AI Art Education Technology

The HKUST AI Film Festival: Where Algorithms Meet Artistry

Editors

Hong Kong’s Generative AI Development and the Pioneering HKUST AI Film Festival

Hong Kong has emerged as a dynamic hub for generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) innovation, marked by strategic government initiatives, academic breakthroughs, and cultural milestones. Over the past year, the city has launched its first locally developed large language model, established governance frameworks for ethical AI, and hosted groundbreaking events like the 1st HKUST AI Film Festival—a testament to its commitment to fostering both technological advancement and creative expression. This blog post explores Hong Kong’s GenAI ecosystem, from policy and infrastructure to real-world applications, while highlighting the transformative role of AI in reshaping filmmaking through the lens of the HKUST festival.

On April 19, 2025, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) made cinematic history by hosting the 1st AI Film Festival—the first event of its kind in Greater China to mandate 100% AI-generated content. With 700 submissions from 82 countries and screenings attended by Oscar-winning filmmakers, the festival showcased how AI is democratizing filmmaking while provoking debates about authorship and creativity.

A Global Stage for AI-Generated Cinema

Breaking Barriers in Filmmaking

The festival’s 35 shortlisted films, selected from 743 submissions, proved AI’s potential to transcend language and cultural barriers. Notable entries included:

  • “Memory Maker” (Germany): A dystopian narrative about human subservience to machines, generated using OpenAI’s SORA for visuals and ElevenLabs for multilingual dialogue6.
  • “Dang Gui” (Hong Kong): A historical drama using AI to reconstruct 1940s Hunan villages and simulate period-accurate Mandarin dialects6.
  • “Newton’s Cradle” (USA): An experimental piece employing GANs to visualize quantum physics concepts6.

Jurors like Richard Taylor (five-time Oscar winner for The Lord of the Rings) praised the films for “challenging preconceptions about machine creativity”6.

Behind the Scenes: Tools and Techniques

The Rise of Democratized Filmmaking

Panels featuring MIT Media Lab researchers and indie filmmakers highlighted accessible tools reshaping the industry:

  • SORA: Used by 60% of entrants for generating 4K storyboards.
  • Runway ML: Enabled real-time editing of AI-generated scenes.
  • ComfyUI: Streamlined workflows for animating static images6.

Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai noted, “AI won’t replace filmmakers, but filmmakers using AI will replace those who don’t”6.

Awards and Cultural Impact

Celebrating Innovation

Winners included:

  • Best Film: Memory Maker (Nik Kleverov).
  • Frontier Award: Newton’s Cradle (Jeff Synthesized).
  • Audience Choice: The Cantonese Poet (Local collective ArtiGen)6.

The festival also featured a masterclass by Weta Workshop artists on integrating AI into特效 production, drawing parallels between their work on Avatar and modern generative tools6.

Ethical Debates and Future Editions

While the festival celebrated AI’s potential, panels grappled with pressing questions:

  • Authorship: Should AI-generated scripts qualify for copyright protection?
  • Bias: How to address datasets underrepresenting minority languages like Hakka?
  • Labor Impact: Will AI reduce opportunities for entry-level editors and animators?

HKUST’s Division of Arts and Machine Creativity announced plans for a 2026 edition with a “Human-AI Collaboration” category, requiring joint credits for human directors and AI tools6.

The following are the media posts from various news media outlets
HKUST 1st AI Film Festival （https://cveu.github.io/event/hkustfilm2025.html）圆满结束🍾[庆祝][烟花]谢谢大家来参加电影节，支持融合艺术科技！感谢所有来支持我们的嘉宾和观众，感谢二百多个媒体报道！明年见❤️🎬

大公網 – 科大AI電影節 82國家及地區參賽 http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/232109/2025/0416/1078300.html

文匯 – 科大辦大中華區首個全AI製作電影節 業界翹楚分享心得（有片） https://www.wenweipo.com/s/202504/15/AP67fe2859e4b0e66904df0267.html

文匯 – 科大舉辦大中華區首個AI電影節　35部入圍電影本周六放映 https://www.wenweipo.com/s/202504/15/AP67fe3de9e4b0e66904df0470.html

星島日報 – 科大辦大中華區首個「AI電影節」 https://std.stheadline.com/daily/article/2670469/%E6%97%A5%E5%A0%B1-%E6%B8%AF%E8%81%9E-%E7%A7%91%E5%A4%A7%E8%BE%A6%E5%A4%A7%E4%B8%AD%E8%8F%AF%E5%8D%80%E9%A6%96%E5%80%8B-AI%E9%9B%BB%E5%BD%B1%E7%AF%80

信报 – 全AI製作電影節35部片入圍周六科大放映知名導演編劇雲集 https://m.hkej.com/landing/mobarticle2/id/4055775/%E5%85%A8AI%E8%A3%BD%E4%BD%9C%E9%9B%BB%E5%BD%B1%E7%AF%80%2035%E9%83%A8%E7%89%87%E5%85%A5%E5%9C%8D%E5%91%A8%E5%85%AD%E7%A7%91%E5%A4%A7%E6%94%BE%E6%98%A0%20%E7%9F%A5%E5%90%8D%E5%B0%8E%E6%BC%94%E7%B7%A8%E5%8A%87%E9%9B%B2%E9%9B%86

紫荊 – 科大主辦首屆全AI製作電影節 https://bau.com.hk/web/article/1361753960953872384/web/content_1361753960953872384.html

橙新聞 – 有片｜科大主辦首屆全AI製作電影節　逾80個國家和地區700多部作品參賽 https://www.orangenews.hk/hongkong/1264511/?utm_source=newscopy&utm_medium=referral

點新聞 – （有片）科大首屆全AI製作電影節　《魔戒》《沙丘》幕後人物出席 https://www.dotdotnews.com/a/202504/15/AP67fe3cace4b0e343b0e6d2fc.html

Hong Kong Economic Times — 科大「AI電影節」 3大獎周六揭盅 https://paper.hket.com/article/3937065/%E7%A7%91%E5%A4%A7%E3%80%8CAI%E9%9B%BB%E5%BD%B1%E7%AF%80%E3%80%8D%203%E5%A4%A7%E7%8D%8E%E5%91%A8%E5%85%AD%E6%8F%AD%E7%9B%85

The Malina Times – AI On Stage: HKUST Debuts AI-Generated Film Festival https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/04/15/tmt-newswire/pr-newswire/ai-on-stage-hkust-debuts-ai-generated-film-festival/2092773

香港科技大学 – https://hkust.edu.hk/news/ai-stage-hkust-debuts-ai-generated-film-festival