CREDO 23 Film Festival

CREDO 23 Film Festival

This week, rather than recommend a particular movie, we draw attention to the CREDO 23 Film Festival—proudly billed as the first “no-AI” film festival. Writer, director, producer, author, and actress Justine Bateman, who has been vocal in her opposition to the use of generative AI in filmmaking, launched the festival to honor “the incredible human artists who make films.” At the time of CREDO 23’s creation in 2023, Hollywood was grappling with extended writer and actor strikes in which AI was a major bone of contention.

In its statement to prospective applicants, CREDO 23 made its position on AI plain:

“We are interested in the future of human filmmaking. Generative AI has no place in filmmaking. It is based on stolen work. It only regurgitates the past. We want to see the New Work coming from your filmmaking gifts.”

Judging by enthusiastic comments from those who participated in the first festival (March 28-30, 2025)—and by the fleet of actors, directors, writers, producers, cinematographers, costume designers, and other artists credited as festival programmers—many in the arts and filmmaking communities share those sentiments.

Impressively, the non-profit CREDO 23 Foundation that runs the festival aims not only to provide a venue for existing films but also to encourage continued “human filmmaking.” The inaugural festival earned enough (after paying staff and covering costs) to award a grant of $2300 to each short film and $6000 to each feature film screened at the event.

As the banner that scrolls across the CREDO 23 website emphasizes, “We support creativity, not conformity.”