OMNI“Hyperphantasia” -presented by Envato
July 3, 2026- Sydney, Australia
OMNI “HYPERPHANTASIA”- Presented by Envato - was the third major edition of OMNI International AI Film Festival, and was open to creators from around the world experimenting and telling stories with Generative AI Tools.
On the evening of July 3, 2026, at The Collider in Sydney an evening of exploratory visuals and cutting-edge AI generative short films from around the world. A one-night showcase, dedicated to human creativity, exploring with the latest Generative AI at the edge of technology and media. Presented by OMNI International AI Film Festival in partnership with Envato, this special edition brought together compelling new ways of visualizing human stories, for a future-focused evening in a unique and intimate venue.
“Hyperphantasia is a condition characterized by exceptionally vivid mental imagery that rivals real-world perception, often described as a "mental cinema".
Affecting roughly 1-3% of the population, it is the opposite of aphantasia (no mental imagery).”
“HYPERPHANTASIA” Jury
We approach with curiosity -
We are living through a moment in visual culture that will not be repeated. The tools are new, the medium is being defined, and the question of what constitutes authorship is very much in the hands of people who are creating and consuming. This is a new territory to be explored with curiosity. As artists, builders, thinkers and creators we get the chance to develop what we want to see and cultivate and help define where the art form will go. OMNI Hyperphantasia brings together a jury that reflects the full breadth of what AI cinema can be and where it may be heading.
Alex Proyas, director of The Crow, Dark City, and I, Robot, is one of the few filmmakers in history who is building his artistic reputation on AI as a creative medium, having produced an entirely AI-generated feature and developed a new AI-enabled project that pushes cinema into genuinely uncharted territory.
Yan Chen, Studio Architect for Kennedy Miller Mitchell and CEO of AuroraAI, has spent decades building the invisible infrastructure behind Hollywood's most ambitious productions and now sits at the frontier of what generative AI means for the future of storytelling and VFX.
Clayton Jacobson, the award-winning Australian director behind Kenny and Brothers' Nest, brings deep craft instinct and a filmmaker's eye to the jury, grounded in both celebrated mainstream cinema and his own evolving practice in AI filmmaking with Gunshy Cowboys.
Thea-Mai Baumann, CEO of 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art and founder of the world-first hologram brands Metaverse Makeovers and 超宇美人, brings rare curatorial vision at the intersection of art, culture, and immersive technology.
Rounding out the jury, Professor Toby Walsh, Chief Scientist at UNSW's AI Institute and one of the world's foremost voices on AI ethics, ensures that the work screened at Hyperphantasia is both relevant gives it context and place in the global AI discussion
OMNI
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"HYPERPHANTASIA"
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OMNI 1.5 “Hyperphantasia”
is proudly brought to you by:
Where the world's broadest stock catalog meets AI, built for creatives
A global leader in creative technology since 2006, Envato – a Shutterstock subsidiary – empowers millions of creative professionals with access to an all-in-one creative asset toolkit. It offers the world’s broadest range of commercial-ready stock assets, alongside purpose-built AI capabilities that allow creatives to find, create and refine what they need, fast..
“Hyperphantasia”
Awards are supported by the following:
Hyperphantasia
Award Winners
“Hyperphantasia” Best Picture Award,
OMNI 2026
A Face only a Mother Could Love,
Canada
Robert Gaudette
Signal to Noise Award,
OMNI 1.5 2026
The Patchwright,
USA
Zack London
The Envato Pattern Recognition Award,
OMNI 1.5 2026
“Recognising the most creative fusion of stock imagery, AI, and cinematic intent”
The Reckless Play,
Ukraine
Maria Zozulia
Best Visuals, OMNI 1.5 2026
The Pornographer,
Canada
Milla Cummings, Marie-Josee Saint-Pierre
Best Score, OMNI 1.5 2026
Peking Opera Paradise,
China
Jiayang Liang
Best Editing, OMNI 1.5 2026
The Man behind the Cartoon,
France
Raphaël Alistair
Best Script, OMNI 1.5 2026
Phoebe and Her 404 Fears,
China
Siyi Chen, Chujun Zhou
OMNI Golden Ai Performance
Lilies,
UK
Muhammed Jabir
OMNI Silver Ai Performance
The Beef,
Germany
Tolga Ülkümen
Golden STORYTELLERS Award, OMNI 1.5 2026
Short Form (Under 10 Minutes)
Le Drip,
USA
Alex Naghavi, Ezra Li
Golden STORYTELLERS Award, OMNI 1.5 2026
Long Form (Over 10 Minutes)
Sinuca de Bico (Cornered),
Brazil
Odair Faleco and Davi Moori
Silver STORYTELLERS Award, OMNI 1.5 2026
Short Form (Under 10 Minutes)
Birds of a Feather,
India
Debargha Maschatak
Silver STORYTELLERS Award, OMNI 1.5 2026
Long Form (Over 10 Minutes)
The Frozen Field, (37 min)
Japan
昊东 张 Haodong Zhang
Golden SOUND: Music Video, OMNI 1.5 2026
Ici (Remix),
Taiwan, UK
Sijin Liu
Silver SOUND: Music Video, OMNI 1.5 2026
Pillow Men,
China
Jacky Wong
Documentary OMNI 1.5 2026
Short Form (Under 10 Minutes)
Guardians of the Burrow,
Australia
Jodie Heenan
Documentary OMNI 1.5 2026
Long Form (Over 10 Minutes)
Haydon: Patron Saint of the Obsessed, (1 hour 19 min)
USA
Lucas Sabean
Animation, OMNI 1.5 2026
Short Form (Under 10 Minutes)
Amal (Hope),
Morocco
Ridouan Ajhir
Animation, OMNI 1.5 2026
Long Form (Over 10 Minutes)
Papernaught,
Australia
Glenn Robert Triggs
Narrative Ultra long Form , OMNI 1.5 2026
Films over 30 min
The Living Corpse, (1 hour 7 min)
Japan
Takeshi Sone
Curators Choice Award, OMNI 1.5 2026
Sin-nae-rim: The Spirit Descends,
South Korea
Hyeokjin Choi
AND
The Haunt of Time,
China
to X, Miao miao
Jury Special Mention, OMNI 1.5
Mr. Rossi, Belgium - Bkl Boukalail
GaGa, China - Wei Wanli and Xiao Tianxing
Fenning A Bomb, Australia -Andrew Frost
Honorable Mention
field notes, Israel - Ariel Ko
Aljosa on the brain train, Slovenia - Kirill Karnovich-Valua
Echo, South Korea - Minju Choi
Duck鴨, UK, (30min) - Jose Alvarez
Artificial Anonymous, Germany - Phil Langer
