Jacopo Reale Wins Best Direction at Astana AI Film Festival for "The Fracture"

Jacopo Reale, Director and AI Creative Director at Labyrinth Reply, has been awarded Best Direction at the Astana AI Film Festival 2026 for his short film "The Fracture." The film was written and directed by Reale and produced by Animatix.ai and Labyrinth.

The inaugural Astana AI Film Festival is an international event focused on cinema and audiovisual productions enabled by artificial intelligence. Films were evaluated by an international jury on their use of AI tools, artistic vision, storytelling quality, and integration of technology into the creative concept.

"The Fracture" is set in 1515 and follows Queen Anna as she awaits her husband's return from war. Upon his return, the king is a changed man, haunted by visions. Anna's investigation into his condition leads her to discover a fracture in reality with far-reaching consequences.

The film was created entirely using artificial intelligence tools, combined with traditional filmmaking practices. This award comes during a period of growth for Labyrinth Reply, a Reply Group company specializing in AI-generated film and audiovisual productions, which integrates generative AI with traditional filmmaking expertise.