When the Cannes Film Festival moves, the film world listens.
In 2026, Cannes will not merely listen to artificial intelligence — it will place AI at the center of its institutional agenda, marking one of the most consequential shifts in modern film history.
From next year, Cannes will formally integrate AI as a core theme of the festival, working in tandem with Kyoto, Wuhan and Seoul to shape what is being described as an emerging “AI film festival ecosystem.”
This is not a passing nod to technology. It is a declaration that cinema’s creative, ethical and industrial foundations are being rewritten — and that Cannes intends to set the standards rather than react to them.
For a festival long regarded as the last stronghold of auteur cinema and artistic rigor, this pivot carries symbolic weight. Cannes has never been quick to follow trends. Its decision to foreground AI signals that the film industry has crossed a threshold where technological change can no longer be treated as peripheral.
AI is no longer a tool — it is part of authorship
Artificial intelligence has moved well beyond post-production assistance. It is now embedded across the entire filmmaking process — from concept development and screenwriting to editing, visual effects and distribution strategy.
The question confronting cinema is no longer whether AI will be used, but how it should be used — and under whose responsibility.
Cannes’ choice is telling. Rather than excluding AI in the name of purity, it has chosen to define the rules of engagement. In doing so, the festival implicitly recognizes that artistic integrity in the AI era will not come from rejection, but from clear standards rooted in human judgment, authorship and ethics.
Kyoto, Wuxi — and Seoul: a new cinematic triangle
The partner cities selected by Cannes are no accident.
Kyoto represents the coexistence of tradition and technology. Long a cradle of Japanese aesthetics, the city has quietly nurtured innovation in animation, gaming and media art — disciplines that already blur the line between human craftsmanship and computational creativity.
Wuxi, meanwhile, reflects scale and infrastructure. As one of China’s major AI research hubs, it embodies the industrial and technological capacity shaping mass content production in the digital age.
And then there is Seoul.
Through the World AI Film Festival Seoul (WAIFF Seoul) — increasingly referred to as the Seoul Cannes AI Film Festival — the city is positioning itself not as a manufacturing base or a showcase of technical prowess, but as a global laboratory for AI-era storytelling.
WAIFF Seoul’s emphasis is not on what AI can do, but on what stories should be told when AI becomes ubiquitous. Cannes’ partnership signals recognition that Seoul has become a critical node in shaping the narrative and ethical discourse of AI cinema.
Public media meets AI cinema
A defining pillar of this ecosystem is the strategic collaboration between KBS N and WAIFF Seoul. Beginning in 2026, the partnership aims to build a global platform spanning AI-based content, media and entertainment.
KBS N brings institutional credibility and production expertise as a public broadcaster. WAIFF Seoul contributes its curatorial focus and international network. Together, they aim to turn AI film from a one-off spectacle into a sustainable creative ecosystem.
Notably, selected WAIFF Seoul works will be structurally linked to Cannes-associated stages, offering Korean and international creators a tangible pathway to global exposure. This is less about trophies than continuity — an annual circuit designed to nurture, evaluate and elevate AI-driven cinema over time.
What WAIFF Seoul actually curates
The festival’s design reflects a clear philosophy.
First, AI storytelling competition. Works are judged not on technical novelty, but on narrative responsibility, emotional coherence and human intent. The central question is not whether AI was used, but why and how.
Second, AI production workflow showcases, offering transparency into real-world creative processes — from planning to post-production — for filmmakers and industry professionals alike.
Third, international conferences and panels bringing together directors, engineers, scholars and media executives to confront unresolved issues surrounding authorship, copyright, ethics and labor.
Finally, next-generation creator programs aimed at mentoring young filmmakers and technical creators, recognizing that the future of cinema depends on hybrid talent fluent in both storytelling and technology.
Cannes’ embrace of AI does not signal a future dominated by machines. If anything, it sharpens the opposite question: what becomes of cinema when technology is no longer the differentiator?
As AI tools become widely accessible, creative value shifts back to meaning, worldview and emotional depth. In that sense, the emerging AI film festival triangle — Cannes, Kyoto, Wuxi and Seoul — is less about competition than conversation.
WAIFF Seoul positions itself squarely within this dialogue, advancing a simple but firm premise: AI is a tool; responsibility remains human. The more powerful the technology, the greater the need for authorship, restraint and cultural sensitivity.
History may record 2026 as the year AI cinema moved from the margins to the center of global film discourse. Cannes has asked the defining question of the era: What should cinema be in the age of AI?
One possible answer is now taking shape in Seoul.
*The author is the President of Global Economic and Financial Research Institute (GEFRI) and an AJP columnist.
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