Korean shorts break 14-year absence in competition at world's top three genre festival, marking international recognition of AI cinema's artistic potential

Poster image of ″National Pension″ (provided by Hongeo Films)

Two AI-generated short films directed by Son Ho-seung—National Pension and Eumbok Restaurant: MSG—have been officially selected for the competition section of Portugal's Fantasporto International Film Festival, one of the world's top three genre film festivals. This marks the first time a Korean short film has competed at Fantasporto in 14 years, since Choi Si-young's Lizard Girl in 2012.

According to production company Hongeo Films, both works will screen at the 46th Fantasporto International Film Festival, which opens February 27 in Porto, Portugal. The competition section selected just 22 films from over 900 submissions across 75 countries, making the simultaneous selection of two films by a single director particularly exceptional.

Founded in 1979, Fantasporto is the world's largest genre film festival and is counted among the top three fantastic film festivals alongside Sitges in Spain and Brussels in Belgium. It screens 144 competition titles annually, and award winners qualify for submission to major ceremonies including the Academy Awards, BAFTA, European Film Awards, and César Awards.

Both films were created using generative AI technology. Hongeo Films stated that "Fantasporto has taken note of how AI is fundamentally transforming the audiovisual realm this year," adding that while the films "utilized generative technology as a production tool, all decisions regarding story design, direction, editing, and sound selection were made under the director's judgment."

National Pension is part of the UNDER series, selected for the Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF) at this year's Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. The film intersects social systems and individual survival through black humor and satire, showcasing Son's distinctive directorial approach of transforming psychological horror and class anxiety into physical experience. The UNDER series is an eight-episode psychological and body horror anthology exploring guilt, isolation, and class anxiety, which received the Kantana Post Award at BIFAN 2025.

Eumbok Restaurant: MSG is a short adaptation of a feature film project currently in development. It examines the structure of emotion and labor consumed within rating and review systems through a black comedy horror format. The film has already won awards at major genre festivals across North America, Europe, and Australia, taking first place in both the Horror-Comedy and Horror Script categories at the Horror Hotel International Film Festival and Best Short Script at the Independent Horror Movie Awards. It was also a finalist at 13Horror.com, Renegade, and the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Son Ho-seung is a Korean filmmaker noted for transforming emotional truth into physical experience. Fusing psychological realism with visceral body horror, he explores the limits of solitude, guilt, and identity. His work is characterized by a distinctive visual style that translates repressed emotion into the cinematic language of the body.

Across shorts, features, and anthology projects, his works have been officially selected over 100 times and honored or shortlisted in more than 60 international competitions worldwide. His 2024 film Will You Come Up? garnered 81 official selections and 47 awards across 24 countries, including the Director's Award at Chungmuro Independent Film Festival, Best Horror Short at Stuff MX Film Festival in Mexico, and Best Screenplay at the Anatomy Crime & Horror Film Festival in Greece. In 2025, the film was selected for official showcase at Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia in Japan, and Son was invited as a jury member for the Jaipur International Film Festival in India.

Critics have described him as "a director who translates the darkness of Korean emotions into a universal cinematic language." Son has articulated his creative philosophy: "I'm drawn to the moment when emotion becomes matter—when guilt grows mold, or loneliness finds a body. Cinema, for me, is the process of turning invisible feelings into tangible horror."

Son Ho-seung's dual selection at Fantasporto carries significance across multiple dimensions. First, it marks a turning point where AI-generated films have moved beyond the experimental stage to compete on the main stage of a world-renowned genre festival. Since Runway's AI Film Festival launched in 2022, AI cinema has spread rapidly, but most works have remained confined to AI-specific festivals or special sections. Fantasporto's inclusion of AI films in its general competition demonstrates that AI is beginning to be recognized as a legitimate tool for artistic expression, beyond mere technological novelty.

Second, it validates that the strengths of Korean genre cinema—black humor and social satire—remain effective through new media. Both National Pension and Eumbok Restaurant: MSG address structural contradictions in Korean society and individual struggles for survival. By rendering specific Korean contexts such as the national pension system and rating culture through horror and black comedy, they demonstrate the ability to communicate with international audiences through universal emotional threads.

Third, it opens new possibilities for independent filmmakers. Generative AI technology allows for visual sophistication while alleviating constraints of budget and time. As Son emphasized that "story design, direction, editing, and sound are all under the director's judgment," AI functions not as a replacement for human creators but as a tool to realize their vision. This offers a practical alternative for independent filmmakers lacking capital and personnel.

How international film festivals will embrace AI cinema remains an ongoing conversation. Major A-list festivals like Venice, Cannes, and Berlin still maintain cautious positions. However, genre festivals are more proactive. Beyond Fantasporto, festivals including Sitges, Fantaspoa, and FrightFest are opening their doors to AI-assisted works. This represents a natural progression given genre cinema's traditional openness to technological innovation and experimentation.

In Son Ho-seung's case, his established international network and reputation likely worked positively toward the acceptance of AI films. Festival programmers took notice of what results emerged when his cinematic universe—recognized across 24 countries with Will You Come Up?—encountered AI as a new tool.

It will be worth watching how the two films are received at Fantasporto. Regardless of competition awards, this selection will serve as an important milestone for both Korean independent cinema and AI filmmaking. Opportunities may also arise for international distribution and feature production through the Short Film Market held during the festival. Considering that Son is developing Eumbok Restaurant as a feature, this festival could become a venue for discussions of international co-production or distribution.

Sources
• Max Movie, "Son Ho-seung's Two Short Films Selected for Fantasporto Competition", 2026.01.15