What can AI do in film? Does it enable great stories? TBWA\Australia’s DISRUPT AI Film Festival returns for its second year with 487 submissions, up 31% from the 371 films entered in its inaugural 2025 edition. Clearly interest is growing from Australian creators, filmmakers and students exploring new forms of storytelling enabled by AI.

The festival has also announced its full 2026 jury and programme for gala screenings in Melbourne on November 18 and Sydney on November 24. Entries were evaluated by a hand-picked jury chaired by DISRUPT co-founder and TBWA chief creative officer, Paul Reardon that brings together perspectives from filmmaking, academia, government, technology and marketing.

Paul Reardon, co-founder of DISRUPT, chief creative officer, TBWA\Australia and jury chair, commented, “Entries were assessed on originality, storytelling, craft, human intent and the role AI plays in the finished work. The jump in quality from 2025 was impossible to miss. Yet the conversation that kept coming up in the jury room was one of creative distillation. While the tools allow you to create almost anything, great filmmaking has and always will be about making confident creative choices.

“The strongest films therefore weren’t defined by the capability of the tools. They were defined by the quality of the decisions behind them. We’ve all spent a lot of time talking about the human in the loop. What this year’s entries make a case for is something different: the human in the lead. The creators who rose to the top had a clear point of view, a clear intention and the confidence to direct the technology rather than simply react to it.”

The 2026 DISRUPT Jury:

• Paul Reardon (Jury Chair), Chief Creative Officer, TBWA\Melbourne

• Tessa Conrad, Global Head of Innovation, TBWA\Worldwide

• Stephen de Wolf, National Chief Creative Officer, Clemenger BBDO

• Dr Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer in Communication and Director, Master of AI for Creative

Practice and Design, Deakin University

• Lee Hickin, Executive Director, National AI Centre

• Bruce Hunt, Film and Advertising Director, and DISRUPT 2025 Best Short Film Winner

• Clayton Jacobson, Director, Writer, Producer, Actor, Musician and Editor

• Lucinda Longcroft, Director of Policy and Government Affairs, Tech Council of Australia

• Andrea Martens, Chief Executive Officer, ADMA

• Max Schleser, Associate Professor, Film and Television, Swinburne University of Technology

• Mark Wheeler, Director of Ads Marketing, AUNZ, Google

• Victoria Berthinussen, Head of Creative Partnerships, AUNZ, Google

Holding Redlich also reviewed every shortlisted film before final judging was completed.

When generative AI emerged, much of the conversation centred on what the technology might replace. TBWA’s DISRUPT was founded in response, creating a platform where creators could experiment publicly, share their processes and help deepen understanding of how AI is being used in creative practice. Rather than debating the future of creativity in theory, DISRUPT examines the work itself. Across hundreds of entries, creators reveal how they are using AI, where it expands creative possibilities and where its limitations remain.

Lucio Ribeiro, co-founder of DISRUPT and chief AI and innovation officer, TBWA\Australia, stated, “When we launched DISRUPT, there was no shortage of opinions about what AI would mean for creativity. What was missing was a way to test those ideas in practice. The festival was designed to create a body of work that could help answer those questions through making, not speculation.

“Year one helped move the conversation from ‘we think’ to ‘we know’. Our research with Deakin and Swinburne found that intention, taste and judgement remained the strongest differentiators in creative work. Year two gives us the opportunity to test whether that still holds true as the technology improves and becomes more widely adopted. So far, it does.”

As well as the gala screenings and winners’ announcements in Melbourne and Sydney, the DISRUPT AI Film Festival programme includes an  AU$10,000 prize pool recognising storytelling, craft and innovation; Creators’ Day programming for filmmakers, students and emerging creators; conversations with creators, agencies, academics, government and technology partners exploring authorship, copyright, skills and responsible adoption; and a 2026 white paper extending the research from the festival.

The 2026 festival is supported by Google, Indeed and BMW, with in-kind support from Holding Redlich. Swinburne University of Technology will also host DISRUPT’s Creators’ Day, extending the festival beyond screenings and awards into education, experimentation and practical application.

Limited tickets are still available to attend the gala event. To register, visit www.DAIFF.com.au.