From Innovation to Regulation: How Film Festivals Respond to GenAI in Contemporary Cinema

    Generative AI (GenAI) has emerged as a transformative force in filmmaking, influencing processes from scriptwriting to post-production. While existing studies have examined the technical and economic implications of AI in creative industries, less attention has been paid to its ethical and aesthetic dimensions—especially within the regulatory frameworks of film festivals. As cultural gatekeepers and curators of cinematic value, domestic festivals such as the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) and Beijing International Film Festival (BIFF) offer a compelling vantage point for understanding how GenAI is being integrated into contemporary filmmaking.    This study investigates how major domestic film festivals perceive and regulate GenAI-assisted films. It asks: How do these festivals evaluate AI-generated content? What ethical and authorship frameworks, if any, are emerging? And how do their approaches compare with those of leading international festivals such as Cannes and Berlinale? Drawing on comparative analysis of programming practices, jury statements, and official regulations, the study finds that while international festivals have begun to establish evaluative criteria concerning originality, transparency, and creative agency, domestic counterparts remain in a more exploratory phase. Despite openness to technological innovation, a lack of institutional clarity raises concerns about artistic responsibility and ethical accountability in AI-generated cinema.    By highlighting regulatory asymmetries and discursive silences, this paper contributes to ongoing debates on creative labor, authorship, and the ethics of machine-generated media. It calls for clearer frameworks within domestic film institutions, informed by international dialogue and grounded in evolving aesthetic norms, to foster responsible and inclusive innovation in the age of GenAI.