HKAIIFF2027 · Entry guide

Dates, fees and a complete entry

Entries run from 1 October 2026 to 1 March 2027, closing at 23:59 Hong Kong time (UTC+8). The fee is US$99 per work, with no additional award application fee for applicable expression awards or associated Silver achievements. There are no early-bird or late-entry tiers.

Complete formal entry at hkaiiff.io. An account, draft, payment, INDEX record and accepted submission are distinct states. After supplying required information, the full work, declarations and payment, check the application confirmation and any outstanding items. Festival dates, venues and award resources will be announced separately.

Eligibility and AI-native creation

The submitted version must have been completed on or after 1 August 2026. No premiere is required: previously published works or films entered elsewhere may apply if they meet the other conditions. There is no universal minimum runtime.

AI must play a substantive role in principal audiovisual material, performance, narrative organisation, generative rules or audience experience. There is no fixed AI-use percentage for 2027. Explain its role and human creative decisions through the work, concise context and assessable evidence. Subtitling, denoising, upscaling or administrative assistance alone does not establish eligibility.

Submit a complete assessable film or audiovisual work. A trailer, concept pitch, tool demo or collection of fragments cannot replace it. Dynamic works need a defined experience scope, submitted version and stopping conditions. Explain special equipment or accessibility needs in advance.

Individuals, teams and representatives

Individuals, teams, studios, institutions and authorised representatives may apply. One person can hold multiple roles and several people can share a role. A company, a complete conventional crew or an account for every contributor is not required. Identify the human creative leads, actual contributions and accurate public credits.

The representative must be authorised to submit the work and its information. Submission authority, creative credit and commercial licensing authority are distinct. Applicants below the age of majority in their location require confirmation by an authorised guardian or institutional representative.

Initial materials and later requests

Initially provide the title and synopsis, form and runtime or experience scope, completion date and version, language and subtitles, key contributors, representative contact, AI use and source restrictions, and access to the complete work. Reference information already supplied rather than duplicating it in forms and attachments.

There is no minimum word count for the AI statement. Identify substantive stages, principal tools and known versions, then explain key choices, revisions and control. Supply representative evidence when needed, rather than all logs, contracts, source code or model weights. Mark unavailable supplier information as unknown.

All languages are welcome, with adequate support for full understanding. Non-English works need suitable English subtitles, transcripts or equivalent support; an English synopsis alone is not a substitute. Screening masters, multilingual publicity and audio stems are confirmed separately when needed.

Silver awards: shared work, specific evidence

The three Silver awards assess methods, digital characters and worlds, not film placements. The achievement must be demonstrated in an eligible work submitted to this edition; that film need not first be shortlisted for the main competition. Existing achievements must identify the submitted version and distinguish earlier from new contributions.

Reuse the film’s contributors, tools and sources; add the achievement’s name, scope, version, specific contributions and evidence. If several films demonstrate the same achievement, identify one principal associated work and consolidate evidence. Using a general-purpose model or tool does not by itself make that model or tool a candidate.

Permissions, publication and INDEX

The necessary review permission covers eligibility checks, judging, technical testing and application processing. Public screening, promotional excerpts, public INDEX records and commercial cooperation require separate confirmation. Declining optional publicity or market cooperation does not affect professional evaluation.

You may reference an existing INDEX record you are authorised to use and confirm its version. If direct import is unavailable, include its link in the materials. Buying INDEX is not required. Entry, nomination and awards do not transfer existing rights or guarantee distribution, transactions or income.