Experiencing Interruptions?

The Threshold

After twenty years of silence, Sophie meets with her mother Eva – a person who was once her father. This intimate encounter in the stuffy apartment of a ruined tenement becomes a confrontation with the past, pain, and questions about abandonment and acceptance. The film, in the convention of poetic auteur cinema, constitutes a technological and artistic experiment – generative AI tools have replaced the physical film camera here, capturing the world and emotions of the protagonists. It is a story about silence that can scream, and about a moment when one unexpected event can change everything, revealing a truth more painful than years of separation.
Awards & Recognition: Winner – Beyond Border IFF 2025 (Best AI Generated Film), Winner – Reale Film Festival 2025 (Best Super Short), Official Selection – BAIFF Venice 2025, Seoul International AIFF 2025, AI Film Awards Venice 2025, Nominee – Digital Griffix Film Awards 2026.

  • Jacek Kadaj
    Director
  • Jacek Kadaj
    Writer
  • Jacek Kadaj
    Producer
    A1Gen01 Labs
  • Jacek Kadaj
    Cinematographer
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Poetic Cinema, Auteur Cinema
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 10, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Poland
  • Country of Filming:
    Poland
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Ai
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.21:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • New York Tri-State International Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    August 24, 2025
    Official Selection (Narrative Short)
  • Swedish International Film Festival
    Arvika
    Sweden
    October 17, 2025
    Official Selection / Nominee (Best AI Film )
  • BAIFF – Burano Artificial Intelligence Film Festival
    Venice
    Italy
    October 14, 2025
    Award Winner: LIVE ACTION AWARD
  • Seoul International AI Film Festival (SIAFF)
    Seoul
    South Korea
    September 28, 2025
    Nominee / Finalist (Ai film)
  • AMT International Film Festival
    Nw York
    United States
    November 1, 2025
    Official Selection (Artificial Intelligence & Experimental)
  • Blagoevgrad Short Film Festival 2025
    Sofia
    Bulgaria
    October 18, 2025
    Official Selection (Best AI Short Film)
  • ASIAN INTERNATIONAL FILMFARE AWARDS
    Barasat, West Bengal
    India
    September 29, 2025
    Award Winner: Best Experimental Film
  • CinemaBriz Film Festival
    Barcelona, Catalunya
    Spain
    September 7, 2025
    Award Winner: Best Film created with AI
  • American Motion Pictures Festival
    Atlanta, GA
    United States
    August 15, 2025
    Award Winner: Best Experimental Films
  • East Village New York Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    September 28, 2025
    Award Winner: Best Experimental Film
  • Folkestone Film Festival
    Folkestone
    United Kingdom
    November 3, 2025
    Honorable Mention (Best Short Film)
  • AI Film Awards Venice 2025
    Dubai
    United Arab Emirates
    September 5, 2025
    Honorable Mention (AI Long Film)
  • Monza Film Fest
    Monza
    Italy
    August 31, 2025
    Honorable Mention
  • Amsterdam New Cinema Film Festival
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    November 30, 2025
    Honorable Mention (Best AI-generated Film)
  • Red Rocks AI Film Festival
    Saint George, Utah
    United States
    October 9, 2025
    Quarter Finalist (Best AI Short Film)
  • Golden Bridge İstanbul Short Film Festival
  • New York International Film Awards™ - NYIFA
    New York
    United States
    September 6, 2025
    Finalist (Best AI Film)
Distribution Information
  • A1Gen01 Labs
    Distributor
    Country: Poland
    Rights: All Rights, Internet, Video on Demand, Pay Per View, Hotel, Airline, Ship, Theatrical, Video / Disc, Free TV, Paid TV, Console / Handheld Device
Director Biography - Jacek Kadaj

Jacek Kadaj is a cinematographer, photographer, and new media artist with over 30 years of experience in traditional filmmaking. A graduate in Cinematography from the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice, Poland, his award-winning work has been exhibited internationally, published by National Geographic and Getty Images, and commissioned by global brands such as Nike, Microsoft, and Samsung. In recent years, he has been exploring the creative potential of generative AI, blending cutting-edge technology with an auteur’s sensitivity to craft intimate, emotionally resonant visual stories.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

“The Threshold” began with a question: Can artificial intelligence replace the film camera without replacing the humanity of the story? I wanted to see if these new tools could not only mimic reality, but capture the smallest human tremors — the flicker in a glance, the weight of silence, the fragile bridge between two people separated by decades of pain.

This is a film about a mother and daughter, but also about absence, memory, and the moment when unspoken words press louder than any dialogue. I chose a slow, deliberate pace, letting silence and stillness speak as much as the characters do.

For me, it’s an artistic experiment as much as it is a story — one that blends the traditions of auteur cinema with the possibilities of generative AI. Every frame was crafted through precise, repeatable prompts; every emotion coaxed from a model that knows nothing of love, loss, or reconciliation, yet can help us reflect them back to ourselves.