Higgsfield has named the winners of its Global Film Festival, a $1,000,000 contest for AI-made films, in a YouTube premiere. The results page lists every prize film with a link to watch it, and the changelog entry is dated 1 November 2026.
“Funny, moving, thoughtful and visually inventive.”
Alex Proyas, festival juror, on Meh, on the festival page · higgsfield.ai ↗
First place and $500,000 went to Meh, about a gaucho whose daily routine is upset by a sheep that keeps coming back to his roof. Fukushima, about a veteran engineer who trusts his plant to survive a disaster, took $200,000, and The Field Agent, in which a drive-in's biggest movie fan gets a mission, won $100,000. The Tortoise and the Hare, about rabbits entering a forbidden tomb, won the $100,000 Audience Choice prize. Ten honorable mentions received $10,000 each, and each film could win only one prize.
A jury of Edwin Catmull, Phedon Papamichael, Paul W. S. Anderson and Alex Proyas chose the top three and the mentions, scoring directing and storytelling, visual craft, sound and editing, and originality. Audience Choice went to the film with the most valid votes from paid-plan users. The festival page counts 5,000 final films from 67,223 projects started, with 55,628 participants in 176 countries.
The gold trophy artwork for first place
Image: Higgsfield
The schedule had slipped: on 5 October Higgsfield pushed the shortlist and voting to 8 October and jury review to 9-14 October, promising winners in the last week of the month. Rules also loosened in August, so no paid plan was needed to enter and creators kept their copyright. Higgsfield keeps broad marketing rights.
About Higgsfield
Higgsfield has pushed hard to establish itself as a leading AI video company. In January 2026 it extended its Series A by $80 million, bringing the round to $130 million at a $1.3 billion valuation, and reported 15 million users and a $200 million annual revenue run rate.
In August it raised $400 million at a $5.4 billion valuation, saying business customers now bring most of its revenue. It announced this festival the same month with Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull on the jury. Early terms requiring subscriptions drew criticism, and the rules were then changed so that no paid plan was needed and creators kept their copyright.
2023
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Alongside the results, Higgsfield opened Higgsfield Talent, a separate support program for filmmakers its creative team selects.
Jury member Paul W. S. Anderson, as pictured on the festival page
Image: Higgsfield