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The week's signal, what opened and what the festivals did, and the editor's note. No tracking, no ads, nothing else.

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SI stands for super intelligence: since an executive order of 29 September 2026, US executive departments and agencies use “super intelligence”, or SI, in place of AI in their official communications. Poynter, 8 October 2026

This week in AI cinema

Prime Video takes a Turkish AI-generated feature to the world

Çukur: Vartolu, directed by Umut Aral for Ay Yapım, is a spin-off of the series Çukur (The Pit). Prime Video took global rights on 10 October; all dialogue was recorded by human voice actors.

Variety10 October 2026

Open the film page
Prime Video
WorldwideFeatureÇukur: VartoluUmut Aral · Ay YapımNot stated; dialogue recorded by human voice actors

Now screening

Films made with generative models, as their makers describe them

All 16 films
Prime Video
WorldwideFeatureÇukur: VartoluUmut Aral · Ay YapımNot stated; dialogue recorded by human voice actorsBaska Sinema
Turkish cinemasFeatureA Woman AsleepVikki BardotTools: not statedPremiere
Venice 2026DocBe BraveFrancesco CarrozziniTools: not statedPrime Video
August 20262 × 15′Castle WallsAy Yapım · TürkiyeChatGPT · Midjourney · Runway · Google Nano Banana · Veo · Kling · ComfyUI · TopazWorld premiere
Tribeca 2026FeatureDreams of VioletsAsh KooshaAI tools only (none named)Grand Prix · Film
Runway AIF 202607:50A Face Only A Mother Could LoveRobert GaudetteTools: not statedGold · Film
Runway AIF 202605:29THE WELLDorian & DanielTools: not statedSilver · Film
Runway AIF 2026ShortWhere Knights FallMatheryTools: not statedShort Shorts
202604:01TOKYO STORIESMinoru Kusakabe · JapanGenerative AI · local LLMsKorean cinemas
21 May 2026FeatureI’m PopoKim Il-dong · KoreaTools: not statedKorean cinemas
21 May 2026FeatureMan in HanbokKoreaTools: not statedCGV
From 27 DecemberOmnibusCode:G — The Beginning of AttentionKT · KoreaTools: not statedCGV
October 2025c. 60′Run to the WestKang Yun-sung · KoreaTools: not statedPrimordial Soup
× GoogleShortANCESTRAEliza McNittVeo with live actionTV anime
From March 2025SeriesTwins HinahimaTV anime · Japan“Supportive AI” (no tools named)On Cinepuuulse
Releases3:16GATESAdam TaiebSeedance on Dreamina

Festivals

AI festivals and the AI units of established ones

The full AI calendar
18Days to go

AI Film Festival Japan, second edition

Tokyo Innovation Base (venue still being finalised) · 31 Oct – 2 Nov 2026 · Special awards from CapCut and ElevenLabs

aifilm.jp
30 Jul 2026Runway AI Festival · Tokyo screeningTokyoGrand Prix, Film: A Face Only A Mother Could Love10 Aug 2026Hundred Flowers Awards · AIGC unitBeijingThe unit's first year in the awards' 64-year history2026Bucheon Choice: AI Films · BIFANBucheonSelected AI films to be distributed to CGV and Lotte Cinema2026Beijing International Film Festival · AIGC unitBeijingBest AI Feature: Seven Fleeting Days2026Chungkang International AI Genre Film FestivalGrand Prize: Her.Story

Makers & tools

The models films are made with, and what changed

All makers
Kuaishou · China30 Sep 2026Kling 4.0A new version, announced on Kling's own blog.ByteDance · China31 Jul 2026Seedance 2.530-second clips; plugins for Maya and Blender.Alibaba · ChinaAug 2026Wan 3.0Reviewed by Curious Refuge (we read the review's title only).OpenAI25 Mar 2026SoraShut down; the $1 billion Disney partnership ended with it. It was reportedly costing $1 million a day.

Rules and rights

Unions, academies, festivals and courts, dated

The full tracker
Feb 2026Seedance 2.0Disney sends a cease-and-desist; the MPA calls it a machine built for systemic infringement.1 May 2026Academy AwardsThe 99th rules address AI eligibility and stress human authorship. Under the 98th rules, AI tools "neither help nor harm" a nomination.2 May 2026WGANew basic agreement ratified by 90.38% (4,282 votes), in force to 1 May 2030. Its AI wording was not confirmed on the page we read.1 Jul 2026SAG-AFTRAThe TV/Theatrical contract, ratified 91.42% to 8.58%, adds limits on synthetic performers on top of digital-replica consent and pay. In force to 30 June 2030.Jan–Aug 2026ChinaRegulators order 68,000 short films removed; over 90% of them were AI-made. Of 430,000 micro-dramas released in the first eight months, over 90% were AI shorts.

The wire

News on AI cinema from 11 sources

The whole wire
“Tilly Nollywood?” African filmmakers on AIVarietyTsui Hark reflects on AI at the Lumière festivalVarietyPrime Video takes global rights to Çukur: Vartolu, an AI-generated spin-off of The PitVarietyKling 4.0 is outKling
Baska Sinema takes A Woman Asleep to Turkish cinemasVarietyVenice Just Screened an AI Film. This Sets a Dangerous PrecedentFilm InquiryChina bans thousands of 'vulgar and harmful' AI-generated filmsVnExpress InternationalAI on the Lot publishes the recap of its fourth editionAI on the Lot