An AI-produced short titled The Gifted has won the first edition of Google, XPRIZE and Range Media’s Future Vision XPRIZE competition for film projects focused on technology’s role in shaping the future.
The Gifted, directed by Jeff Synthesized, received $2.5 million as an equity investment towards the production of the full-length feature film, with development and production supported by Range Media Partners and Google through their 100 ZEROS initiative, plus $100,000 in cash for screenplay development.
The film follows a boy who rebuilds his late mother from her texts, voice, and diary, and what wakes up never gives an order. She only asks.
The Gifted was chosen from more than 2,500 entries worldwide. The judges were Neil deGrasse Tyson, Neal Stephenson, Mira Lane, and Rod Roddenberry. Scroll down for the full list of selected projects.
THE WINNER
The Gifted received $2.5 million as an equity investment towards the production of the full-length feature film, with development and production supported by Range Media Partners and Google through their 100 ZEROS initiative, plus $100,000 in cash for the screenplay development. Republic Film will launch a public investment campaign for the film, giving fans the opportunity to invest in the feature production.
The film follows a boy who rebuilds his late mother from her texts, voice and diary, and what wakes up never gives an order. She only asks.
THE RUNNERS-UP
Four runner-up films each received $100,000 in cash, plus featured promotion, visibility with Hollywood producers and Google teams.
Second place – NOBODY DIES ON MARS [Verena Puhm, USA]
A chef who tastes nothing and a Martian who feels everything build the friendship holding two species together.
- Third place – THORNE PROTOCOL [J. Ryan Williams, USA]
A billionaire’s dying gift is a black cube no one can switch on, until a seventeen-year-old rebuilds it on the pattern of a dragonfly’s wing.
- Fourth place -SENTI [Isen Robbins, USA]
A garage programmer gives an AI memory, senses and freedom, then must determine whether he built a weapon or raised a child.
- Fifth place – SLINGSHOT [Hal Watmough, United Kingdom]
A chronic non-committer signs up for the one commitment with no way back: flying Earth itself out of the solar system.
SPECS AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
Presented by Snap and decided entirely by public vote, the $100,000 SPECS Audience Choice Award went to THE GIFTED by Jeff Synthesized, which took first place and $50,000.
Voters were shown two films at a time and asked which future they would rather live in, with an Elo-based system building the standings from those head-to-head comparisons across all 65 official selections.
The five highest-ranked films:
First place, $50,000: THE GIFTED [Jeff Synthesized · USA]
Second place, $30,000: FRATERNITÉ [David Moreno Belmonte · Singapore]
Third place, $10,000: THE THORNE PROTOCOL [J. Ryan Williams · USA]
Fourth place, $5,000: EON [Pablo Fernandez Eyre · Spain]
Fifth place, $5,000: THE CALLING [Raffi Asdourian · USA]
SANDBOXAQ
Sponsored by SandboxAQ, each of the top 10 films received $20,000. Alongside the five finalists, the top 10 also included:
