NAiEF x SEA AI ACADEMY x UNESCO THAI / PATTAYA CREATIVE CITY
Win a 100% fully sponsored trip to the Pattaya International Youth Film Festival, 28–31 August 2026.
Malaysia’s national selection for the Pattaya International Youth Film Festival. Make a short film. Represent your country.
FREE ENTRY
01 / THE REWARD
100% Fully Sponsored Delegation Trip to Pattaya, Thailand
One winning team of up to five members travels to Thailand to represent Malaysia at the Pattaya International Youth Film Festival, 28–31 August 2026.
Kuala Lumpur to Thailand, return.
Full stay across the festival.
Every meal, throughout.
Airport and festival transport.
Your film screened at the Pattaya Beach Cinema, an open-air festival screening on the beachfront.
Compete for a prize pool of over 500,000 Thai Baht across 18 awards, judged by an international panel.
Walk the official red carpet alongside delegations from more than ten countries.
Two international workshops on AI-assisted filmmaking and creative production.
Registration and submission are free at every stage. There is no entry fee.
02 / RECOGNITION
You do not need to win to be recognised.
Every team that submits a valid entry to the festival receives official recognition from Pattaya City, regardless of the outcome.
An official certificate issued by Pattaya City to every submitting team member.
Permanent listing in the official festival directory of young artists.
Your film permanently archived in the official Pattaya Film Library.
03 / THE BRIEF
“THAILAND:
THE UNTOLD”
Tell the story of Thailand from a perspective the world has never seen before — its people, culture, food, tourist attractions, or small stories with big impact, through the eyes of a new generation.
Official theme statement
All genres welcome: drama, documentary, comedy, animation and experimental film. Films showcasing the charm of Thai tourism are also eligible for the special Best Tourism Story award.
Malaysian teams can build a compelling entry entirely from home. Three approaches that work:
Build Thai settings, characters, voices and stories entirely with generative AI tools, from anywhere in Malaysia.
Siamese villages and wats in Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis. Thai food culture in Penang. Border towns like Rantau Panjang and Bukit Kayu Hitam. Thailand told from the outside is a perspective the world genuinely has not seen.
Documentary, archival or animated storytelling drawn from research rather than location shooting.
04 / TRACKS
CATEGORY A
Short films created using generative AI tools. AI must be a primary element of the work — scripting, storyboarding, visual synthesis, voice generation, or auto-subtitling.
Best for: teams with no camera, no cast and no location budget.
CATEGORY B
Traditional live-action or animated short films, produced through conventional filmmaking methods.
Best for: teams with existing footage, actors or animation skills.
Both tracks compete for the same grand prize. A team may enter both.
When you register on the official festival portal, submit your film under the matching festival category.
| NAiEF Track | Festival Category | Aspect Ratio | Max Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category A | AI Film | Any | 3 minutes |
| Category B | Short Film | 16:9 | 7 minutes |
| Category B | Vertical Film | 9:16 | 5 minutes |
NAiEF requires 1–3 minutes, which is valid in every festival category. One film per category, maximum.
05 / SUBMISSION
All three are required for a valid entry. No partial submissions.
1 to 3 minutes. MP4, 1080p minimum.
English subtitles are mandatory if the main audio is not English.
Minimum 5 minutes. No upper limit.
Raw team endurance, filming and editing challenges, and your AI workflow. Required by NAiEF, not by the festival. Polish is not the point — show the breakdowns, the failed renders, the late nights, and the moment something finally worked.
Mandatory disclosure of every AI tool used at any stage. Submitted through the entry form.
Using AI is encouraged. Failing to declare it is not.
Upload all deliverables to Google Drive and submit the links through the entry form. Sharing must be set to “Anyone with the link — Viewer”.
Entries with restricted links cannot be judged.
06 / WHO
Every team must register one advisor teacher. If you supervise a team, you also gain entry to the SEA AI Academy educator network — free access to AI teaching resources, our educator community, and NAiEF programme updates.
This challenge is designed to run inside an existing club, module or co-curricular slot.
Register as an Advisor Teacher07 / HOW TO ENTER
Two minutes. No film required yet. We send you the full guide, category tips and deadline reminders.
Closes 18 August 2026, 23:59 MYT
Register NowThis secures your Pattaya Young Artist certification and Hall of Fame listing. Your team leader registers; all members verify by email.
Closes 20 August 2026, 23:59
Go to Festival PortalDeliverables A, B and C, plus your poster and synopses. This enters you into the national selection for the sponsored delegation.
Closes 18 August 2026, 23:59 MYT
Submit Your FilmAll three steps are required. Completing only one will not qualify your team for the sponsored delegation.
08 / SELECTION
Malaysia’s flagship delegation is chosen half by the public, half by an expert jury.
50%
Shortlisted entries are published on the official SEA AI Academy and NAiEF TikTok and Instagram accounts on 19 August. Engagement is scored:
Only engagement on the official SEA AI Academy post counts. Voters must follow the account for their engagement to register.
50%
An independent NAiEF Review Board of industry judges across film, generative AI and education scores each entry:
Half your score comes from people you can reach. Mobilise your school, your family and your friends. Follow our channels now so you do not miss the voting window.
09 / SCHEDULE
All times Malaysia Time (MYT, UTC+8).
10 AUGUST
Registration opens
18 AUGUST
Team registration & NAiEF submissions close · 23:59 MYT
19–20 AUGUST
Public voting and jury evaluation
20 AUGUST
Official festival portal closes · 23:59
21 AUGUST
Malaysia’s winning delegation announced
28–31 AUGUST
Delegation travels to Pattaya, Thailand
10 / BACKGROUND
The National AI Educators Fellowship equips Malaysian educators to teach, apply and lead with artificial intelligence. NAiEF works across secondary schools, Institut Pendidikan Guru, TVET institutions and universities to build practical AI capability among the people who teach the next generation.
This challenge is part of that work. It gives students a reason to learn AI tools, and gives their teachers a structured programme to learn alongside them.
SEA AI Academy delivers AI education and certification across Southeast Asia, providing structured learning paths, practical tooling and recognised credentials for educators and students.
seaaiacademy.ioPattaya Creative City is Thailand’s initiative to establish Pattaya within the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for Film. The Pattaya International Youth Film Festival is its flagship youth programme, drawing entries from more than ten countries.
pattayacreativecity.comInterested in bringing AI education into your institution beyond this challenge? NAiEF works directly with schools, IPG, TVET institutions and universities.
11 / ANSWERS
No. Registration and submission are completely free at every stage, on both the NAiEF form and the official festival portal. There is no entry fee and no hidden cost.
Malaysian youth aged 15 to 25, currently enrolled in secondary school, IPG, TVET, IPTA or IPTS. Teams must have 3 to 5 members plus one registered advisor teacher or lecturer.
No. The minimum team size is 3 members. If you do not have a team yet, register anyway and select “Still forming my team” — we will help you connect with others.
Yes. One advisor teacher or lecturer per team is a festival requirement. If you have not confirmed one yet, register and write “Pending” — you can update us later.
Yes. You will need a parent or guardian to provide consent through the submission form, covering both the media licence and international travel if your team is selected.
Yes. Your team can be from any combination of institutions. Register under whichever institution your advisor teacher belongs to.
No. Film in any language. If your main audio is not English, English subtitles are mandatory. A Thai synopsis is required, but that is a short written text you can translate.
No. Many strong entries will be made entirely in Malaysia. You can generate Thai settings with AI, film Thai communities in Malaysia, or build a documentary or animation from research.
1 to 3 minutes for the NAiEF challenge. This length is valid across every festival category.
Yes. You may submit one film per festival category, up to three films in total.
AI is required for Category A. It is encouraged in Category B and carries weight in the jury rubric for both tracks. Whatever you use, declare it.
Anything used for scripting, storyboarding, image or video generation, voice, music, subtitling, translation or editing. If it used a model, declare it.
No. Undeclared AI will. Declared AI is scored on how well it was used, not whether it was used.
No. All music, footage and images must be original or properly licensed. This is a festival requirement and entries can be disqualified for it.
Minimum 5 minutes, no maximum. Raw and unpolished is fine — that is the point. Do not spend production time editing it.
The NAiEF form enters you into Malaysia’s national selection for the sponsored trip. The festival portal enters you into the international competition and secures your Pattaya Young Artist certification. They are separate systems with separate deadlines.
NAiEF team registration and final submission both close 18 August, 23:59 MYT. The official festival portal closes 20 August, 23:59.
Upload to Google Drive and paste the links into the form. Set sharing to “Anyone with the link — Viewer” — restricted links cannot be judged and will invalidate your entry.
On the festival portal, yes — you can edit and resubmit until their deadline, and the final version counts. For NAiEF, contact us directly before the deadline.
50% public engagement on our official TikTok and Instagram posts, and 50% expert jury scoring across storytelling, AI application and technical execution.
Shortlisted entries are posted on the official SEA AI Academy accounts on 19 August. A like is 1 point, a comment is 2, a share is 3. Only engagement on the official post counts, and voters must follow the account.
Yes — that is the design. Half your score is reach. Mobilise your school, your family and your community.
Return flights, hotel accommodation, all meals and ground transfers for up to five team members, 28–31 August 2026.
Confirm with us at selection. The sponsored allocation is up to five people per team.
You still receive official Pattaya Young Artist certification, a permanent Hall of Fame listing, and archiving of your film in the Pattaya Film Library. You also remain eligible for the festival’s 18 international awards, which are judged separately.
You retain ownership of your original creative concepts. By entering, you grant NAiEF, GET Academy and SEA AI Academy a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to publish, edit, reproduce, distribute and display your film and BTS footage across digital platforms, marketing materials, social channels and partner presentations.
Yes, potentially. That is what the licence above covers. Your team is credited wherever it appears.
Free to enter. Registration and submission both close 18 August 2026.
TEAM REGISTRATION CLOSES IN
18 August 2026, 23:59 MYT