Poland’s national squad, Team Eagles, has advanced to the semifinals of the GenJam Director’s Cup, an international tournament where filmmakers from around the world create short films using artificial intelligence. Captained by director and AI Production Architect Michał Jan Owerczuk, Poland reached the final four after defeating France and then overcoming Nigeria, which represents Nollywood, one of the world’s largest film industries.
The Director’s Cup matches take the form of intense four-hour creative sprints. Teams receive their topic, protagonist, and mandatory story elements only at the start of the round, leaving just four hours to develop concepts, generate visuals and animation, produce audio, edit, and deliver finished films with AI-powered tools. More than 60 countries entered the competition, with 16 advancing to the knockout bracket. An international jury evaluates the entries based on story, AI utilization, aesthetics, cinematography, editing, and overall impact, with each country’s result decided by its three highest-rated films.
Team Eagles unites traditional Polish filmmakers with specialists in artificial intelligence, virtual production, editing, and new workflow pipelines. Alongside Owerczuk, the roster includes Adam Bajerski, Maciej Żemojcin, Agnieszka Kokowska, Monika Jakutowicz, Emilian Szopa, Michał Siedlecki, Filip Czernow, Piotr Dudak, and Michał Sosna.
Owerczuk also played an instrumental role in shaping the tournament’s national team format, with Machine Cinema’s Minh Do publicly acknowledging his inspiration behind the Director’s Cup concept. The director, whose AI-assisted film “Broken Arrow” earned a special mention at the Seoul International AI Film Festival, is carrying these international experiences forward as Founder and Art Director of Warsaw Glitch 2026.
Original source: Interia (in Polish).
Source: Interia Gry (opens in a new tab). Facts checked against the source on .
