Photo: Jakub Zerdzicki / Pexels
Kazakhstani startup Higgsfield has announced the results of its international competition for films made with artificial intelligence. Argentina’s Purga Studio took first place and won $500 thousand for Listen to Meh. Cash prizes totaled $2 million, co-founder and CEO Alex Mashrabov said in a LinkedIn post (digitalbusiness.kz).
What happened
The Higgsfield Global Film Festival received around 5 thousand entries from 176 countries. Entrants created short films using the Higgsfield Cinema Studio platform. A total of 14 entrants won prizes or special awards.
The films were judged by a jury that included Ed Catmull, Phedon Papamichael, Paul W. S. Anderson and Alex Proyas. Mashrabov specifically thanked them for their expertise and their assessment of the films.
Another 10 filmmakers received honorable mentions and $10 thousand each.
What this means for filmmakers
Following the festival, Higgsfield AI will continue to provide financial support to AI filmmakers. Mashrabov announced the launch of a separate program, Higgsfield Talent.
The program is intended for filmmakers who were not among the 14 award recipients but showed strong potential.
Next up: Higgsfield Talent
Through its Talent program, Kazakhstani startup Higgsfield plans to provide more than $1 million in addition to the competition’s prize money.
The competition has also led to something practical: according to Mashrabov, many entrants made their projects, prompts — instructions for AI — and workflows publicly available. Other filmmakers will be able to study these materials and draw on the entrants’ experience in their own films.
