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THE october 19 2025 FILM FESTIVAL
AI Is Transforming Filmmaking — But Who’s Directing the Film?
At the October 19 AI International Film Festival in Hollywood, filmmakers from around the world interpreted the central question: when machines learn to create, what remains uniquely human?
Hollywood, CA - From Kuwait to Seoul to Moscow, filmmakers are already showing the world AI promised — and some fear.
Held as part of #LATechWeek, the AI International Film Festival screened nine short films that felt ripped from tomorrow’s headlines — from a New York Times critic confronting the first AI playwright to a haunting countdown toward Artificial General Intelligence taking over.
Inside the Los Feliz Theatre on October 19, an audience filled with tech founders, studio creatives, and investors watched stories that asked the question now echoing across Hollywood: Who’s really directing the film?
OCTOBER 19 2025 WINNING FILMS
“Last Call Before A.G.I” - Matt Zien - United States - 2025 - 6 min - Best Picture, Best Music Video, Audience Choice: Best Message
The final moments before AGI takes over, what are they like?
Last Call Before A.G.I. is a rare combination of artistic precision and emotional depth, weaving two parallel performances into a haunting meditation on humanity’s final moments before the rise of Artificial General Intelligence.
In a dimly lit dive bar, a lone singer delivers an intimate, aching ballad that feels almost too personal to witness, its low-light, close camera work and raw vocal performance send shivers.
With striking visuals, layered meaning, and music that lingers in the bones, the film delivers a sharp critique and an urgent warning, one of the most resonant and artfully executed shorts of its kind.
“_Preview_” - Quinlan Orear - US - 2025 - 13 min - Best Live Action Short, Best Narrative Short, Best Short Direction, Audience Choice: Best Picture
What happens when an AI playwright gets interviewed by a New York Times journalist?
PREVIEW cleverly stages a theatrical duel between human critique and artificial creation, blurring the lines of authorship, originality, and sentience.
By placing the first AI playwright on Broadway, Quinlan Orear doesn’t just ask what AI can create but how we, as humans, choose to respond. The film works best in its unsettling suggestion that AI’s true power lies not in surpassing human intelligence, but in exploiting our cultural soft spots: our empathy, our vanity, and our hunger for novelty.
It succeeds in making the stage feel like a future battlefield for creativity, where applause may no longer distinguish between human and machine.
A thought-provoking and unsettling glimpse into the moment AI stops imitating us and starts convincing us it’s real.
“The Shadow in the Helix” - Ruqayah H. Alsayed Ebrahim - Kuwait - 2025 - 5 min - World Festival Premiere - Best Documentary, Best Actress, Audience Choice: Best Use of AI
What's it like being a female scientist?
The Shadow in the Helix is a moving and respectful portrait of a female scientist, crafted by a female director who brings both precision and empathy to the screen. Visually consistent and stylish, with narration and dialogue that are sharp and perfectly timed, it wastes not a single moment.
A strong narrative arc and impeccable storytelling make this a powerful and memorable documentary.
“Neighbors” - Matteo Novellino - Italy - 2025 - 4 min - Best AI Short
What if war never fully leaves the hallway outside our door?
Neighbors is sharp, absurd, and quietly devastating beneath its humor. The contrast of historical and present-day wars framed as “noisy neighbors” is brilliantly clever, and the writing lands with just the right amount of irony.
The dialogue is crisp, witty, and biting, while the satire slices into how war is rebranded with euphemisms. t’s a rare AI-assisted short that feels both funny and deeply relevant... a reminder that history never fully leaves the hallway outside our door.
A clever and absurd mirror that makes war sound like a noise complaint... hilarious until you realize how true it is.
“Time Squares” - Tim Hamilton - Australia - 2025 - 5 min - Japanese - World Premiere - Best Comedy, Best International Short, Best Animation Short, Audience Choice: Most Fun
What's life like for a square in New York?
Time Squares confirms Tim Hamilton as a standout voice in AI filmmaking. The story is both tender and philosophical, wrapped in striking imagery that carries real soul and style.
Hamilton proves not just technical skill but a deep instinct for storytelling that feels human at its core.
A soulful, stylish ode to New York’s contradictions, proof that AI in the right hands can tell profoundly human stories.
“Baggage” - Syam Nair - India - 2025 - 7 min - US Festival Premiere - Best Art Direction, Best Actor, Best Story
What's the baggage loading down these guys?
Baggage delivers a complete and compelling narrative arc with clarity and emotional weight. Technically sharp and well-executed, it balances fast pacing with strong dialogue and a poignant twist that lingers.
Rather than venturing into abstraction or experimentation, the film opts for classic storytelling, and does it with confidence. The use of Indian English adds authenticity and texture, grounding the drama in its cultural context.
Clean, crisp, and resonant, it stands out as a gripping short that proves sometimes traditional structure is the most powerful vessel for difficult truths.
“NO” - Ahmed Alameldeen - Italy - 2025 - 1 min - Best Thriller
What's the power of the veto like?
At just one minute, "NO" distills the brutality of politics into a single, devastating act. The sterile halls of power clash with the fragile desperation of the refugee camp, making the silence before the veto as violent as the word itself. It feels painfully real, mirroring today’s geopolitical landscape with tragic precision.
A searing one-minute punch that turns a single word into an act of war.
“Post-Scarcity Blues” - Matt Zien - United States - 2025 - 3 min - Best Singularity Film
What's this hologram singing the blues about in 2035 Chicago?
Post-Scarcity Blues continues Matt Zien’s distinctive fusion of music, mood, and speculative fiction, this time through the lens of a found-footage camcorder capturing a hologram singing the blues in a near-future Chicago.
The setting, a bustling-yet-empty alley of people, robots, and aimless motion, becomes a quietly chilling portrait of irrelevance in a hyper-efficient world. The film’s blues performance, soulful and skillfully delivered, anchors the piece emotionally, while the visuals paint a stark, believable future where human purpose has eroded into quiet disappearance.
“The Dogs‘ Matter ” - Yinqian Li - China - 2025 - 8 min - US Premiere - Best Experimental Film
What's the transition from childhood to the adult world like?
The Dogs’ Matter is a beautifully crafted and emotionally resonant film. Shot with an artistic eye, it balances the realism of a mockumentary style with the lyricism of a dream or memory, creating a layered storytelling experience.
The characters feel authentic and grounded, which makes the boy’s bond with the stray dog deeply moving. The cinematography is elegant, stylish without being forced, and the narrative arc pulls the audience in completely.