Unknown Artefact, a film by Lilit Barseghyan created entirely using artificial intelligence, has won the Best AI Film award at the AI International Film Festival, marking a milestone for Armenian cinema.
The film is Armenia’s first artistic feature-length production fully generated with AI technologies. Completed in November 2025, Unknown Artefact was submitted to the international competition in December and received the award during the festival’s screening on December 14.
Barseghyan, who has previously produced several full-length and short documentary films, turned to artificial intelligence in 2025 to create her first fictional feature film. Unknown Artefact is a fully author-driven work: Barseghyan not only generated the film using AI tools, but also wrote the screenplay and composed the music. The film’s soundtrack was likewise created through AI, incorporating elements of Armenian and classical music. The film is in English and has a runtime of 19 minutes.
Founded in 2021, the AI International Film Festival is the world’s first festival dedicated exclusively to films created with artificial intelligence. The independent festival features multiple award categories and hosts monthly screenings and competitions in Hollywood, along with online screenings for international audiences.
On the festival’s official website, Unknown Artefact is described as “an unexpectedly powerful 19-minute dive into the depths of a fractured consciousness—at once science fiction, psychological drama, and experimental fever dream.” The jury praised the film’s nonlinear narrative, its intentional use of visual distortions as metaphors for inner disintegration, and its restrained yet immersive cinematography, noting that the visual effects serve the story rather than overwhelm it.
The film follows Lili, a young woman who has achieved professional success as an art curator and appears to enjoy a fulfilled family life. Beneath this outward stability, however, lies an unresolved ambition: the desire to be recognized as a painter. Obsessed with leaving her mark, Lili attempts to inscribe her name everywhere—from archives and mountaintops to the ocean floor—while grappling with a deep fear of artistic failure. Her pursuit of recognition ultimately drives her to risk everything in an effort to be remembered as the greatest abstractionist of her time.
According to Barseghyan, Lili’s character reflects a familiar struggle. “She has the same problem as many people around us—constantly planning to create something, yet never taking the steps to do so,” the director said. The story takes an unexpected turn, ultimately suggesting that time preserves only what is truly real.
Commenting on the award, Barseghyan said that winning at such a prestigious international festival was both inspiring and motivating, encouraging her to continue developing new creative projects.
