AI Film Festival Japan 2025 Award Winners Announced
On November 11, 2025, the AI Film Festival Japan (AIFJ2025) announced its award winners. We present the winning works along with preview videos researched by the AICU editorial team.
AI Film Festival Japan 2025 Award Results
AI Experimental Category
Best AI Experimental Work Award "The Hidden Tremor"
Director: Léo Cannone Country: France
Synopsis: 『The Hidden Tremor』 is a meditative and sensory journey through Southeast Asia. This work continues to follow the delicate pulsations that flow quietly just below the surface of our world, at the boundaries of the visible world. Every shot was filmed during a two-month journey across Asia, some of which were gently shaped by AI. It is to reveal "something" that should probably always have been there.
Excellence Award (AI Experimental) "Last Call Before A.G.I"
Director: Matt Zien Country: United States
Synopsis: On the night when humanity votes to activate Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), two stories unfold in parallel in a divided city. Two songs. Two worlds. And one, irreversible moment.
Honorable Mention "AIVY°"
Director: Naoki Naha Country: Japan
Synopsis: A three-member idol group "AIVY°" created by AI. Depicts their social phenomenon during a world tour as a new era story opened up by technology.
Honorable Mention Runner-up "Pexote Jack: Ohio!"
Director: Hoyt Dwyer Country: United States
AI Animation Category
Best AI Animation Award "《WALLED DREAMS》"
Director: Bee Han, Yixuan Niu Country: China
Synopsis: A city surrounded by high walls, where people come and go indifferently. A lonely girl meets a stuffed pig. Like the girl, the pig was quietly hiding in the corner of the world. It becomes the girl's only companion, leading her through silent houses into an absurd and dreamlike world. Reality builds its walls higher and higher, but the dreams brought by the pig give her momentary warmth and freedom. Someday the pig will be gone. But the dream it left behind will continue to shine in the girl's heart, giving her the courage and comfort to step into the real world.
Excellence Award (AI Animation) "FRIENDS"
Director: Jihyun Kim Country: South Korea
Synopsis: A heartwarming story about the "friendship" that binds boy Jiu, his beloved dog Maximus, and a robot dog assistant, overcoming jealousy and misunderstanding.
Honorable Mention "To the Bones"
Director: Claudio Sa Country: Portugal Synopsis: Greed, temptation, and its price. A lonely wanderer who encounters an enigmatic gnome and a bewitching red gem. A haunting animated fable told through his eerie journey.
AI Documentary Category
Best AI Documentary Award "The Cinema That Never Was"
Director: Mark Wachholz Country: Germany
Synopsis: Have you ever thought about the movies we've lost? Not the ones that disappeared over time, but the ones that never "existed" in the first place. Not works that were shelved. Movies that were never written, imagined, or even conceived. What if the film history we love is just a small part of what could have been? Now is the time to think about the films that were never made.
Excellence Award (AI Documentary) "We the Change"
Director: Eric Oldrin, Jeremy Clark, Michael Goedecke, Antonio Marcato Country: United States
Synopsis: 『We the Change』 is a hymn to the courage and hope to face desperate situations. This film is led by the voices of four human rights activists who have stood up against oppression and inspired people around the world. From Africa to Asia, Latin America, and the United States. Their words, which represent political struggles everywhere on Earth, share ideas that we should be listening to in this day and age. A visual poem inspired by street art from around the world breathes life into their stories. In cities where people gather, images dance beyond the "walls" that separate them. This is a call for solidarity, unity, and optimism in an age of division and anxiety. We believe. A future where "we the people" can become the "change" we desire. This film invites us all to rise to that moment.
Honorable Mention "EXILE"
Director: Stephane Benini Country: Portugal
Synopsis: From the memories of Moselle, France, the image of soldier Jack Kirby is superimposed with that of the “creator”. Made with AI, but at its core is human recollection and gratitude.
Honorable Mention "Goodbye, world!"
Director: Marcos Samia Country: Brazil
Synopsis: A poetic short film that questions the remnants of humanity in a near future where emotions and decision-making are entrusted to systems.
Honorable Mention Runner-up "The White Dharma"
Director: young ju lee Country: South Korea
Synopsis: A dog that has no words still has the power to change people. A story of a pure relationship in which a man saves a dog and a dog saves a man.
AI Narrative Award
Best AI Drama Award "Chairman"
Director: Sungwon Won, Youngjea Choi, Hana Choi Country: South Korea
Synopsis: A man who can transform into a "chair". An encounter with a stray cat and a small discovery at the stadium shake the meaning of his life.
Excellence Award (AI Drama) "What Remains"
Director: Vadim Lasca Country: USA/Venezuela
Synopsis: Not provided
Honorable Mention "Between Spaces"
Director: Bryan Ebzery Country: United States
Synopsis: An AI-generated visual poem that drifts between reality and reverie. Looking at childhood fears and losses, and the world of "what if".
Honorable Mention "The world turns, Because you do"
Director: SUGURU NIINO Country: Japan
Synopsis: Small actions spread ripples around the world - visualizing the invisible chain and believing in the power to take a step forward with hope.
Honorable Mention Runner-up "Thanks for Calling"
Director: DONG-YOUNG SHIN Country: South Korea
Synopsis: Seoul, a city where expressing emotions is not considered good. A young man working at a call center begins to follow his heart after a phone call that breaks the taboo.
Honorable Mention Runner-up "HACK-ING"
Director: Gibum Kim Country: South Korea
Synopsis: A young man who wished he could "just pass" and an AI that literally leads society to collapse. Depicts the price of wishing and the meaning of "passing".
AI Comedy Award "Andy's Days #42"
Director: Ryo Matsumoto Country: Japan
Synopsis: 2040. Andy, an “ordinary astronaut,” crash-lands on an unknown planet. The 42nd record written in extreme conditions.
Jury Special Award "El día que me quieras. El viaje de Gardel"
Director: Matias Mera Country: Argentina
Synopsis: The adventure story that changed the history of music and created the first myth of the 20th century. From poverty to tuxedo, from the slums to Manhattan. Carlos Gardel created the “tango canción (singing tango)” and shot images and a dozen films that could be called the world's first music videos. His voice captivated the Paris Opera and New York studios. 『El día que me quieras (The day you love me): Gardel's Journey』 is a grand epic about the life and work of Carlos Gardel.
AI Selected AI Work Award "ZERO"
Director: DONGHA OH Country: South Korea
Synopsis: A novelist crushed by the award of AI writer "Zero". Heads to a confrontation that shakes the subject and ethics of creation.
Source: AIFJ2025 Winners list • 2025-11-02
The above award results will be included and published in iQ magazine Vol.18
