The Cinema AI Hackathon 2025, conducted under the Waves Film Bazaar, celebrates the dynamic intersection of art, technology, and ethics in filmmaking. The platform encourages creators worldwide to push the boundaries of storytelling using AI-driven tools for scriptwriting, video generation, editing, and production—while maintaining responsibility, transparency, and authenticity in creative output.
The winners of five awards instituted to recognise excellence across key creative and technical dimensions are as follows:
• Best AI Film award was presented to Team Kalpnk’s Hindi language film ‘My Red Crayon’ directed by Aayush Raj
• Most Innovative Use of AI award was presented to Team Atomeist’s English language film ‘REMORY’ directed by Keyur Kajavadara.
• Best Storytelling award was presented to Samresh Shrivastav & Yagya Priya Gautam’s Hindi language film ‘Lost and Found’ directedby Samresh Shrivastav.
• Best Visuals award was presented to Team Indywood & Wonderwall Media Network’s English language film ‘BEING’ directed by Sumesh Lal.
• Best Sound/Music Design award was presented to Rajesh Bhosle’s English language film ‘Monsoon Echo’
The hackathon followed a two-stage fully online format. Individuals or teams (up to five members) were invited to submit previously created AI-based film content (2–10 minutes) as part of the 1st Stage.
The entries opened from November 1 to November 12, 2025, and the response was remarkable, as over 180 submissions were received. After a thorough evaluation by the selection committees, 14 teams were shortlisted to participate in the 48-hour final challenge.
In the 2nd Stage, participants were given the theme: Memories Reimagined. The objective was to create a 60–120 second cinematic story that uses AI to reinterpret a deeply personal memory, blending realism with imagination to offer an emotionally resonant narrative.
The 48-hour challenge ran from 4:00 PM IST on November 20 to 4:00 PM IST on November 22, 2025.
Jury Panel – Cinema AI Hackathon 2025
The Jury Panel consists of Shekhar Kapur — IFFI Festival Director, Director and Producer; Ramdas Naidu — Producer, Director; Ashwin Kumar — Director, Animator; Asha Batra — Film Historian, Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation; Dr. Sujay Sen — Executive Vice President & Global Head – Interactive Services, LTIMindtree; Nayna Raut — Senior Director – Design Strategy & CraftStudio, Interactive Services, LTIMindtree; ShriDibyendu Halder — Executive Vice President & Chief Business Officer – Communications, Media & Entertainment, LTIMindtree; and Neha Kathuria — Chief Marketing Officer, LTIMindtree.
The jury expressed immense appreciation for the exceptional quality and creativity of the films produced in this short time frame, highlighting the originality, technical skill, and emotional depth demonstrated by the participants.
The Cinema AI Hackathon 2025 stands as a landmark initiative, showcasing the transformative potential of AI in filmmaking and opening new horizons for the next generation of storytellers.
