AI artist aratama 璞 announces the official entry of their original short film, Ragna Astraea: Twin Shells, into the “AI Film Festival Japan — Short Film Competition 2026,” an international open call dedicated to cinematic works created with generative AI.

An International Open Call Set 100 Years Ahead

This competition is an international open call organized as a collaborative initiative between AI Film Festival Japan (AIFJ) and “LOOP 2126 ∞prelude∞.”
Under the theme “A world 100 years from now (the year 2126),” the festival seeks forward-thinking, AI-driven short films from creators around the globe.

Exceptional works that pass the initial screening will be showcased on the large outdoor screens of Tokyu Kabukicho Tower, as well as in public spaces and stages throughout Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district. Furthermore, works recognized for their high artistic merit will automatically qualify as official entries for the main “AI Film Festival Japan 2026” competition in November 2026.
The festival offers a platform for bringing AI-driven films from Japan to a wider international audience.

About Ragna Astraea: Twin Shells

The core concept of this film stems from a single question: what remains after humanity is gone? Even in a world devoid of people, there is a compelling possibility that memories, duties, and fragments of emotion might endure in alternate forms.
The story follows two autonomous robots locked in endless combat dictated by a forgotten mission. However, as shattered memories of their human past resurface, the underlying meaning of their battle gradually shifts. Rather than focusing solely on destruction and conflict, the narrative explores how a new future might emerge from the broken, the imperfect, and the half-forgotten.

Ragna Astraea: Twin Shells is a sci-fi short film created using generative AI. Centered on character designs that fuse mechanical anatomy with mythological motifs, it builds a cinematic atmosphere where profound silence and visceral tension coexist.
Through themes of a desolate Earth, fragmented memories, and two confronting entities, the film captures the lingering echoes of war and the possibility of renewal. By carefully layering the aesthetics of light, skies, weaponry, and physical form, the visual style achieves a delicate balance between apocalyptic finality and deep tranquility.

Artist Statement: aratama 璞

Ragna Astraea: Twin Shells is an original sci-fi short film created with generative AI. I focused on maintaining visual cohesion and a dense, self-contained world, while using the two central beings to evoke impermanence, loss, and emotional emptiness. With this entry, I’m grateful to be able to present the project as a completed cinematic work.

Entry Information

About aratama 璞

aratama 璞 is an AI artist, filmmaker, and VDJ based in Japan.
Working at the intersection of generative technology, cinematic aesthetics, and emotionally grounded storytelling, aratama 璞 creates works spanning AI-generated visuals, animation, and experimental film.
By weaving together themes of sci-fi, memory, mythology, and human fragility, aratama 璞 pursues a new frontier of cinematic expression—one born from the creative dialogue between human imagination and AI systems.