New York – October 16, 2026 -- The inaugural Lumara Film Festival, presented by MoonPay and Venice, has named six finalists for a Grand Prize worth $32,000 and 3.2 million Venice AI credits, after receiving more than 700 submissions from filmmakers worldwide.
The Jury Selection award carries $20,000 and 2 million Venice AI credits. Winners will be announced live on October 26 at the Roxy Hotel Cinema in New York City. The festival has also named 16 nominees across five category awards.
Submissions drew 700+ films in a seven-week free-entry window
Submissions ran from July 24 to September 15. Entry was free and open worldwide, and filmmakers could use any AI filmmaking platform. Judging criteria were the strength of the idea, the quality of the storytelling and how well the filmmaker used AI.
Jury of AI filmmakers and internet-culture figures judges the field
The jury includes Voidstomper, Gossip Goblin, Chris White (executive producer of A24's "Backrooms"), JBoogxCreative, Heavy Pulp, SÜNDERMANN, BLVCKL!GHT, Ansem and FaZe Banks.
Six finalists compete for the two top prizes
The finalists are "Black Thunder" (Ryan Lightbourn), "Candy" (Jiaze Li), "Gabriel" (T Zhang), "Killabears – The Broadcast" (Mikael Tyrsen), "Living with a Merman" (Chris Capel) and "Mianmian" (Yingjie Chen).
Five category awards carry $8,000 to $12,000 plus Venice AI credits
Prize values by category:
- Terminal Award (best experimental film): $12,000 and 1.2 million credits. Nominees are "REVIVER," "Stories My Great Great Great Grandmother Told Me" and "THE LAST TRIBE."
- Serenissima Award (best film made with Venice): $12,000 and 1.2 million credits. Nominees are "Black Thunder," "Er Loop" and "Never Forget."
- Get Shorty Award (best film under two minutes): $8,000 and 800,000 credits. Nominees are "Ato de [Later]," "COMPULSION," "Do Not Disturb" and "Summer Afternoon, July 1994."
- Mouse Award (best film for children or young adults): $8,000 and 800,000 credits. Nominees are "Far away home," "FIX" and "Roraima."
- Rekt Award (best satire, comedy or musical about finance, markets or crypto): $8,000 and 800,000 credits. Nominees are "Great Pepe Wars," "JUST SAY SOLANA" and "ROLL EVERYTHING."
Category winners will be announced on the Venice and MoonPay channels.
Premiere night to preview first AI film slated for wide theatrical release
The October 26 event will screen all finalists in full, along with the category-winning films and new-work previews from jury members. It will include an extended prologue of Gossip Goblin's "Gods Don't Give Gifts," the first AI film slated for a wide theatrical release, at the end of this year.
The winning films will premiere online on X and YouTube on October 27.