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 42 / 52 · CHI · 2026
CIRCUIT 42 / 52 · CHI · 2026
● North America · INAUGURAL EDITION · ONE DAY ONLINE
CHICAGO
AI CINEMA
FESTIVAL
Architecture, Music / Weather. One global screen for cinema with authorship, craft and emotional force.
01 / THE CITY SIGNAL
A CREATIVE TERRITORY, NOT A TOURIST POSTCARD
ARCHITECTURE, MUSIC
WEATHER
Chicago builds cinema from architecture, music and weather—strong structures, deep rhythm and stories able to withstand pressure.
- Format
- One day, online worldwide
- Edition
- INAUGURAL EDITION
- Date
- Sunday, Oct 18, 2026
- Submission deadline
- Sunday, Oct 4, 2026
- Time zone
- America/Chicago
- Creative signal
- Architecture, Music / Weather
CHI / 2026.10.18ONE 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.
CHI
Chicago 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 Chicago desk ↗03 / THE AWARDS
CINEMA, JUDGED AS CINEMA
CHICAGO
AWARDS
More ways to recognise the whole film: story, direction, performance, image, sound, innovation and transparent human authorship.
CITY SIGNATURE AWARDChicago Creative Signal — Architecture, Music / Weather
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
CHICAGO / SUNDAY
OCT 18, 2026 / ONLINE WORLDWIDE
SUBMISSIONS CLOSE OCT 4, 2026
NO VIDEO UPLOAD · YOUTUBE OR GOOGLE DRIVE LINK