AMC Refuses to Screen AI-Animated Festival Winner After Online Backlash
Summary
AMC Theatres backs down from screening AI-animated festival winner 'Thanksgiving Day' following fierce online backlash, forcing the Kazakhstani filmmaker's prize-winning short to pivot toward immersive venues instead.
Key Points
- AMC Theatres refuses to screen 'Thanksgiving Day,' an AI-animated short film that won the inaugural Frame Forward AI Animated Film Festival, after significant online backlash over exhibitors embracing AI content.
- The short film, created by Kazakhstani filmmaker Igor Alferov using AI tools, is programmed by third-party company Screenvision Media — not AMC directly — and was set for a two-week national theatrical run as part of its prize package.
- Festival co-organizer Modern Uprising Studios says the film will instead be adapted for immersive theatrical venues, with the first location opening in New York within the year, as the broader debate over AI content in traditional cinema spaces intensifies.