‘Being’ wins award for best AI visualised film at IFFI 2025

As artificial intelligence makes inroads into entertainment in a big way, the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa saw a landmark moment with the launch of country’s first AI film festivaI, Cinema AI Hackathon 2025. Winning big at the fete is Being, a production of Indywood, which received the award for the Best AI Visualised Film.

Curated by IFFI in association with NFDC and LTIMindtree, the CinemaAI Hackathon had over 500 participants from 18 countries. The 48-hour competition saw top 10 teams creating a two-minute film on the theme revealed at the event.

A still from Being
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Being, which is set in misty terrains of north Kerala, is about a boy who has feared oracles throughout his life, thanks to tales narrated by his grandmother, popular village fables and the sound of the temple drum. A key inspiration for the film has been how Kummatty (a figure from folklore) instilled fear in young minds. In Being, as memories merge, the boy envisions the same figure becoming his saviour.

A still from Being
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Being was screened at Waves, Film Bazaar. Story is by Sumesh Lal and visualisation has been done by Alby Nataraj, with creative support by Bichu Venu.

Other winners at the hackathon were The Red Crayon by Kalpanik for Best AI Film, Remory by Atomeist for Most Innovative AI Film, Lost and Found by Samresh Shrivastava for Best Storytelling, and Final Monsoon Echo by Rajesh Bhosle for Best Sound Design.