Ten cities, one Grand Finale.
25-27 February 2027 Naples. Provisional dates.
Generated. GPT image.
Road to Cannes is the World AI Film Festival circuit.
There are 11 stops worldwide, and the last is the WAIFF Grand Finale at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. WAIFF Napoli is the only Italian stop.
The circuit, stop by stop
-
Beijing
- Country
- China
- Date
- 21 September 2026
- Submissions
- not announced
-
Buenos Aires
- Country
- Argentina
- Date
- 30 October 2026
- Submissions
- closed
-
Istanbul
- Country
- Turkey
- Date
- 9 November 2026
- Submissions
- closed
-
Abidjan
- Country
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Date
- 6 February 2027
- Submissions
- open until 31 December 2026
-
London
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Date
- February 2027
- Submissions
- on FilmFreeway
-
Naples
- Country
- Italy
- Date
- 25-27 February 2027
- Submissions
- coming soon
-
Tokyo
- Country
- Japan
- Date
- March 2027
- Submissions
- not announced
-
Seoul
- Country
- South Korea
- Date
- 18-19 March 2027
- Submissions
- not announced
-
São Paulo
- Country
- Brazil
- Date
- 22-23 March 2027
- Submissions
- not announced
-
Los Angeles
- Country
- United States
- Date
- late March 2027
- Submissions
- on FilmFreeway
-
Cannes , Grand Finale
- Country
- France
- Date
- 6-7 April 2027
- Submissions
- open until 15 February 2027
Dates checked on 5 November 2026 on the official World AI Film Festival site, with two exceptions. Naples has the date given by the WAIFF Napoli organisers, Los Angeles the one on the festival's US site. Some are provisional and the circuit changes often. Each stop has its own rules. The WAIFF Napoli rules will be published soon.
The films awarded in Naples will go on to the Grand Finale, where they will be screened.
Generated. GPT image.
6-7 April 2027 WAIFF Grand Finale at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. Third edition.
At the Palais des Festivals
The road ends at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, with the Grand Finale. 2027 is its third edition, with the awards on the final day. President and jury to be announced.
In 2026 the festival took over the Palais for two days, 21 and 22 April. Gong Li was president, Agnès Jaoui chaired the jury, Claude Lelouch was honorary president and Jean-Michel Jarre was ambassador. Best WAIFF Film went to Costa Verde by Léo Cannone.
“the warmth of cinema always comes from the human heart”
Gong Li, president, WAIFF 2026
Official WAIFF 2026 programme, p. 6.
The World AI Film Festival is an event in its own right. It is not part of the Festival de Cannes.
2026 in numbers
Submissions more than tripled in a year.
- 80 countries
- 400 pre-selected films
- 54 films in the official selection
- 13 categories
- 14 awards
- 11 jury members
International editions of the World AI Film Festival, figures reported by the organiser. Sources are the official WAIFF 2026 programme, p. 10, the official WAIFF 2026 report and the WAIFF 2025 sponsor document.
Partners of the international WAIFF 2026 edition
These brands supported the international edition of the festival. None of them is a partner of WAIFF Napoli.
WAIFF circuit partners, from the official website, November 2026
These are the brands the official World AI Film Festival website lists among its partners in November 2026. None of them is a partner of WAIFF Napoli.
The road to the Palais runs through Naples.