Playlist International Film Festival: Small Format, Big Ambition
On Holy Saturday, April 4, 2026, the first edition of the Playlist International Film Festival took place in the small hall of the Bio Central cinema in Hradec Králové – a new short film festival that also positions itself as the first film festival in Hradec Králové focused on works created using artificial intelligence.
Za jeho vznikem stojí autor a tvůrce Petr Chroustovský, který festival osobně zahájil a představil zde i svou vlastní tvorbu. Playlist nevznikl jako institucionální projekt, ale jako přirozené pokračování dlouhodobé autorské práce – mimo jiné na projektech jako Bubobola, Vesmírná cesta nebo synthwave univerzum Secrets of Kandahar.
The motivation behind the festival is twofold. On one hand, there is the desire to bring film back into a physical space. "I missed the moment when a film is not just a link on the internet, but a shared experience. When you sit in the hall and someone next to you quietly holds their breath," comes from the author's own narrative.
The second, more personal dimension is the relationship with AI creation itself. The festival also emerged from pure joy – from the fact that making films using artificial intelligence opens up new possibilities while also delivering a powerful creative experience. It is not just about production, but also about watching and discovering the work of other creators. This energy forms the foundation of the entire project. In this sense, Playlist is something that comes from the heart, not from calculation.
Intimate Beginning, Authentic Response
The first edition took place in an intimate atmosphere. The hall, with a capacity of 27 seats, was attended by six audience members. What appeared to be an unassuming start revealed an important moment: this was not an audience attending out of obligation, but people who came out of genuine interest.
The festival took place during the Easter period, when part of the potential audience is traditionally out of town, which likely affected attendance. Nevertheless, the smaller format allowed for direct contact between the author and the audience, including subsequent discussions about the projects, approaches to AI, and the creative process itself.
The strongest audience response went to the project "Bubola: Space Journey", which became the informal winner of the evening.
The recording of the screening from the first edition is available online on Patreon.
AI as a Tool, Not a Label
A key element of the festival is the use of artificial intelligence – not as a marketing buzzword, but as a practical creative tool. Playlist reflects the current shift in audiovisual production, where individuals or small teams can realize projects that would previously have required extensive production resources.
It is precisely this approach that made the entire festival possible. AI here serves as a means to realize visions that would otherwise remain "in the drawer". At the same time, it opens up space for new forms of storytelling, hybrid genres, and experimentation.
Space for Creators: Community, Sharing, Experience
But Playlist is not just a screening platform. From the very beginning, it has been conceived as a meeting place for AI creators – people who think alike, experiment with new tools, and search for their own creative language.
The goal is to create an environment where you can not only screen films, but also talk. Share experiences, discuss the creative process, build collaborations. The small festival format paradoxically supports this – it enables personal contact that is often lost in larger structures.
Part of the vision is also for creators to truly "live" their moment. To present their own project on screen, meet the audience, enjoy the experience – and for a while feel like part of the film world, not just an anonymous creator somewhere online.
The festival also offers tangible outcomes: awards, presentation of projects on social media and official festival channels, and the opportunity for selected projects to be listed on IMDb, which is an important step toward professionalization for many emerging creators.
Open Submissions and International Ambitions
The organizers are already opening submissions for the next edition, which will be newly conceived as an international event. Submissions are accepted through the FilmFreeway platform.
Competition will be held in several categories:
- Best Microshort (up to 3 minutes)
- Best Short Film
- Best Sci-Fi Comedy
- Best Animated Fairy Tale
- Best Music Video
The program will also include an honorary award for creative use of artificial intelligence.
For film submissions, the festival uses the FilmFreeway platform, which is one of the most widely used tools for filmmakers around the world. It allows you to easily upload a film, manage submissions and reach dozens to hundreds of festivals from one place. For many creators, it is a standard gateway to the festival world – from smaller independent events to international showcases.
The long-term goal of the festival is to create a platform for creators who work at the intersection of film, animation, music and digital technologies, while also building a community around new forms of audiovisual creation.
A Call for Partners and Audiences
Playlist currently manages without institutional partners, but actively seeks collaboration with sponsors and partners who want to be part of a new cultural format as it emerges.
The festival does not aim to compete with established events in terms of size or budget. It bets on a different principle: minimum formality, maximum experience. As the author himself suggests, it is not a festival that "plays at being important", but a festival that plays – and that is precisely where its strength may lie.
The next edition will not just be a continuation, but a test of whether a small experiment can become a stable platform for contemporary digital cinema.