMake a Black Friday or Christmas ad for $1,500 and a slot on the IMAX.
- 03
Sponsors' challenges
StoryMachine, ElevenLabs, SmartyPlants and moreSponsors set their own challenges inside each track, with their own briefs and prizes. All live now.
Already made a film? You can enter that too. Submissions close midday (UK time) on Sunday 11 October.
Meet the people making it with you.
Every contestant, sponsor and partner is in one WhatsApp group. Find a teammate, ask a sponsor a question, share a rough cut and see what everyone else is making. The best ideas this week will come out of conversations in there.
Join the WhatsApp groupLondon.Back to the big screen.
Filmmakers and AI developers make a pilot in five days, from Monday 5 October, 6.30pm to midday (UK time) on Sunday 11 October. The shortlist premieres on Friday 16 October at the IMAX, during the BFI London Film Festival.
Online.
Two-week online challengeA global online advertising challenge with our partners at StoryMachine. Creative teams take one live brand brief and have two weeks to make a finished ad. Dates and the first brief are announced on storymachine.ai.
Riyadh.
April 2027A proposed LEAP chapter connecting filmmakers with the builders shaping the next generation of creative technology. Official event dates are still to be confirmed.
Cannes Film Festival.
May 2027 · Dates to be confirmedBack to the Croisette during the Cannes Film Festival, with the strongest new work on a cinema screen in festival week.
Cannes Lions.
June 2027 · Dates to be confirmedBrands, agencies and AI-native filmmakers making finished ads together during the festival of creativity.
Tribeca.
June 2027 · Dates to be confirmedBack to New York for the Tribeca Festival, building on The Loft in 2026 with filmmakers, builders and investors in one room.
Toronto.
September 2027 · Dates to be confirmedA chapter during the Toronto International Film Festival, putting new AI-made work in front of a festival audience.
Your city.
Your event · your screenBring Big Screen Hack to your festival, conference, cinema or creative community. We supply the format, the filmmakers, the builders and the work worth screening.
The work already made it to the screen.
Every chapter so far: the films, the photographs, the winners and the people who made them.
CompletedCannes
May 2026A film jam, villa gathering and Cinéum screening put the strongest work in front of a festival-week audience.
See the chapter
CompletedLondon
October 2025 · May 2026The BFI debut proved the idea. The London flagship scaled it to 180 people and 63 team submissions.
See the chapter
CompletedTribeca
June 2026The Loft brought filmmakers, investors and founders together in New York during the Tribeca Festival and NY Tech Week.
See the chapterMeet.Make.Screen.
Put the disciplines together.
Filmmakers and AI developers arrive as teams or meet on the day. Story instinct and technical possibility begin in the same room.
- Enter with a team
- Join solo
- Cross-discipline matching
The clock starts.
One theme drops. Teams have five days to create a pilot that introduces their story, world and characters.
- Five days
- One live brief
- A finished pilot
The work meets an audience.
The shortlist screens on Friday 16 October at the IMAX. The winning concept is developed into a funded series with our partners at Fairground.
- Live showcase
- Jury and audience awards
- Permanent film archive
A slightly mad idea.A real movement.
London proved the format. Cannes gave the films a bigger screen. Tribeca carried the community further. Now we’re bringing that experience back to London for the next generation of filmmakers.
The work is the point.Press play.
Every argument about AI and cinema becomes more useful once there is a film in front of you. Start with three standouts, then enter the full 49-film archive.
lilies
Muja Studios · Jabir Mohammed
Claude · Midjourney · Seedance 2.0 · SunoFloor 67
The 22nd Century
AI-native short film · 48-hour productionA Door Into the Dark
Book of Eli
Film track · Official selection