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World's Biggest AI Video Contest — Winner Reveal & Live Screening

2026-03-17 · livestream / screening · Adil, Alex Mashrabov, PJ Ace, Jason Zada, Ash Gavorkian, Nikolaj Shestak, Mohanad Nassar · recording, 45:00 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Productions (case studies) (also: Studio work & business) · mode: Event · tags: fiction, guest or collaboration

In this livestream Adil hosts the awards of the Higgsfield Action Contest, which drew 8,752 submissions and which he calls the largest AI video competition in history. After 20 honorable mentions at $10,000 each, jury member PJ Ace announces third place, Scratch, made by two brothers in about five days, and second, Nikolaj Shestak's Cupid, whose hero switches off aggression instead of killing. Jason Zada, saying story still carries a film, names the winner: Grandma and the Wasp by Mohanad Nassar and Simon Mayer, made in about a week with Nano Banana, Cinema Studio, Kling and Seedance and edited in Adobe Premiere.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Adil opens the live Higgsfield Action Contest awards

  • ★★★ Adil says the Higgsfield Action Contest received 8,752 submissions from creators worldwide and calls it officially the largest AI video competition in history. — 00:00:11 · Adil

00:01:05 — CEO Alex Mashrabov thanks the creators and the judges

  • ★★ Alex Mashrabov: Higgsfield CEO Alex Mashrabov says the Higgsfield Action Contest received nearly 9,000 submissions from creators in 139 countries. — 00:01:05
  • ★ Alex Mashrabov says some contest entries explored ideas that would not exist without AI, and that the creators' work is defining the future of media and entertainment. — 00:01:52
  • ★★ Alex Mashrabov says Higgsfield's mission is to build tools that let creators monetise their craft, land their dream deals and build at scale. — 00:02:17 · Higgsfield AI
  • ★★ Alex Mashrabov says Higgsfield is already thinking bigger for next year's (2027) contest. — 00:02:17

00:02:46 — The 20 honorable mentions, with highlights and what made each stand out

  • ★★★ The Higgsfield Action Contest named 20 honorable mentions, and each of their creators receives $10,000 from the contest's prize pool. — 00:02:46
  • ★★ The 20 honorable mentions of the Higgsfield Action Contest: In Despair, What a Lovely Day, Frostblood 3: Souls of Fire, The Last Bough, Playground Rules, The Conspiracy Theory, Kalyug Rising: The Beginning, The World Has Changed, Sorry, Mom, The King's Beast, Real Action, Who Girls Really Like, Akuma, The Brass Bastards, Harvest Season, Milo Domeni (as heard), Scrap, Pale Signal, Hoodie F Is Olga (as heard) and The Ant's Dream. — 00:03:19
  • ★ Adil says the honorable mention In Despair, a revenge story, was the undisputed favourite of the Higgsfield creative team, chosen for its strong directing. — 00:03:19 · Adil

00:09:47 — Jury member PJ Ace announces third place: Scratch

  • ★ Adil introduces jury member PJ Ace as the creator of viral AI projects and founder of an AI studio (Genro AI Studio, as heard) with over 300 million views across campaigns for Oracle, Popeyes and Qatar Airways. — 00:10:14 · Adil
  • ★★★ PJ Ace announces third place in the Higgsfield Action Contest: Scratch by Ash Gavorkian (as heard). — 00:10:43
  • ★★ PJ Ace says Scratch reminded him of Toy Story in finding stories in the overlooked, calls it a Westworld-like game of sentience and praises its plot and execution. — 00:10:43

00:11:20 — Scratch screened in full

00:14:30 — Live call with the brothers who made Scratch

  • ★★ Ash Gavorkian: The makers of Scratch say they had the idea a couple of years ago: two crash-test dummies escape a crash-test centre, an allegory for a modern worker stuck in a job they dislike. — 00:15:53
  • ★★★ Ash Gavorkian: The makers of Scratch say they adapted their story to the Higgsfield Action Contest rule that the video should make the audience want to see a full-length movie. — 00:16:23
  • ★★ Ash Gavorkian: Many viewers of Scratch asked its makers for a link to the full movie, thinking it was the trailer of an existing film. — 00:16:23 · also in: Higgsfield Original Series: The First Complete AI Streaming Platform
  • ★★★ Ash Gavorkian: Scratch was made by just the two brothers, in about five days. (hedged) — 00:16:49

00:17:37 — PJ Ace announces second place: Cupid

  • ★★★ PJ Ace announces second place in the Higgsfield Action Contest: Cupid by Nikolaj Shestak. — 00:17:37
  • ★★ PJ Ace calls Cupid a John Wick-like Valentine's Day action film with a strong visual language, pinks against a dark alley, and an action hook that holds for four and a half minutes. — 00:17:37

00:18:23 — Cupid screened in full

00:22:58 — Live call with Nikolaj Shestak, maker of Cupid

  • ★★ Nikolaj Shestak, maker of Cupid, is an actor from Riga, Latvia. — 00:25:06
  • ★★★ Nikolaj Shestak says he began making films starring himself about two years ago as an independent artist, and about a year and a half ago began experimenting with AI, Higgsfield being the first platform he used. (hedged) — 00:25:43 · Higgsfield AI
  • ★★★ Nikolaj Shestak says Cupid turns the action genre against aggression: its hero kills no one and instead switches off people's aggression. — 00:27:45
  • ★★ Nikolaj Shestak says money matters to independent artists because it gives them independence and freedom. — 00:28:47
  • ★ Nikolaj Shestak says he will spend his Higgsfield Action Contest prize on his art and his next films. — 00:29:26

00:30:47 — Jason Zada on story and comedy; first place: Grandma and the Wasp

  • ★ Adil introduces jury member Jason Zada as an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, founder of Secret Level and maker of campaigns for Coca-Cola and Will.i.am. — 00:30:47 · Adil
  • ★★★ Jason Zada says storytelling, a good story, is what he looks for most in generative AI filmmaking right now. — 00:31:15
  • ★★★ Jason Zada says story is still the thing that carries a film. — 00:31:52
  • ★★ Jason Zada says comedy is very hard in AI film: timing and performances are hard. — 00:31:52
  • ★★★ Jason Zada announces the winner of the Higgsfield Action Contest: Grandma and the Wasp by Mohanad Nassar, known online as Mr. Abu Jo, and his partner Simon Mayer. — 00:32:22

00:33:00 — Grandma and the Wasp screened in full

00:34:45 — Live call with Mohanad Nassar, maker of Grandma and the Wasp

  • ★★ Mohanad Nassar lives in Detroit, Michigan, and is known on social media as Mr. Abu Jo. — 00:35:11
  • ★★ Mohanad Nassar and his co-maker Simon, who lives in Germany, know each other only through social media. — 00:37:00
  • ★★★ Mohanad Nassar says that when he asked on Discord (someone heard as "kama") whether a collab by two people was allowed in the Higgsfield Action Contest, he was told it was fine as long as it was posted under one name. — 00:37:49 · Discord
  • ★★ Mohanad Nassar: Simon Mayer came up with the idea of Grandma and the Wasp, and Mohanad Nassar added to it. — 00:37:49
  • ★★ Mohanad Nassar says many shots made for Grandma and the Wasp were left out of the final film, which they compressed as much as possible so it would flow. — 00:38:18
  • ★★★ Mohanad Nassar: Grandma and the Wasp was made in about a week, worked on non-stop across two time zones. — 00:38:46
  • ★★★ Mohanad Nassar: For Grandma and the Wasp the images were made with Nano Banana and Cinema Studio on Higgsfield, the animation with Kling and Seedance, and the edit, the hardest part, in Adobe Premiere. — 00:39:09 · Nano Banana, Cinema Studio, Kling, Seedance, Premiere Pro
  • ★ Mohanad Nassar: Grandma and the Wasp was upscaled a little with Topaz (as heard) after the edit. — 00:39:52 · Topaz Labs
  • ★ Mohanad Nassar says positive feedback from followers gives creators more confidence to submit to contests. — 00:42:37

00:43:31 — Closing thanks to the jury and the next opportunity

  • ★★ Adil says Higgsfield is already planning the next opportunity for creators after the Higgsfield Action Contest. — 00:44:40 · Adil

In the description and comments

  • ★★★ Higgsfield reveals the winners of the Higgsfield Action Contest. — video description
  • ★★★ Higgsfield: The Higgsfield Action Contest pays $150,000 for first place, $100,000 for second and $50,000 for third. — video description
  • ★★★ Higgsfield says a committee of award-winning filmmakers reviewed all 8,752 Higgsfield Action Contest submissions to shortlist the Top 50. — creator comment
  • ★★★ Higgsfield says its legal team ran several review rounds and disqualified some Higgsfield Action Contest submissions for potential use of unlicensed third-party IP. — creator comment
  • ★★★ Higgsfield says an independent jury of industry professionals scored the Top 50 on cinematic quality, storytelling and creativity, and technical execution of AI tools, with no Higgsfield influence and a final decision. — creator comment
  • ★★ Higgsfield asks entrants with a concern about their Higgsfield Action Contest submission to email support@higgsfield.ai with 'Contest' in the subject. — creator comment
  • ★★ Higgsfield says the Higgsfield Action Contest is one of its first initiatives at this scale but not the last. — creator comment

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Cupid · Grandma and the Wasp · Higgsfield Action Contest · Scratch

Also: People: Adil · Alex Mashrabov · Ash Gavorkian · Jason Zada · Mohanad Nassar · Nikolaj Shestak · PJ Ace · Simon Mayer

Organizations: Discord · Secret Level · Topaz Labs

Places: Detroit · Riga

Products: Cinema Studio · Kling · Nano Banana · Premiere Pro · Seedance

Also centred on Higgsfield Action Contest: Higgsfield Original Series: The First Complete AI Streaming Platform

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