Ukraine’s ‘The Night Shift’ Triumphs at AI International Film Festival in Los Angeles
A Ukrainian animated short film created with the help of artificial intelligence has won a major award at the AI International Film Festival in Hollywood.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Suspilne.
The short film “The Night Shift,” produced by Ukrainian creative agency Adshot Creative, was named Best Short Animation at the festival, with winners announced in Los Angeles on December 14, according to a press release.
Out of 120 submissions, the international jury selected 14 winning films. Judges praised The Night Shift as a “quiet yet striking work,” highlighting its intimate, textured visual style and its exploration of the fragile boundary between life, pain, and personal identity.
The festival also recognized films from Switzerland, the United States, Germany, Italy, Australia, South Korea, Armenia, France, China, and Israel.
The Night Shift centers on the inner world of a person whose work places them in constant proximity to death. The film reflects on how sustained exposure to others’ suffering reshapes an individual, urging viewers to consider empathy, emotional endurance, and the human cost of care.
“This is a story about how someone else’s pain gradually becomes part of your own experience,” said Yuliia Kulish, the film’s creator and screenwriter. “We wanted to speak about conscious engagement with pain as a way not to break, and as a path toward compassion, remembrance, healing, and the ability to keep living.”
The short film was produced using a range of artificial intelligence tools. Visual imagery was generated with Midjourney and ChatGPT, while animation was created using Kling 1.6, Hailou, and Veo 3. Voice-over elements were produced with HeyGen and Kling.
The story is presented through wool-style animation, a deliberate artistic choice that softens the impact of an otherwise deeply traumatic subject while preserving its emotional weight.
Earlier this year, “The Night Shift” was also named Best Animation at the MEGOGO AI Film Festival, held as part of the Odesa International Film Festival, further cementing its critical acclaim.
As The Gaze previously reported, Ukrainian cinema has gained prominent international recognition after two films connected to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine advanced to the shortlists for the 2026 Academy Awards.
Read more on The Gaze: Ukrainian Cinema: 9 Must-Watch Films That Define a Nation’s Spirit