Babelsberg // The First AI Film Hackathon in Berlin
Script to screen in 48 hours! Hybrid: Filmmaking meets AI.
Mid-November 2026
Babelsberg, Berlin
Free · Application-based
Limited to 100 spots
Tradition meets state of the art.
AI is changing how films get made. Most people are still watching from the sidelines. This weekend, you'll take action. It's a 48-hour, in-person filmmaking hackathon: you align on the pipeline Friday, start building the moment the clock starts, and premiere it on Sunday. Idea to screen in one weekend.
No magic promises. AI is not the perfect solution for everything. You'll leave knowing exactly where AI helps your film, and where it doesn't make sense for you to use it.
A warm-up and hands-on session across the full pipeline before the 48-hour clock starts at 17:00. One shared toolset, one delivery spec, so no team loses Saturday to tool confusion. Teams form, and building starts the moment the clock hits zero.
Build and shoot on the premises of legendary Babelsberg. Directors and AI specialists unblock you all weekend.
Your film premieres at a real cinema on the grounds of Babelsberg with awards, in front of a full house.
Premiered in a cinema, in front of a full house, not a rough cut on a hard drive.
A real concept-to-edit workflow you can run again on Monday morning.
You finish with a real short and the files to go with it. Where you send it next is up to you.
Working directors and AI specialists all weekend.
A weekend with people who make things, not just talk about making them.
You've generated images, moved them, cut something together, and you want to find out what you can do with a real crew, a real deadline and a real screen. That's the room. You don't have to be an expert, but you should arrive knowing the tools: the weekend is for making, not for learning the basics. Films need every role. Come solo or with friends: teams form at the event.
You're there for the full weekend, Friday morning to Sunday night. Teams depend on each other; half-committed teammates break a film.
Organised by Filmmakers & Movie Nerds e.V., a nonprofit creator community, and filmakers.ai, our AI filmmaking lab. Zero gatekeeping, community first.
Filmmakers & Movie Nerds has been running the Movie Sprint for years: crews formed on the spot, films finished in a single weekend, premiered to a full house. Cameras, actors, real sets. AI Filmhack is the next one.
Almost nothing. The event is free. We're a nonprofit community. You bring your laptop and 48 hours of your weekend.
Yes. You should already be comfortable with AI image, video and audio tools and know your way around an edit. You don't need to be a pro, but if you'd be opening these tools for the first time on Friday, you'd spend the weekend learning instead of making, and that's frustrating for you and your team. If that's you, come to our meetups and workshops first and apply for the next edition.
Yes. Ahead of the weekend we run meetups and workshops on filmmaking and AI through filmakers.ai: that's where you build the skills if you're not there yet. On Friday itself, there's a Warm Up Session to align everyone on the pipeline before the 48-hour clock starts at 17:00. It's a refresher, not a beginner course.
At Babelsberg, where 100 years of film history meets AI. Exact venue details go out to accepted participants.
No. Come solo or with friends. Teams form at the event. Tell us in your application what roles you can play and we'll help you find your crew.
Your laptop, a charger, and your full attention for the whole weekend. We handle the pipeline, the mentors, the screen and the snacks.
Fill in the 5-minute application. We review on a rolling basis and email acceptances. Earlier applications have the best shot, since spots are capped at 100.
We run lean and nonprofit. We're not after a headline cheque. We're after what makes the weekend real: tool credits, prizes, and catering. In return, your brand sits at the meeting point of 100 years of Babelsberg film history and cutting-edge AI, in front of 100+ filmmakers actually using your product, plus everything they make and share.
100 years of Babelsberg film history meets cutting-edge AI, in one weekend. 100 creators, 30+ teams, 48 hours, one cinema premiere: a real story about the future of filmmaking being made, live, on legendary ground. We can arrange interviews, on-site access across the weekend, and coverage of the closing screening.