Bring your Laptop and an empty stomach! We'll have food for you! (Dumplings and Hotpot!)
Make the trailer. Test the film. Watch together!
In the middle of Sundance—where unfinished films, big ideas, and real stakes collide—we’re hosting a GenJam with a competitive edge: teams will create a short trailer for an independent film, and the best one wins an award.
This is still collaborative and supportive—but with a clear goal, a clock, and a reason to sharpen decisions.
The challenge
Each team has a limited window to:
Clarify what the film is actually about
Identify its emotional hook and genre promise
Generate visuals, moments, sound, and structure with AI tools
Cut a 30–90 second trailer that makes people lean forward
At the end, we screen all trailers together.
The competition
After the screening, trailers are judged on:
Clarity – Does the trailer clearly communicate the film?
Emotional impact – Does it make you feel something?
Cohesion – Do the images, sound, and pacing work together?
Boldness – Does it take a creative risk?
Judging will be a mix of room vote + facilitator panel.
The award
The winning team receives:
Best Trailer Award (Sundance GenJam)
A small but real prize (credits, tools, or partner-supported reward)
Spotlight across Machine Cinema channels
Bragging rights that actually matter in a room full of filmmakers
More importantly: the winner leaves with a trailer that works—not just something experimental.
Why make it competitive
A little competition does something important:
It forces decisions instead of endless options
It simulates real-world pressure (funders, festivals, deadlines)
It sharpens taste—fast
Think of it less as “winning” and more as pressure-testing your film in public.
Who it’s for
Indie filmmakers and producers
Directors with projects in development
Writers, editors, artists, technologists
Anyone who wants to collaborate under real constraints
You can bring a project—or join a team and help someone else level theirs up.
Learn. Create. Play. Compete (a little).
Leave Sundance with a trailer—and a clearer sense of your film.
Huge Thank you to Goodside!
Goodside is a group of creative enthusiasts who are also writers, directors, producers, industry folks, performers, journalists, tech entrepreneurs, and occasional politicos.
We like deep conversations, hot dumplings, cold beers, and late night hangs.
Each year, Goodside organizes a number of houses at film and entertainment festivals—including Sundance and Cannes, SXSW, Telluride, Venice, Toronto and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We want to provide a space for people from all different backgrounds to come together over their love for film. and the performing arts.