The Global AI Content Challenge continues to expand its international judging panel
The Global AI Content Challenge (GAIC) continues to bring together creators, filmmakers, and technologists exploring the future of AI storytelling.
As the competition grows, Ima Studio is excited to introduce the first group of judges for GAIC 2026, bringing together filmmakers, visual effects artists, AI creators, and emerging media researchers from around the world.
The GAIC jury panel is continuously expanding, and additional judges will be announced in the coming weeks as more creative leaders join the challenge.
👉 Explore the competition
https://www.imastudio.com/gaic
Meet the GAIC 2026 Judges
The GAIC jury reflects the diversity of today’s AI creative ecosystem — from Emmy-winning producers and Hollywood VFX artists to AI filmmakers, new media researchers, and emerging technology pioneers.
Together, these judges help evaluate submissions across the competition’s seasons, focusing on storytelling, creative direction, visual innovation, and the evolving collaboration between humans and AI.
More judges will be revealed as the competition continues to grow.
Yuki He
Founder & CEO, JOYME
Serial entrepreneur and product leader with more than 20 years of experience building products for creators worldwide.
Yuki He began her career as one of China’s earliest product managers at Tencent, contributing to the early development of QQ. She later held leadership roles at Clean Master and PhotoGrid before founding LiveMe in 2016, a live streaming platform that reached No. 1 on both the US App Store and Google Play and expanded to 226 countries.
She has been recognized by Forbes China Women in Tech, Forbes 20 Businesswomen to Watch, and Fortune China’s Most Powerful Businesswomen. She is currently building IMA Studio et ImaClaw, AI-powered platforms for global content creation and distribution.
Alex Lang
President and Creative Director, Alex Lang Media
Award-winning filmmaker and creative director with more than 20 years of experience across major studios.
Alex Lang has led major campaigns for global entertainment companies including Disney, Pixar, Fox, NBCUniversal, Discovery, and ABC. His work has received more than 60 industry awards, including Clio Awards, Webby Awards, and Promax|BDA Golden Muse Awards.
Among his notable achievements is the award-winning Times Square campaign for Pixar’s Turning Red. He continues to explore the intersection of cinematic storytelling and generative AI production.
Erich Archer
Founder, CGA Creative
Emmy-winning producer and Creative AI leader who helps organizations navigate the future of storytelling.
Erich Archer is an Emmy-winning producer and Creative AI leader with more than two decades of experience in television and media production. As the Founder of CGA Creative, he works with brands, agencies, and institutions to explore how cinematic craft can evolve alongside generative AI technologies. His work focuses on designing future-facing content strategies while maintaining strong creative integrity.
Grace Gao
Founder & Executive Producer, Celestine Pictures
First-generation Chinese American screenwriter and producer recognized by the Austin Film Festival and Humanitas.
Grace Gao began her career working as Director’s Assistant to filmmaker Xue Xiaolu on the Chinese-Australian co-production The Whistleblower (2019). She later joined Pearl Studio’s development department, contributing to the creative localization of the Oscar-nominated animated feature Over the Moon (2020).
Her screenplays have received recognition from the Austin Film Festival, the Humanitas New Voices Fellowship, and the Berggruen Institute’s Vaster Than Empires III Writers Fellowship. She was also nominated as a Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch by MovieMaker Magazine in 2023.
After serving as Head Writer at GoodShort and Head of Development at COL Sereal+, where microdrama series reached over 3 million views, Grace founded Celestine Pictures, an AI-native microdrama studio focused on global IP development.
Jiajian Min
Award-Winning AI + XR Artist and Researcher
Committee Chair, Global AI Film Hack @ MIT
Guest Lecturer & Researcher, Harvard University
Co-Founder, MYStudio
Jiajian Min is a new media artist and interdisciplinary researcher whose work bridges artificial intelligence, sensory perception, and immersive storytelling.
He is the Committee Chair of the Global AI Film Hack at MIT, Co-founder of MYStudio, and a collaborative researcher affiliated with both Harvard University and MIT.
Recognized as one of the 2023 Forbes China 100 Most Influential Chinese, his work has received honors including the Lumen Prize, Arte Laguna Prize, and ACM Multimedia Best Interactive Art Award, and has been exhibited at leading venues such as the Venice Biennale et Ars Electronica Art Gallery.
Minh Do
Cofounder, Machine Cinema & Fantastic Day
Entrepreneur, filmmaker, and educator exploring AI-native storytelling.
Minh Do is a filmmaker, speaker, and entrepreneur working at the intersection of AI, storytelling, and creative technology. He is the co-founder of Machine Cinema, a collective exploring AI and emerging technology in film and art, and Fantastic Day, where he leads AI production for musicians, filmmakers, and brands.
He is also a producer at Fairground.tv, an AI FAST channel aiming to distribute AI-generated content globally.
Minh actively participates in creator partner programs across leading AI platforms including Sora, Pika, Luma Dream Machine, and ChatGPT 4o Image, allowing him to experiment with cutting-edge generative media workflows.
John Gauntt
Creative Director, Seattle AI Film Festival
Creative director, storyteller, and AI media strategist focused on the future of generative media.
John Gauntt is the Creative Director of the Seattle AI Film Festival and a founder of Culture & Code, a B2B podcast and newsletter for creative professionals working with generative AI. He also serves as the Seattle Chapter President of the Applied AI Association.
His work and commentary on technology, media, and marketing have been featured in The Economist et eMarketer, and his audio stories and AI short films have received recognition from the Signal Awards, On Air Fest, and the Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Festival.
Paul A. Byrd Jr.
Founder, 13 Layers
Creative storyteller and visual designer with more than 25 years of experience across illustration, motion graphics, photography, and video production.
Paul A. Byrd Jr. has supported global brands including Intel, Samsung, Dolby, AAA, and McDonald’s, with work spanning education, entertainment, film, and digital media. As the founder of 13 Layers, he explores how AI can expand visual storytelling while connecting traditional craft with new forms of narrative design.
Ian Wasseluk
Emmy-nominated filmmaker and creative leader with more than 20 years of experience across Hollywood animation and AI-augmented production.
Ian Wasseluk has worked with leading studios including Warner Bros., Disney, and Netflix, contributing to projects such as The Powerpuff Girls Movie et Johnny Bravo. With a background in directing, writing, and large-scale storytelling, he brings deep experience in bridging classical animation craft with emerging production technologies.
He is currently focused on building AI-augmented production systems that integrate tools such as Veo, Kling, and ComfyUI, helping studios and brands develop scalable creative workflows while maintaining strong narrative and artistic quality.
Michael Eng
Michael Eng
Emmy-recognized VFX Artist | 2x VES Award Nominee
Michael Eng is an Emmy-recognized visual effects artist and two-time Visual Effects Society (VES) Award nominee with deep experience across film and television production. During his nearly eight years at Barnstorm VFX, he contributed to acclaimed productions including Ted Lasso, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Star Trek: Picard, and Cowboy Bebop.
Now working at the forefront of generative cinema, Michael brings a perspective shaped by both traditional VFX craftsmanship and emerging AI-driven creative workflows. His work reflects a strong commitment to cinematic language, technical excellence, and story.
As a GAIC juror, Michael brings exactly the kind of perspective this moment calls for: one grounded in screen craft, open to new tools, and committed to keeping technology in service of creative vision.
Freddy Nager
Founder & Creative Strategist, Atomic Tango | Entrepreneurial Journalism Instructor, USC Annenberg
Creative strategist and marketing expert with more than 25 years of experience in digital media, branding, and content strategy.
Freddy Nager is the founder of Atomic Tango and a faculty member at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, where he specializes in entrepreneurial journalism and digital media strategy. With a background spanning both industry and academia, he brings a distinctive perspective on branding, storytelling, and the evolving relationship between media and emerging technology.
Adam Fratto
Producer, Creative Executive, Consultant, and Professor
Veteran film and television producer, creative executive, and media educator with extensive experience in scripted development, production, and strategy.
Adam Fratto is a Professor at USC Annenberg and a longtime producer and executive whose credits include series such as VIKINGS, HAVEN, GREEK, and CLEVERMAN. He has held senior leadership roles across major studios, networks, and production companies, including serving as Head of Scripted Programming at The History Channel.
He is also the co-founder of Cognito Entertainment, where he develops film, television, podcast, and documentary projects, including work exploring the intersection of comedy and AI.
Mao Ye
AI Director | AIGC Artist | Founder of VAITO
Mao Ye is an AI director and AIGC artist with a background in film art direction, as well as the founder of VAITO and CEO of Nalaru Beijing Media. An award-winning creator in AIGC filmmaking, he has contributed to productions including City of Life and Death, Chinese Zodiac, The Lost Bladesman, and Painted Skin.
His AIGC short Spring of Ice and Fire won Best Short Film in the AIGC section at the 2023 Beijing International Film Festival. From 2023 to 2025, he also initiated and judged multiple AI + culture competitions across China.
As a GAIC juror, Mao Ye brings a perspective rooted in cinematic craft, hands-on AIGC creation, and the fast-evolving AI film ecosystem.
More Judges Coming Soon
The GAIC jury panel will continue to expand as the competition grows.
Additional filmmakers, AI creators, and industry leaders will be announced in the coming weeks, further strengthening the global perspective behind the Global AI Content Challenge 2026.
👉 Learn more about GAIC
https://www.imastudio.com/gaic
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