The Tyrannus Foundation has named 34 films to the official selection of its 2026 Tyrannus Angel Awards, a prize for filmmaking made with AI, according to a press release the foundation issued on 1 October. It says the list was drawn from 636 entries from 84 countries, and that winners will be revealed on 24 October at its AI Film Summit Los Angeles, held at City Club Los Angeles.
The selection is spread widely. The US entries include Unbreakable by Sebastian Rangel, PRIZMA 1984 by Victor Korchik and The Strawberry Cake by Bluesky Lan. Others the foundation lists include Candy by Jiaze Li (UK), Apocalypse Squad by Chao-Hsien Tseng (Taiwan), Noor by Nishtha Shailajan (India), Peking Opera Paradise by Jiayang Liang (China), Gabbit A Promise Kept by Wonnam Chai (South Korea), L'Ultimo Volo by Leonard Menchiari (Italy), The Bin Chicken by Sejun Hwang (Australia) and Loud Silence by Ihor Khoroshylov (Ukraine), alongside work from France, Brazil, Bangladesh, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkiye and Russia. Two titles come from Africa's north coast: HOPE by Nabil El Allouche and ECHO by Yassine Temime. China and the US have four titles each and India three. Colombian filmmaker Guillermo Jose Trujillo has three titles on it. The foundation says the list is in no order and that a place on it does not guarantee an award.
According to the release, the jury weighed five things: visual craft, inventive use of AI, storytelling, emotional effect and what the foundation calls the expression of hope and humanity. It says many entries were technically polished, but that the final cut favoured films whose images serve the story and leave viewers with something to take away.
Nine prizes will be given, for direction, screenplay and production in three strands: original work, adaptation and animation. Four special mentions will be announced on the day, their names held back until then. The ceremony is the centrepiece of a summit that runs from 1pm to 7pm.
The foundation takes its name from the school of Tyrannus where the apostle Paul taught, which it presents as a model of exchange across faiths and nations, while "Angel" points to Los Angeles. It casts the awards as a route into film for creators who could not afford conventional production, in the hope that recognition carries back to the places they come from.
The summit runs on the afternoon of 24 October. Besides the ceremony, the foundation, which also organises the summit, promises a screening room for winning films, a Creator Lab demonstrating AI filmmaking workflows, and sessions on production, careers, distribution and intellectual property. Winners are also to get showcase pages on AISCENIX, which the release describes as a place for audiences to find the films and the people behind them after the event. The foundation says its wider aim is to link recognition to real opportunities, giving AI filmmakers a way to meet industry professionals and find collaborators. Tickets and details are on the summit's website.
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