# Inaugural Muscat AI Film Festival Launches with OMR 20,000 Prize Purse

_Event · published 2026-09-07_

The Muscat AI Film Festival (MAIFF) has announced its inaugural edition, inviting filmmakers and technology enthusiasts in Oman to compete using AI tools for storytelling, visual generation, and editing. Submissions are open through rmz.ai, the festival's founding generative-AI partner, with a total prize pool of OMR 20,000 — including OMR 10,000 for Best AI Film and OMR 5,000 each for Best Art Direction and Best Technological Innovation. The top five films are set to screen at VOX Cinemas in November, with the awards ceremony scheduled for January 19, 2027.

Beyond the competition, MAIFF has a stated skills-development mandate: organizers aim to train more than 1,000 Omanis in AI-assisted filmmaking and plan to involve 40–60 local SMEs in a dedicated festival village. Workshops and creative laboratories are planned for October. The initiative explicitly positions Muscat as an international destination for AI filmmaking production, with organizers targeting audiences across more than 30 countries.

## Sources
- [muscatdaily.com](https://www.muscatdaily.com/2026/09/07/first-ever-muscat-ai-film-festival-offers-ro20000-in-prizes/)
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