Warsaw Glitch 2026 Offers $50,000 Prize Pool as Film Deadline Nears

Filmmakers worldwide can submit AI-assisted, hybrid and new-technology work to the inaugural Warsaw Glitch festival until 25 August, with the event taking place at Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science from 28–30 August 2026.

A new international festival focused on filmmaking, animation and emerging creative technology has entered the final stage of submissions for its inaugural edition.

Warsaw Glitch — International Digital Motion Festival is accepting films until 25 August 2026, ahead of its first edition at Kinoteka in Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science from 28–30 August.

FilmFreeway records the festival’s submission cycle as having opened on 28 June 2026. Warsaw Glitch’s own submission schedule, however, marks 18 August as the beginning of its public open-call phase, following an earlier curated stage that established roughly one-third of the programme.

The festival is offering a $50,000 total prize pool, combining cash and in-kind prizes across its competitive sections. Selected award categories also provide a pathway to the global Chroma Awards, the AI film and media competition incubated by ElevenLabs.

What films can enter Warsaw Glitch?

Warsaw Glitch accepts work across film, animation and digital formats, including:

• Film and hybrid work
• Animation
• Documentary
• Online, social and vertical video
• Music videos
• Student films

Films must have been completed after 1 September 2025.

There is no maximum running time, and entries can be submitted in any language provided films with non-English dialogue include English subtitles.

The festival specifically welcomes projects created using generative AI and hybrid production methods, while emphasising that human authorship, creative direction and artistic intent should remain central to the work.

That makes the competition relevant not only to fully AI-driven projects but also to filmmakers experimenting with emerging tools within live action, animation, visual effects and post-production workflows.

$50,000 prize pool — but not all of it is cash

Warsaw Glitch advertises a total prize pool of $50,000, distributed across approximately 20 award categories.

Filmmakers should note that this does not mean $50,000 in cash alone. The festival describes the total as a combination of cash and in-kind prizes, and does not currently publish a specific cash amount for every award category.

The festival’s principal honour is the Golden Glitch Grand Prix, selected from its international film competition.

Other categories recognise work across documentary, animation, directing, screenplay, editing, visual effects, sound design, music video, online content and student filmmaking.

Winners can progress towards the Chroma Awards

One of the more distinctive elements of Warsaw Glitch is its relationship with the Chroma Awards.

Warsaw Glitch states that winners in marked categories can become regional selections for the global Chroma Awards, including categories covering documentary, animation, European and Central and Eastern European filmmaking, directing and several digital-film disciplines.

The Chroma Awards began as Project Odyssey and are incubated by ElevenLabs. The competition has developed into a global programme centred on AI-assisted film and media, with its upcoming season advertising more than $250,000 in cash prizes alongside development, distribution and industry opportunities.

A Warsaw Glitch award should therefore not be confused with Academy Award or BAFTA qualification. The pathway is specifically into the emerging Chroma Awards ecosystem.

How much does it cost to submit?

Submission fees depend on the competition category.

For the main Film category, FilmFreeway currently lists late-period fees of:

Standard: $25
Student: $13.50
FilmFreeway Gold: $18.75

For Animation, the corresponding late-period fees are:

Standard: $22.50
Student: $12
FilmFreeway Gold: $17

Other categories carry their own submission prices, so filmmakers should check the fee for the section they intend to enter rather than assuming one price applies across the festival.

Students at partner institutions may also be eligible to request submission-fee waivers.

Understanding the unusual submission timeline

Warsaw Glitch’s submission schedule deserves some explanation because the festival website and FilmFreeway describe different stages of the process.

FilmFreeway lists:

Opening date: 28 June 2026
Earlybird deadline: 7 July 2026
Regular deadline: 28 July 2026
Late deadline: 25 August 2026

Warsaw Glitch’s own website separately describes its programming process as:

28 July: Closed call
18 August: Open call
25 August: Final deadline
26 August: Selection notification

The festival explains that roughly one-third of the programme was established through its earlier curated phase, while the remainder is being filled through the public call.

The most accurate way to understand the timeline is therefore that submissions have been available through FilmFreeway since 28 June, while 18 August marks the festival’s broader public open-call stage rather than the opening of submissions altogether.

Notification dates differ slightly

Warsaw Glitch’s website says filmmakers will be notified on 26 August 2026.

FilmFreeway currently lists the notification date as 27 August.

Because the festival begins immediately afterwards on 28 August, entrants should expect decisions around 26–27 August and rely on direct communication from the organisers for their final status.

A first edition built around film and emerging technology

Warsaw Glitch describes its inaugural event as bringing film, entertainment and technology together through five programme areas:

• GLITCH
• ANIMATICON
• PIXEL
• International Producers Forum
• GLITCH Academy

The programme is expected to include competition screenings, discussions around generative filmmaking, virtual-production workshops, hackathons, professional sessions, pitching activities and educational events.

The public festival area is free to attend with registration, while the International Producers Forum operates separately through professional accreditation.

For filmmakers following short film competitions that are experimenting with AI and hybrid production, Warsaw Glitch is an unusual addition to the international festival calendar.

Deadline: 25 August 2026

The final submission deadline is:

25 August 2026

That leaves only a short window for filmmakers to enter.

Given the limited time remaining, filmmakers should not rush an unfinished project solely to meet the deadline. But those who already have eligible AI-assisted, hybrid, documentary, animation or digital work completed after September 2025 may find the festival worth evaluating because of its international scope, prize pool and connection to the Chroma Awards.

As a first-edition festival, Warsaw Glitch does not yet have the track record of established international short-film events. Its combination of film competition, emerging-production technology and industry programming nevertheless makes it an initiative worth watching as AI-assisted filmmaking continues to develop its own festival and awards ecosystem.