“Black Box,” directed by Peter Majarich, wins the Grand Prix at the first DISRUPT AI Film Festival

Australia’s first DISRUPT AI Film Festival (DAIFF), held at ACMI in Melbourne, has announced the winners of its first Gen AI film, with Black Box, directed by Peter Majarich, taking home the Grand Prix.

Taking place during Australia’s AI Week 2025, DAIFF contributes to the country’s broader efforts to build practical AI capabilities in the areas of creativity, culture and technology.

Australia’s first dedicated Gen AI film festival, DAIFF, was created to fill a clear gap: Australia was seeing growing interest and experimentation, but no national mechanism to see the work, question the tools or connect talent with industry. The goal was simple and focused: to shift the discussion about creative AI from “we think” to “we know,” using evidence rather than opinion.

The festival’s first year saw 371 films received, of which 38 were shortlisted, representing 67 hours of AI-generated storytelling, almost as long as all eight series of Game of Thrones.

An early analysis of this data set shows how…