Reply AI Film Festival Names 2026 Jury
Reply named the jury for the third Reply AI Film Festival on April 29, 2026, led by Oscar-winning director Gabriele Salvatores. The international competition for AI-generated short films will run during the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, with a July 28 release confirming 10 finalists selected from more than 3,000 submissions across 76 countries.
Reply has named the jury for the third Reply AI Film Festival, its international competition for short films created using artificial intelligence tools. According to Reply's April 29 announcement, Oscar-winning Italian director Gabriele Salvatores chairs the panel, which includes directors Rob Minkoff and Catherine Hardwicke.
A July 28 Business Wire release announced 10 finalists for the 2026 competition. It states that the finalists were selected from more than 3,000 short films submitted from 76 countries, and that the awards ceremony is scheduled for September 6 at the Match Point Arena at Tennis Club Venezia on the Lido, during the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
A cross-disciplinary jury
Reply's published jury list combines film directors, production and VFX practitioners, technology leaders, and entertainment journalists. In addition to Salvatores, Minkoff, and Hardwicke, the panel includes:
- •Jed Weintrob, director and partner at 30 Ninjas
- •Christina Lee Storm, producer and Head of Studio, Narrative at Secret Level
- •Giacomo Mineo, VFX supervisor
- •Nils Hartmann, television producer
- •Brian Welk and Denise Negri, film journalists
- •Filippo Rizzante, Reply's chief technology officer
- •Guillem Martinez Roura, AI and Robotics Lead at the ITU's AI for Good initiative
The Business Wire release also lists Jacopo Reale, the 2025 RAIFF winner, among the 2026 jurors. Reply's festival page lists the other panel members and describes the group as directors, technology experts, and AI and visual-arts practitioners.
Evaluation criteria and awards
Reply's April announcement states that the panel will judge films on creativity, production quality, and use of artificial intelligence. The July release says the jury will award Best Short Film and two special awards, although the retrieved release excerpt does not specify the names or criteria for those additional prizes.
Salvatores said in Reply's April announcement that generative AI tools can enhance a director's talent, sensibility, and creative perspective when used in service of an authentic vision. That is a view expressed by the jury chair, not a technical evaluation of any particular model or production workflow.
For AI practitioners working in generative video and creative tooling, the festival's criteria place output quality alongside the role of AI in the production process. The available festival materials do not identify which generative-video, image, audio, or editing systems were used by the 2026 finalists.
The event is supported by Reply and Mastercard, according to the July release. Finalist works are scheduled to be screened at the Venice event, where the three winners are to be announced.
Key Points
- 1Reply named a jury spanning filmmaking, VFX, journalism, and AI expertise for its third international AI short-film competition.
- 2Ten finalists emerged from more than 3,000 submissions across 76 countries, indicating broad international participation in AI-assisted filmmaking.
- 3The festival's criteria assess creativity, production quality, and the use of artificial intelligence in short films.
Scoring Rationale
The festival is a relevant indicator of generative AI's use in media production and brings established film practitioners into its evaluation process. It does not announce a new model, platform capability, benchmark, or technical standard, limiting its direct impact on ML and data science workflows.
Sources
Primary source and supporting public references used for this report.
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