A groundbreaking collaboration between IMAX and Runway is set to elevate AI-generated cinema from digital scrolls to the grandeur of the big screen. Next month, 10 finalist films from Runway’s 2025 AI Film Festival will be showcased across major U.S. cities—Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. From August 17 to August 20, each location will host four screenings, totaling 40 showings nationwide.

This marks a pivotal moment in digital storytelling—AI films stepping into the elite realm of IMAX, a platform historically reserved for cinematic giants.

“The IMAX Experience has long been synonymous with visionary filmmakers pushing the boundaries of cinema,” said Jonathan Fischer, IMAX’s chief content officer. “We’re thrilled to expand our canvas and embrace a new wave of creators as technology and narrative evolve in unprecedented ways.”

The selected films, ranging from 2 to 10 minutes in length, will become available for online viewing following their IMAX premieres.

AI Vision Meets Cinematic Scale

Among the featured works is One, directed by Ricardo Villavicencio and Edward Saatchi. It follows a group of transhumans who flee a dying Earth only to encounter tormented souls on a distant planet, desperate to reclaim their humanity. “Picture a surreal sci-fi masterpiece stretched across the IMAX screen,” Villavicencio shared via email. Another standout, Jailbird by Andrew Salter, delivers a bizarre tale of a chicken sentenced to human prison—its surreal narrative amplified by IMAX’s powerful audiovisual immersion.

“These films showcase an extraordinary level of creativity, technical skill, and narrative depth—qualities that demand a premium cinematic experience,” said Cristóbal Valenzuela, co-founder and CEO of Runway.

Runway’s platform enables video generation from text, images, or clips, and this year’s event marks its third annual AI Film Festival—an initiative dedicated to celebrating artists exploring the frontiers of AI in filmmaking.

Forbes‘Grammys Of AI Music’? New Global Awards Launch, Now Accepting EntriesBy Leslie KatzThis year’s judging panel included Bruce Markoe, head of post-production and image capture at IMAX; Kia Brooks, deputy director of the Gotham Film and Media Institute; Joel Kuwahara, an Emmy-winning producer; and Daniel Revkoe, a visual effects artist from Lionsgate. From a pool of 6,000 submissions—twice as many as last year—the jury selected the finalists.

As AI continues to reshape creative industries, debates persist around its role in art. While some creators are inspired by AI’s ability to unlock novel ideas, others worry about ethical concerns, including unauthorized data usage and the potential displacement of human artists.

When I spoke with Valenzuela last year, he emphasized AI’s role as a creative partner, not a replacement.

“We often expect AI to do everything—write full scripts, produce entire films, compose symphonies—but that’s not the goal,” he explained. “Artists decide how to engage with the technology. It’s a tool, and the creative control remains in their hands.”

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