Answers to common questions about AI-made films, how we rate them, and the terminology you'll see across the site.
An AI film is a movie, short, or series whose visuals, voices, music, or editing were substantially produced using generative AI models — text-to-video systems like Runway, Sora, Kling, or Higgsfield, voice and music generators, and AI-assisted editing tools. Most AI films still involve a human director, writer, or editor guiding the process; the AI replaces or augments cameras, sets, actors, and visual effects rather than the creative decisions behind them.
Ratings on AI Films Rated are an average of visitor reviews, shown as a score out of 5 stars alongside a review count on each film's page. We rate films the same way regardless of which tools were used to make them — story, pacing, and craft matter the same way they would for a live-action film. A film's "Tools used" section and review count are shown separately so you can judge both the technical pipeline and the finished result.
Just like traditional film, AI films are directed by people. An AI director on this site is a filmmaker who uses generative tools as their primary production pipeline — writing prompts, selecting takes, and assembling a final cut — rather than an AI system making creative decisions on its own. Each director's page lists which films, tools, and studios they're associated with.
Yes. A growing number of festivals now program or specifically showcase AI-made work, from dedicated AI film festivals to AI categories inside established events, and some AI shorts have gone on to win craft awards such as Best Editing. We note festival selections and awards directly on a film's page when they're part of its public record.
It depends on the film. Some AI films are fully synthetic, with every character generated by the model. Others combine real performances with AI tools, for example re-rendering a filmed performance with a different visual style, or using a performer's likeness with their consent and guild approval. We note this kind of sourcing in a film's description and tools section when it's publicly documented.
Traditional VFX adds or enhances specific shots inside an otherwise conventionally filmed project — a CGI creature in a live-action scene, for instance. An AI film instead generates most or all of its footage directly from a model, often from a text prompt or a reference image, without a camera, set, or in many cases live actors ever being involved.