Michał Owerczuk reflected on attending AI on the Lot 2026, an event organized by Todd Terrazas at MGM Amazon Studios in Culver City. Owerczuk highlighted that what set the gathering apart was not the surrounding industry hype, but the creative energy and collaborative work unfolding among filmmakers, artists, and technologists forming the scene in real time.
A central highlight of the trip was connecting in person with the Machine Cinema community. For Owerczuk, meeting creative peers previously known only through online group chats, avatars, and video calls brought a deeply human dimension to the rapidly evolving AI filmmaking space.
During the event, Owerczuk participated in GenJam AIOTL 2026, a four-hour film hackathon hosted by Fred Grinstein and Machine Cinema at the historic Culver City Theater. Teaming up with the “Memes R US” crew, including Brogan Wassell, Sir Brian Wankum, Renard T. Jenkins, Jay Judah, Stuart Cripps, and Ravi Malhotra, the group brainstormed an original concept and completed two short films within the strict time limit, with Owerczuk handling visual generation manually using ComfyUI.
The team’s rapid production paid off with a Best Picture win at the GenJam competition. Owerczuk marked the victory as an unforgettable highlight of the event, celebrating the creative community driving narrative experimentation forward.
Original source: LinkedIn.
Source: LinkedIn (opens in a new tab). Facts checked against the source on .
