The municipality of Calvià will host the first Balearic edition of the AI Movie Awards on 24 and 25 April 2026, a festival dedicated to short films created with artificial intelligence and to the debate on the impact of this technology on audiovisual storytelling.
The event will take place in Magaluf and will bring together more than 200 professionals from the audiovisual industry, consolidating itself as one of the most innovative gatherings in today’s film landscape.
A festival exploring cinema created with artificial intelligence
The AI Movie Awards were founded and are directed by audiovisual producer Federico Luglio, a creator specialised in storytelling developed with artificial intelligence.
The aim of the festival is to give visibility to new creators and encourage discussion about how technology can help democratise audiovisual production, expand creative capabilities and open new opportunities for distribution.
According to Luglio, the festival is based on a humanistic vision of technology: “AI does not replace human creativity, it enhances it and opens new narrative possibilities.”
More than 200 professionals and leading industry figures
The importance of the event is reflected in the participation of prominent professionals from the international audiovisual industry.
Among them is American producer Tommy Harper, known for his frequent collaboration with Tim Burton and for serving as executive producer on major box-office hits such as Top Gun: Maverick, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Star Trek Beyond and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
Harper will be part of a high-level international jury that will also include professionals connected to Mallorca’s audiovisual industry, such as Pedro Barbadillo, producer and former director of the Mallorca Film Commission, and Mike Day, CEO of Palma Pictures.
Screenings, round tables and awards ceremony
During the festival, the selected short films will be screened and round-table discussions with specialists in artificial intelligence and cinema will be held.
The event will conclude with an awards ceremony at Nikki Beach, where the technical and narrative excellence of the participating works will be recognised.
The organisation has also established ethical guidelines to protect intellectual property and image rights, preventing the use of real actors’ faces or the imitation of styles from existing studios. The aim is to reward originality and previously unseen stories.
A commitment to cinema and innovation in Calvià
The celebration of the AI Movie Awards is part of the municipality’s strategy to position itself as an audiovisual hub, especially during a year declared as the Year of Cinema in Calvià.
The mayor of Calvià, Juan Antonio Amengual, has highlighted that hosting this festival reinforces the municipality’s commitment to technological innovation and audiovisual culture, while also consolidating it as an international meeting point for creative talent.
The initiative is funded through the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) of the Balearic Islands and contributes to tourism diversification and the reduction of seasonality.
AI & Cinema conference in Magaluf
As a prelude to the festival, the municipality will host the AI & Cinema Conference on 30 March 2026 at the Meliá Calviá Beach Hotel in Magaluf.
The event will feature internationally recognised experts such as Isabelita Virtual, a creative director awarded for her AI-generated photographic series, and Odet García, an AI specialist and professor at the University of Shanghai.
During the conference, the impact of artificial intelligence on audiovisual creation will be analysed through talks and round-table discussions with industry professionals.
Calvià strengthens its position as an international audiovisual destination
The AI Movie Awards will take place only a few weeks before another major industry event, Conecta Fiction & Entertainment, which will also be held in Magaluf from 25 to 28 May and will bring together nearly 400 professionals from the international audiovisual sector.
Both events, together with the tourism initiative Calvià Film Set Route, reinforce the municipality’s positioning as a strategic destination for the audiovisual industry, capable of combining its tourism appeal with discussions on the new technological narratives emerging in cinema.
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