The AI Film Season of the seventh Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF) closed on Dec. 11, ending a five-day program that explored how artificial intelligence is integrating into the creative process.

Organizers, AI film creators, guests and volunteers pose for a group photo at the closing ceremony of the AI Film Season of the seventh Hainan Island International Film Festival in Sanya, Hainan province, Dec. 11, 2024. [Photo courtesy of HIIFF Organizing Committee]

The event, co-hosted by the Today Art Museum AI Art Innovation Alliance (AIAIA) and Lenovo, featured 18 sessions including exhibitions, dialogues and performances. Organizers said the program aimed to build a cross-border platform for global creators, thinkers and industry pioneers to chart the future of film while preserving humanistic values amid rapid technological change.

Zhang Huawei, a representative of the HIIFF executive committee, said AI is reshaping the entire process of film creation with unprecedented depth. However, he emphasized that "technology with soul" and humanism remain fundamental elements of powerful cinema.

Victoria Lu, a curator and vice chair of the AIAIA, described the current era as a time of "carbon-silicon symbiosis." She stated that art is a sensitive but resilient bridge between people and technology.

Lu said the AI Film Season was a valuable exercise in recasting human emotion, judgment and intuition into the technological field. She encouraged creators to "confront technological certainty with human complexity" through persistent effort.

Fan Jinshuai, a Baidu executive, noted that the company's AI-generated content ecosystem allows people to experience both technology and the passion of creation. "While AI can provide wings for creation to reach new heights, the core of creation can never be replaced," Fan said.

The Publicly Funded Lunar Travel Team receives a top award from organizers of the 72-Hour AI Filmmaking Hackathon at the AI Film Season of the seventh Hainan Island International Film Festival in Sanya, Hainan province, Dec. 11, 2024. [Photo courtesy of HIIFF Organizing Committee]

The season included a 72-Hour AI Filmmaking Hackathon, a competition challenging 10 teams to produce short films from concept to final cut within three days using AI.

Organizers said the hackathon aimed to test human-machine collaboration under strict deadlines, with films judged on technical breakthroughs and emotional depth.

The Publicly Funded Lunar Travel Team won the hackathon's Jury's Choice Award, while three other teams received the AI Vanguard Prize.

During a panel session on the global AI film ecosystem, Xie Limei, the season's lead curator, led a discussion with representatives from the MIT AI Film Festival, HarvardXR and iQiyi. The panelists agreed that future creators must merge artistic sensibility with technical expertise and cross-disciplinary skills. They also said platforms are responsible for developing user-friendly tools, sustainable incentive models and global communication networks.

Xie announced the AIAIA will partner with iQiyi, the MIT AI Film Festival and the Seattle AI Film Festival to promote Chinese AI film creators globally.

A panel session on global AI film ecosystem is held during the AI Film Season of the seventh Hainan Island International Film Festival in Sanya, Hainan province, Dec. 11, 2025. [Photo courtesy of HIIFF Organizing Committee]

The program included three AI film masterclasses, offering frame-by-frame analysis of narrative, imagery and music. Four selected works — "The Three Gardens Game," "Greedy Nightmare," "A Dog, A Son" and "Chit" — served as key case studies, with their directors sharing insights into the creative process.

Meanwhile, multiple salons brought together curators, writers, scholars and creators to discuss the relationship between technology, text and humanity.

The "Future Visuals" exhibition and an AI film international screening event highlighted global AI developments. Additionally, the AIAIA collaborated with iQiyi to release an online playlist of nearly 100 works.

The event also featured an electronic music performance by AI artist Yang Yue and DJ Demone, who used AI to reconstruct and reinterpret classic film scores.