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The hack has shipped · screening Mon 18 May

The Big Screen Hack: Cannes.

The 48-hour London hack has wrapped — two tracks ran side by side at the London flagship with online entries worldwide. Films are in, jury review is on, and the winning hackathon films screen at Cinéum Cannes on Mon 18 May 2026. Come to the cinema night.

Book the screening Watch + vote the audience prize Sponsor the next event
The hack
Wrapped8–10 May 2026 · London + online
Cinema night
Mon 18 MayCinéum Cannes · jury picks
Prize pool
$15,000Across all tracks
Audience prize
Vote nowEmailed after the festival

Two tracks. one room.

A cinematic hackathon — the Builder Hack and the Filmmaker Hack running side by side. Builders and filmmakers are welcome on either track. Pair up across disciplines or run solo — the strongest teams mix both. The fastest tools meet the best storytellers; that's where the breakout work comes from.

Track 01 · Builder Hack

Build a tool in 48 hours

Ship something cinematic with the newest creative AI — image, video, audio, agentic tools. Engineers bring the stack; filmmakers bring story instinct on what the industry actually needs. Ships: a tool, technique, or approach the industry can use.

Track 02 · Filmmaker Hack

Make a film in 48 hours

Develop, storyboard, shoot and cut a short film in a weekend. One theme, revealed live. Filmmakers bring craft; builders bring tooling that pushes what's possible on screen. Mentor surgeries throughout. Ships: one short film.

+ Mixed-discipline teams encouraged on both tracks — pair builder with filmmaker, win bigger.

Who's in the room.

Across London & Cannes — not a booth, not a logo on a banner. The audience every creative-tool company wants, building live, on deadline.

Building live
200+
developers & creatives
Talent pool
20K+
RecDek community
Sending teams
30+
agencies & brands
On the jury
15+
world-class curators

The weekend in brief.

The Big Screen Hack: Cannes is the flagship event of the 2026 programme. London hackathon Fri 8 → Sun 10 May, then the Cannes finale: the Big Screen Hack × RecDek House Villa Party (Sun 17 May) and the Cinéum festival screening (Mon 18 May).

Sponsor tools and compute credits are available through the weekend. Teams who want to learn specific tools beforehand are invited to the meet-ups in the weeks prior. Come solo — we'll help match you on arrival. Online entries welcome from anywhere in the world.

Pre-event
Meet-ups: find your creative teamEvenings across the lead-up. Meet collaborators; learn sponsor tools. Come with a partner or find one.
Fri 8 May · 18:00
Kick-off & team formationDoors open 6pm at the London flagship. Theme briefing, final team-matching, rules. Online teams join remotely.
Sat 9 → Sun 10 May
The 48-hour hackTwo tracks running side by side — Builder Hack (ship a tool) and Filmmaker Hack (ship a film). Both open to builders and filmmakers. Workshops, co-working & mentor surgeries throughout. Sponsor tools live in the IDE.
Sun 10 May · 19:00
Submissions closeFinal cut uploaded by 7pm Sunday. Jury review starts.
Sun 17 May · Cannes
The Villa Party · with RecDek HouseOur own party on the eve of the festival matinée, co-hosted with RecDek House + several partners at a private villa. Doors open in the evening for an after-party of up to 400 guests.
Mon 18 May · Cinéum Cannes
Festival ScreeningOfficial Cinéum stage screening of the winning hackathon films to the Cannes industry audience.
Grand Prize
Your film screens at Cannes in May 2026
Plus a £10,000 prize pool across track challenges: Best Film, Best AI Use, Audience Prize, Online Award, Sponsor tracks. Splits announced at the competition launch.
Mon 18 May 2026 · Cinéum Cannes
Book the screening.

Join us on the big screen at Cinéum Cannes — every shortlisted hackathon film, the jury picks crowned live, plus the post-screening room. Grab your seat on Luma.