Summary:
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A new animation frontier emerges with AI, as Frame Forward festival celebrates blending technology and imagination.
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Winning filmmaker gets national theatrical release, immersive adaptation, and online and theater showcase for their AI-assisted film.
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Frame Forward festival offers creators a pathway into traditional theatrical spaces, acknowledging the role of AI in animation.
A new frontier in animation is taking shape, driven by creators experimenting with AI as both tool and collaborator. Modern Uprising Studios, in partnership with Screenvision Media, has introduced Frame Forward, promoted as the first global festival centered on animated films that combine artificial intelligence with traditional direction.
Submissions are open through Dec. 30, and the winning filmmaker won’t just get bragging rights. Their short film will play in theaters across the country in March 2026, giving AI-assisted animation a moment on the same screens that run $200 million blockbusters.
AI has quietly become embedded in the workflows of many animators, even as larger studios continue to debate its place. Frame Forward accepts that reality and approaches AI as a tool that can support a director’s vision instead of something the industry should avoid.
According to Modern Uprising President Joel Roodman, the festival celebrates the possibilities that come from blending technology with imagination.
“Frame Forward is about celebrating the incredible possibilities that emerge when technology and human creativity come together,” Roodman said. “We want to give animators and filmmakers the distribution and infrastructure to push the boundaries of their craft.”
Finalists will have their trailers showcased both online and across 14,000 screens in 2,300 theaters, thanks to Screenvision’s national preshow network — essentially a nationwide spotlight for creators who’ve mostly lived online.
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The winning filmmaker receives a national theatrical release through Screenvision, plus something even rarer: an immersive adaptation using Celeste, Modern Uprising’s proprietary 360-degree rendering engine originally developed under the U.S. Air Force.
Celeste can turn standard 2D video into fully navigable environments. In other words, your short film could become a walk-inside-it world.
Screenvision’s Ted Bolan sees this moment as a turning point.
“Frame Forward showcases the evolution of Generative AI, highlighting how filmmakers are using these tools to push the creative envelope and bring their stories to life,” he said.
Debates around AI animation continue to dominate social platforms, with critics split over whether it represents artistic innovation or a threat to the industry. Frame Forward takes a more pragmatic stance. It acknowledges the creators who are already working with these tools and offers them a pathway into traditional theatrical spaces that the internet alone has not consistently provided.
Creators worldwide can apply now at frameforward.ai and follow @ModernUprising for updates. The only rule: AI must be part of the creative or production process. The rest is up to the filmmakers.
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