This year once again, the top finalists of the music contest will perform live on stage at Kappa FuturFestival in Turin, while the finalists of the film contest will be invited to an event organised by Reply and Mastercard, to be held in September in Venice.
TURIN, Italy–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Reply [EXM, STAR: REY, ISIN: IT0005282865] confirms its commitment for 2026 to fostering dialogue between creativity, technology and artificial intelligence through the Reply AI Music Contest and the Reply AI Film Festival, the two international AI competitions open to creatives, filmmakers, musicians and innovation professionals from around the world. The theme of the 2026 edition, “Imaginatio Nova”, is an invitation to explore a new phase of imagination, where human creativity is renewed through technology. This approach views artificial intelligence not as a substitute for artistic talent, but as a catalyst for new visions, languages and expressive possibilities, capable of generating forms that did not previously exist.
“Today, artificial intelligence technologies applied to the generation of audiovisual and music content are reaching extraordinary levels of quality and realism. What remains central, however, is vision: the creative idea and the ability to imagine new stories and worlds. With the Reply AI Music Contest and the Reply AI Film Festival, we aim to offer a space for experimentation open to talent from around the world and, at the same time, a privileged vantage point to observe how human creativity and artificial intelligence are evolving together, giving rise to new forms of artistic expression”, commented Filippo Rizzante, CTO Reply.
The Reply AI Music Contest, organised in collaboration with Kappa FuturFestival, one of Europe’s leading festivals dedicated to electronic music and digital arts, is dedicated to sound and musical experimentation through the use of artificial intelligence. The competition invites musicians and producers to explore new ways of composing, producing and performing, bringing together creativity, technology and contemporary culture. The Reply AI Film Festival, focuses on cinematic language and audiovisual storytelling. The competition will culminate in the official premiere of the finalist short films at an event organised by Reply and Mastercard, taking place in September in Venice. The entries will be evaluated by an outstanding jury composed of leading professionals from the worlds of cinema, music, creativity and technological innovation.
Alongside the “AI for Good Award” – promoted in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and dedicated to the best short film highlighting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – the third edition of the Reply AI Film Festival introduces another special prize, the “Reply AI Studios Grand Prix.” This award, celebrating innovation and excellence in the use of artificial intelligence, will also be featured in the second edition of the Reply AI Music Contest. In both competitions, the prize will be awarded to the artists who best combine bold storytelling with AI engineering, achieving professional quality and production speed through responsible and transparent practices.
Creative talents from around the world can take part in the Reply AI Music Contest and the Reply AI Film Festival by submitting their works via the dedicated platforms aimc.reply.com and aiff.reply.com by 1 June 2026.
These initiatives are part of the Reply Challenges, a programme of technological and creative competitions that reflects Reply’s commitment to developing innovative educational models capable of engaging new generations. Today, the Reply Challenges community includes more than 150,000 participants worldwide and continues to expand with new initiatives, such as the recently launched AI Agent Challenge. On April 16, participants from around the world will have six hours to design and implement AI agents capable of collaborating to solve a real-world case. Registrations are open on the dedicated platform, which also includes training content and simulations to help participants prepare for the challenge.
Reply
Reply [EXM, STAR: REY, ISIN: IT0005282865] specialises in the design and implementation of solutions based on new communication channels and digital media. As a network of highly specialised companies, Reply supports major industrial groups in the telecom and media; industry and services; banking and insurance and public sectors in defining and developing business models enabled by the new paradigms of AI, cloud computing, digital media and the internet of things. Reply’s services include: consulting, system integration and digital services. www.reply.com
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Fabio Zappelli
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Tel. +390117711594
Irene Caia
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