Opening Signal
A live welcome from the city, the edition manifesto and a first look at the films defining its creative signal.
INAUGURAL EDITION
CIRCUIT 13 / 52 · SYD · 2026
CIRCUIT 13 / 52 · SYD · 2026
● Oceania · 2026 INAUGURAL EDITION ARCHIVE
SYDNEY
AI CINEMA
FESTIVAL
Ocean Futures / Spectacle with Soul. One global screen for cinema with authorship, craft and emotional force.
01 / THE CITY SIGNAL
A CREATIVE TERRITORY, NOT A TOURIST POSTCARD
OCEAN FUTURES
SPECTACLE WITH SOUL
Sydney pairs the scale of the ocean with cinematic confidence, searching for spectacular films whose emotional architecture is just as ambitious.
- Format
- One day, online worldwide
- Edition
- INAUGURAL EDITION
- Date
- Sunday, Mar 29, 2026
- Submission deadline
- Sunday, Mar 15, 2026
- Time zone
- Australia/Sydney
- Creative signal
- Ocean Futures / Spectacle with Soul
SYD / 2026.03.29ONE DAY / ONE CITY SIGNAL / ONE GLOBAL SCREEN
THE
PROGRAMME
+
Competition Screens
Curated online programmes across narrative, animation, documentary, experimental work and future formats.
The Directors’ Room
Selected filmmakers discuss authorship, process, rights, responsible practice and the new language of cinema.
Award Gala — Live Online
The global audience reconnects for jury awards, the audience prize and the World Championship qualifier.
02 / CITY DESK
LOCAL EDITION / GLOBAL ONLINE DELIVERY
LOCAL
PRESENCE.
GLOBAL REACH.
SYD
Sydney Broadcast Desk
The city desk coordinates filmmaker access, programme communications, live-gala production and local partnerships. Audience screenings and the Award Gala are delivered online worldwide; registered guests receive access instructions directly.
Contact the Sydney desk ↗03 / THE AWARDS
CINEMA, JUDGED AS CINEMA
SYDNEY
AWARDS
More ways to recognise the whole film: story, direction, performance, image, sound, innovation and transparent human authorship.
CITY SIGNATURE AWARDSydney Creative Signal — Ocean Futures / Spectacle with Soul
01Grand Prizes
City Grand PrixBest AI FilmJury PrizeAudience AwardGlobal Championship Qualifier
02Formats
Narrative FeatureNarrative ShortAnimationDocumentaryExperimental FilmMusic VideoFashion FilmCommercial StorytellingSeries PilotMicro ShortVertical CinemaImmersive / XRInteractive FilmStudent FilmYouth Film
03Cinematic Craft
DirectionScreenplayCinematographyEditingProduction DesignVisual EffectsCharacter DesignAnimation CraftPerformanceVoice PerformanceSound DesignOriginal ScoreOriginal SongColourTitle SequenceWorld-BuildingCreature DesignAction Choreography
04Genre, Impact + Innovation
Science FictionFantasyHorrorComedyClimate StorytellingSocial ImpactHuman–AI CollaborationResponsible AI PracticeTechnical InnovationBreakthrough Filmmaker
SYDNEY / SUNDAY
MAR 29, 2026 / ONLINE WORLDWIDE
SUBMISSIONS CLOSE MAR 15, 2026
NO VIDEO UPLOAD · YOUTUBE OR GOOGLE DRIVE LINK