By Huang Yuechen and Ding Shuorui
The 16th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) AIGC Film Unit, themed “Digital-Intelligence Symbiosis and Industrial Leap,” concluded successfully at Communication University of China (CUC). The event featured a main forum and an honor ceremony, celebrating outstanding global works and creators using AI-generated content (AIGC) for filmmaking.
Co-hosted by the BJIFF Organizing Committee and CUC, and organized by CUC’s School of Animation and Digital Arts, the unit received 2,840 submissions from 14 countries. After a rigorous jury selection, nearly 70 finalists were shortlisted across multiple categories, including series, shorts, features, a themed competition, a master workshop, a 72-hour extreme creation contest, and a project pitching session.
The Honors Ceremony of the 16th BJIFF AIGC Film Section.
Honors Ceremony: Artistic Integrity and Industrial Vision in the Digital Age
Attendees at the ceremony included CUC Party Secretary Liao Xiangzhong, Beijing Radio & Television Station Deputy Chief Editor Bian Jian, CUC Vice President Yang Yi, former dean of the School of Design Thinking in Germany Uri Weinberg, BJIFF Running Center Director Cui Yan, renowned sci-fi writer Wang Jinkang, professor Cao Xiaohui, Sinopec spokesperson Yu Yongsheng, Tongyi Lab's Chi Youlei, director and screenwriter Sun Lin, Tencent Video's Li Daren, SenseTime's Zhang Wan, and CUC School of Animation and Digital Arts leaders Zheng Danqi and Wang Lei.
CUC Vice President Yang Yi delivering a speech at the Honors Ceremony.
In his address, CUC Vice President Yang Yi reviewed the unit's three-year evolution from one of China's first AI film competitions to a full-fledged platform of “competition–forum–workshop–gala.” He noted that the expansion signaled AIGC's move from geek experiments to the industry frontier. Yang called for balancing technology and humanity, saying that every AI-generated frame should reflect the height of human civilization.
Bian Jian of Beijing Radio & Television Station.
Bian Jian of Beijing Radio & Television Station said the BJIFF has always aimed to lead industry trends, and that the AIGC unit's steady progress relies on the committee's forward-looking vision. He hoped the unit would continue offering an open stage for global creators, deepening AI-film integration.
Chi Youlei from Tongyi Lab.
Chi Youlei from Tongyi Lab spoke about the Wan model's continuous evolution for film-grade creation. He stated that technology is not a boundary but a wing for art, encouraging creators to use Tongyi Wanxiang to paint magnificent works in the digital age.
Wang Lei, Dean of CUC’s School of Animation and Digital Arts.
Wang Lei, Dean of CUC's School of Animation and Digital Arts, reflected on the unit's journey from cautious experimentation to a creative torrent. He noted that submissions had grown from 430 in the first edition to over 3,000, showing how AI has opened filmmaking doors for many. However, he warned against growing homogenization, as many focus too much on “generation” and too little on “creation.” Wang emphasized that while AI improves efficiency, it cannot replace human aesthetics, judgment, and core expression. He argued that lowering technical thresholds makes genuine artists and professional education more necessary, and that the unit honors creators who uphold authorship and responsibility amid efficiency temptations.
The final jury panel.
The final jury panel – including Stanley Tong, Yu Baimei, Sun Zhonghuai, Ruby Yang, and Vincent Lowy – shared their reflections. They collectively stressed that technology should serve art, and that algorithms cannot replace human emotion and thought.
Avant-garde Lab: Honors from the Master Workshop, Extreme Creation Contest, and Pitching Session
Sun Lin and Zhang Wan presenting the winning team honors for the Master Workshop.
Master Workshop (with a real-world commercial brief “Sinopec · Energy Forward”): The top three teams were Ade's Energy Report(Xiao Fei Tu), The 313th Crash(AIMWISE), and Boiling Point (Ouke Ouke).
Cui Yan and Li Daren presenting the honors for the 72-Hour Extreme Creation Contest.
Hour Extreme Innovation Competition (chaired by director Lu Chuan): The Visual Concept Award went to Two Really Nice Little Girls; Creative Narrative Award to Twenty Years; Editing Rhythm Award to Cave of Insects; and the Grand Prize “Peak of Creation” to Invincible Star Orange.
Presenting the winning project honors at the Project Pitching Session.
Project Pitching Session: Best Project – Resonance; Most Commercial Potential – Non-Player Consciousness; Best Art Award – The Boy and the White Horse.
Wan Muse + Theme Competition: Awakening Power, New Light of Shadow
Yu Baimei and Yang Zihua presenting the honors for the Wan Muse + Theme Competition.
This competition, themed “Awakening,” focused on the film-grade creative ability of the Wan model. Outstanding works included: feature group – Messenger Cat, One Coin, Awakening; series group – The Twin Daji of Fengshen, Love at the Time of Awakening, The Governess, Hongshan Jade Inquiry; short group – Divorcing My Husband,I Asked the Tiger, What Lingers, Two Ends, The Perfect Plan. The Best AI Theme Short Film was awarded to Rest, Best AI Theme Feature to Seven Days of Floating Life, and Best AI Theme Series was left vacant.
Main Track Honors: Shining Stars in Series, Shorts, and Features
Zheng Danqi and Vincent Lowy presenting the individual honors for the AI Series Group in the Main Track.
AI Series Group Individual Honors: A Perfect Day won both Best Art Direction and Best Character Portrayal; I Synthesized the Whole World received Highest Commercial Value; Seven Family Rules won Best Narrative Innovation.
Cao Xiaohui and Yu Yongsheng presenting the individual honors for the Short Film Group.
Short Film Group Individual Honors: Outstanding short films included The Hometown Friend Who Exploded, IVORY, I'm Not Sick, Red, Phoebe and Her 404 Kinds of Fear, The Last R47, She War, Alars, Waterfront Memories, Departure. Individual awards: Best Creativity – Century Retirement Kindergarten; Best Art Design – The Tale of the Peony; Best Visual Effects – Resonance Era; Best Music – Paper Phone; Technical Innovation – One Thought; Commercial Potential – Factory Settings.
Uri Weinberg and Sun Zhonghuai present the individual honors for the Feature Film Group.
Feature Group Individual Honors: IF won Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Design; Leveling won Best Script; Mold (the first Korean-language suspense AIGC film) won both Best Technical Breakthrough and Best Director.
Bian Jian and Yang Yi presenting the Best AI Series honor.
Best AI Series was awarded to The Big Chimney, praised for weaving northern China's industrial memories, personaldestinies, and idealistic echoes with high technical maturity and deep humanistic care.
Wang Jinkang and Chi Youlei presenting the Best Short Film honor.
Best Short Film went to The Tale of the Peony which blends Chinese supernatural storytelling, late Tang poetic spirit, and traditional intangible heritage visuals like rice paper and paper sculpture through a collaborative workflow of multi-round generation, 3D reconstruction, and manual refinement.
Liao Xiangzhong and Stanley Tong presenting the Best Feature Film honor.
Best Feature Film was awarded to Seven Days of Floating Life, recognized for its rigorous AI workflow integrating character consistency, complex transitions, multi-temporal structure, and feature-length narrative pacing, turning real-life experiences into universally affecting cinematic expression.
Artistic Performance and Ecosystem Building
The choir of CUC’s School of Music and Recording Arts performingBeginning of Spring.
During the ceremony, the choir of CUC's School of Music and Recording Arts performed Beginning of Spring, symbolizing the new spring that AIGC brings to film and television creation. Close partnerships with Tongyi Lab's Wan model, Tencent Video's Lingya Community, Sinopec, and SenseTime's Seko demonstrated a robust “industry-academia-research-application” ecosystem, supporting AIGC film from creativity to industrial implementation.
Group Photo of BJIFF AIGC Film Section Honors Ceremony.
The 16th BJIFF AIGC Film Unit was not only a showcase of technical achievements but also a frontier of ideas. As AI algorithms integrate with humanistic spirit, the film art is moving toward a new era of intelligent symbiosis.
Editor: Li Shuxuan, Fang Yiran
Managing Editor: Ding Shuorui
Editor-in-chief: Yu Ran, Yang Zhongtian
