Zoubeir Jlassi

Zoubeir Jlassi is a Tunisian graphic designer and filmmaker. Google's Middle East blog calls him a "visionary graphic designer and filmmaker from Tunisia", and the press that covered his win also call him a Tunisian director. Some outlets spell his name Zoubeir ElJlassi or Zoubaier Jelassi.

His best-known work is Lily, a roughly nine-minute French-language short made with Google's generative AI tools, including Gemini, Veo, Imagen and Flow. It follows a lonely archivist whose life unravels after a hit-and-run, when a doll lodges in his car bumper and becomes a reminder of his guilt. He confesses to the police and returns the doll to the injured child. One report says the film is named after his daughter, who inspired the story. Google says Veo gave the film its gloomy look, Flow gave control over scenes and styles, and Gemini helped with storyboarding and character design.

Lily won the AI Film Award at the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai in January 2026, worth $1 million. The award was run with Google Gemini, required at least 70% generative AI from Google's tools, and drew about 3,500 submissions from 116 countries. A jury of 40 experts shortlisted 100 films, and Lily went from a shortlist of 12 to the final five. The prize was presented by Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The jury praised how he blended human emotion with technology.