Judges & Prizes
Meet the expert judges and discover the exciting prizes awaiting winners in each category
Best Short Film
Judges
Michael Wise
Former CTO, Universal Pictures
Led technology strategy for Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and chairs the Entertainment Technology Center @ USC
Brian Wankum
Director of Creative Technology, Blumhouse
Post producer and creative technologist known for work on Buffy, Firefly, Once Upon a Time, and THEM
Eric Shamlin
Emmy, Cannes Lion, Peabody Winner
Former CEO of Secret Level and Chair of the Emmy's AI Task Force with multiple awards across film and immersive media
Andrew Butts
Principal Researcher, Pixar Research Group
Specializes in character animation systems and led groundbreaking work on hair technology for Incredibles 2
Prizes
Winner Prize Package
🎬 Official Selection
Curated showcase in Machine Cinema's prestigious Best of AI Films screening
$1000 Fal.ai Credits
For top 3 teams to fuel your next AI film project
More Prizes Coming Soon
Additional exciting prizes will be announced before the event
Best Cinematic Product Launch
Judges
Nicolas Dessaigne
General Partner at YC, Founder of Algolia
Co-founded Algolia (valued at $2B+) and has conducted over 3,000 office hours mentoring YC startups
Vivian Shen
Visiting Partner at YC
Founder and CEO of Acely AI and Juni Learning, backed by top investors and featured in Forbes and WSJ
Prady Modukuru
CEO & Co-founder, sync. (YC W24)
2x founder building in AI video & backed by Google Ventures. Previously led AI product at Microsoft, scaling Defender to $350M+
Mark Weber
Director's Fellow at MIT Media Lab
Award-winning filmmaker (Poverty, Inc.), applied AI researcher and productization leader at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab and MIT Media Lab
Prizes
Winner Prize Package
🚀 Guaranteed YC Interview
Fast-track your startup with a guaranteed interview at Y Combinator
$1000 Fal.ai Credits
For top 3 teams to fuel your next AI product launch
More Prizes Coming Soon
Additional exciting prizes will be announced before the event
Best Music Video
Judges
Verena Puhm
Gen AI Director, TV writer, Producer
Award-winning filmmaker and Gen AI director with experience across BBC, CNN, and Netflix. Pioneer in AI filmmaking
Byron Miller
EVP of Commerce, Atlantic Music Group
Music executive and creative technologist with over a decade of leadership at major labels including Interscope, Capitol, and Motown
Lauren Giordano
Professor, USC School of Cinematic Arts
Emmy-nominated editor and Adjunct Associate Professor teaching visual storytelling at USC Cinema
Willonius Hatcher
Filmmaker, comedian & AI creative
Creator of the viral AI-generated hit 'BBL Drizzy.' New York-based filmmaker and comedian recognized by TIME as one of 2024's Most Influential People in AI
Prizes
Prize Package
$1000 Fal.ai Credits
For top 3 teams to fuel your next AI music video project
More Prizes Coming Soon
Additional exciting prizes will be announced before the event
Additional Recognition
People's Choice Award
Voted by all event attendees during the screening
$250 Fal.ai Credits
across all 3 tracks
Most Innovative Use of AI
For groundbreaking technical achievement
$250 Fal.ai Credits
across all 3 tracks
Most WTF
For the most mind-bending, bizarre, and unforgettable creation
$250 Fal.ai Credits
across all 3 tracks
...and more recognition awards to be announced