Photo Credit: IMAX
In a bold move that underscores the evolving relationship between technology and cinema, IMAX has partnered with AI software company Runway to bring selections from the 2024 AI Film Festival (AIFF) to commercial theaters across the U.S. The screenings will feature the 10 finalist films from Runway’s third annual one-day AI festival, which was held earlier this year at New York’s Alice Tully Hall and L.A.’s Broad Theatre.
From August 17 to 20, audiences in 10 major cities — including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Boston, Atlanta, Denver, and Washington, D.C. — will have the chance to experience these groundbreaking short films on IMAX’s premium screens. The selected films, all created with or through AI-driven tools, range in length from two to ten minutes and were chosen from a pool of over 6,000 global submissions.
Among the standout entries is Total Pixel Space, which earned the festival’s top prize. The films were judged by an esteemed panel including director Gaspar Noé, experimental filmmaker Harmony Korine, and Tribeca Productions co-founder Jane Rosenthal — all known for pushing creative boundaries in their own work.
Cristóbal Valenzuela, Runway’s co-founder and CEO, emphasized the importance of showcasing these works in a setting that matches their ambition. “The quality, variety and storytelling of these films deserves a premium viewing experience,” he said. “This partnership will bring AIFF to thousands of moviegoers across America, at the highest possible quality.”
For IMAX, this initiative represents both an expansion of its programming and a recognition of the new wave of creators emerging from the intersection of storytelling and artificial intelligence. Jonathan Fischer, Chief Content Officer at IMAX, noted that while their theaters have historically been the domain of legendary filmmakers, there is value in opening that space to new forms of creativity. “By linking up with Runway,” Fischer said, “we will open our aperture and use our platform to experiment with a new kind of creator, as storytelling and technology converge in an entirely new way.”
Runway, which started as a project by NYU film students to assist animators, has rapidly scaled into a major player in the AI media space. With partnerships already in place with Lionsgate, AMC Networks, and others, the company has reached a valuation exceeding $3 billion.
This latest collaboration is yet another indication that while Hollywood continues to grapple with AI’s role in creative production, forward-thinking companies are leaning in — not to replace creators, but to equip them with new tools. As Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos recently remarked, AI represents “an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper.”
For IMAX and Runway, the AI Film Festival screenings mark a key experiment in presenting the next chapter of cinematic storytelling — one where human vision and machine capability combine to reshape what’s possible on screen.
