Valencia is once again hosting a festival of films made with artificial intelligence. The second edition of FESTIAV will bring together creators, professionals, and the general public from October 26 to 30, 2026, in an event that seeks to redefine the language of audiovisual media and explore the limits of digital creativity. The activities, workshops, and innovation spaces will take place at Las Naves (La Harinera building), and screenings of the short films in competition will be held at the ABC Park Cinemas.
The first edition received more than 60 short films from 14 countries as diverse as Spain, Kazakhstan, China, Brazil, and the United States, but this year that number has multiplied, and the Official Selection now includes 31 participating countries.
In addition to the already established categories of Fiction (with a prize of €1,000), Comedy, and Horror, two major new additions have been introduced this year: the Historical genre, open to stories based on historical events, eras, and reinterpretations of the past; and Short Films in Valencian, a category designed to promote audiovisual production using artificial intelligence in the region’s native language.
FESTIAV LAB: 24 hours to create a short film
During the festival, the FESTIAV LAB creative workshop will take place: a competition in which 36 teams (of 2 to 3 people) will have 24 hours to produce an original short film using AI, based on a shared script, music, and images.
Participation is possible both online and in person, and there are currently 4 spots available. The winning team will receive a cash prize of €3,000.
FESTIAV Summit: Five Days of Presentations and Roundtables
The Summit will feature presentations, panel discussions, and networking sessions on the present and future of the audiovisual industry with AI. Carlos Fernández de Vigo (Professor Octopus), winner of the Goya Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2025 for *Cafuné*, will open the conference series with the talk “Cinema and the Irresistible Button. “What to automate? What to protect? Who—or what—decides?” Fernández de Vigo has been researching AI for nearly ten years and wonders which aspects of filmmaking can be automated and which must continue to rely on a human eye.
On Tuesday, Pablo Ballester (KSPMN), a content creator and trainer in video using generative AI, will speak on “The New Audiovisual Ecosystem in the Age of Generative AI.” This will be followed by a panel discussion titled “Ethics, Deepfakes, Image Rights, and the Future of Generative AI,” featuring Íñigo Echávarri, Inés de Casas Viorreta, and Hilario Abad.
And finally, on Friday, Tamara Llorens, Mimi Bejarano, JM Blay, and Nadia Alonso-López will participate in a panel discussion on the new tools, processes, and professional profiles that AI has brought to audiovisual creation.
Admission is free for all organized events, and tickets can be obtained through the festival’s official website.
