# Venice-Set Reply AI Film Festival Unveils Finalists & Jury Featuring Gabriele Salvatores, Catherine Hardwicke & Jed Weintrob

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/venice-set-reply-ai-film-festival-unveils-finalists-jury-featuring-gabriele-salvatores-catherine-hardwicke-jed-weintrob/
- Published: 2026-07-28T13:59:22+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-28T14:05:50+00:00
- Original publisher: Deadline
- Original article: https://deadline.com/2026/07/venice-set-reply-ai-film-festival-jury-gabriele-salvatores-1237005581/
- Topics: AI, Entertainment, Europe, Film, Technology, World

## Key points

- Third edition of Reply AI Film Festival selects ten finalists from 3,000 AI-generated short films for September awards at Venice
- Prestigious jury features Oscar-winner Gabriele Salvatores and Hollywood directors; three awards including UN Sustainable Development Goals focus
- Venice Film Festival marks milestone with first officially selected AI-created feature film in parallel programming

## Summary

The Reply AI Film Festival, in its third year, will present its awards at Venice Film Festival this September after selecting ten finalists from a pool of three thousand short films created using artificial intelligence tools. The selection process, based around the 2026 theme of "Imaginatio Nova", resulted in a diverse range of works exploring narratives from contemporary global conflicts to speculative futures.

The festival's adjudication panel includes Academy Award-winning director Gabriele Salvatores alongside acclaimed filmmakers Rob Minkoff and Catherine Hardwicke, supported by visual effects specialists, production professionals, and international development representatives. The ceremony will confer three distinctions: a main award for the strongest short film, a recognition for works addressing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and a prize for outstanding innovation in artificial intelligence use throughout production. The event occurs concurrently with Venice Film Festival's historic debut of an officially selected feature film created through artificial intelligence.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.