AI film festival wins over skeptics

Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall was packed on a humid June evening, tech workers outnumbering artists in the crowd. The gathering was Runway’s AI Film Festival, though the company avoids calling it that. The name was dropped to include fashion, advertising, and other emerging formats.

Ten short films, chosen from thousands of entries, played in succession. All were made almost entirely with AI tools, from visuals to voiceovers. Ron Howard, the evening’s guest, expressed measured optimism. He admitted he hadn’t yet seen practical applications in his own work but encouraged the audience not to resist the technology. “There are already CGI characters. There are already animated characters. Room exists for all of it,” he said.

The films varied in quality. “Where Knights Fall”, a Rapunzel parody featuring a prince sliding down a character’s belly, drew laughs. Others, like a story about a drug-dealing sheep, felt overworked. Animated entries performed best, while live-action AI-generated humans, though technically polished, often lacked emotional resonance. Lip sync was precise, but expressions appeared stiff.

“Tairell Isn’t Real” stood out—a short about an influencer questioning his own artificial origins. Creator Dave Clark described it as a prologue to a longer project blending AI and live action. “A version without AI would never have been made,” he said. The festival’s top award went to “A Face Only a Mother Could Love”, a Pixar-style story that was sentimental and predictable.

Runway co-CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela presented the event as evidence of advancement. He compared recent entries to those from three years ago to show progress. “The bar keeps rising,” he said. “The stories improve because the tools improve.” When asked about growing skepticism—graduates booing AI mentions, polls showing more Americans prefer living near nuclear plants over data centers—he rejected the idea. The loudest critics, he argued, are often the biggest users. Most people, he claimed, remain quietly hopeful.

The audience responded enthusiastically. Laughter and applause filled the hall. A nearby engineer reacted strongly, laughing and wiping his eyes during emotional scenes. The stories felt shallow, the emotions deliberate. AI filmmaking might not appeal to those who connect with traditional storytelling. It may instead attract viewers who enjoy unconventional narratives, like a sheep selling drugs.

Outside, the crowd debated the films’ merits. No one questioned the event’s unofficial status. They had just watched 10 AI-made stories, and for most, that was sufficient.

Runway’s festival highlighted a shift in how stories are created. Corporate moves in the tech sector suggest similar changes are coming to other industries.