Opening Signal
A live welcome from the city, the edition manifesto and a first look at the films defining its creative signal.
INAUGURAL EDITION
CIRCUIT 26 / 52 · AMS · 2026
CIRCUIT 26 / 52 · AMS · 2026
● Europe · 2026 INAUGURAL EDITION ARCHIVE
AMSTERDAM
AI CINEMA
FESTIVAL
Water, Memory / New Realities. One global screen for cinema with authorship, craft and emotional force.
01 / THE CITY SIGNAL
A CREATIVE TERRITORY, NOT A TOURIST POSTCARD
WATER, MEMORY
NEW REALITIES
Amsterdam reflects on water, memory and constructed reality through films that are conceptually rigorous and emotionally open.
- Format
- One day, online worldwide
- Edition
- INAUGURAL EDITION
- Date
- Sunday, Jun 28, 2026
- Submission deadline
- Sunday, Jun 14, 2026
- Time zone
- Europe/Amsterdam
- Creative signal
- Water, Memory / New Realities
AMS / 2026.06.28ONE DAY / ONE CITY SIGNAL / ONE GLOBAL SCREEN
THE
PROGRAMME
+
Competition Screens
Curated online programmes across narrative, animation, documentary, experimental work and future formats.
The Directors’ Room
Selected filmmakers discuss authorship, process, rights, responsible practice and the new language of cinema.
Award Gala — Live Online
The global audience reconnects for jury awards, the audience prize and the World Championship qualifier.
02 / CITY DESK
LOCAL EDITION / GLOBAL ONLINE DELIVERY
LOCAL
PRESENCE.
GLOBAL REACH.
AMS
Amsterdam Broadcast Desk
The city desk coordinates filmmaker access, programme communications, live-gala production and local partnerships. Audience screenings and the Award Gala are delivered online worldwide; registered guests receive access instructions directly.
Contact the Amsterdam desk ↗03 / THE AWARDS
CINEMA, JUDGED AS CINEMA
AMSTERDAM
AWARDS
More ways to recognise the whole film: story, direction, performance, image, sound, innovation and transparent human authorship.
CITY SIGNATURE AWARDAmsterdam Creative Signal — Water, Memory / New Realities
01Grand Prizes
City Grand PrixBest AI FilmJury PrizeAudience AwardGlobal Championship Qualifier
02Formats
Narrative FeatureNarrative ShortAnimationDocumentaryExperimental FilmMusic VideoFashion FilmCommercial StorytellingSeries PilotMicro ShortVertical CinemaImmersive / XRInteractive FilmStudent FilmYouth Film
03Cinematic Craft
DirectionScreenplayCinematographyEditingProduction DesignVisual EffectsCharacter DesignAnimation CraftPerformanceVoice PerformanceSound DesignOriginal ScoreOriginal SongColourTitle SequenceWorld-BuildingCreature DesignAction Choreography
04Genre, Impact + Innovation
Science FictionFantasyHorrorComedyClimate StorytellingSocial ImpactHuman–AI CollaborationResponsible AI PracticeTechnical InnovationBreakthrough Filmmaker
AMSTERDAM / SUNDAY
JUN 28, 2026 / ONLINE WORLDWIDE
SUBMISSIONS CLOSE JUN 14, 2026
NO VIDEO UPLOAD · YOUTUBE OR GOOGLE DRIVE LINK