Wolverhampton’s annual Deaf-led film and TV festival DeFest has come under fire after releasing a promotional video for this year’s event created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI).
The two-minute video, shared to social media on Tuesday, begins with a disclaimer that it “features a hybrid of AI-assisted technology and real-life footage,” which it calls an “experimental and creative exploration.”
The clips include a man spotting a ‘Deaffest’ sign on the highway, a woman designing her own dress and two female models taking to the catwalk.
Derfest said in a caption accompanying the video that all performers “gave informed consent for the use of their likenesses, including the AI-enhanced elements incorporated during production.”
Additionally, “all license agreements have been pre-revised to ensure that the applications and AI video generation tools used in production comply with the relevant terms and conditions and have been approved by the appropriate parties.”
However, while many deaf people have hailed the video as “awesome” and “surreal” for its “masterful use of AI”, other creators have criticized the festival for its use of controversial technology.
BAFTA-nominated writer and director Ted Evans’ feature debut retreat The film, which premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, asked, “Is AI supporting filmmakers and all the people who work so hard to make films?”
Zoe McWhinney, sign language poet, actor, and co-writer of the stage adaptation. republic of the deaf Last year Ilya Kaminsky added: “I was relieved to see that the comment section didn’t feel like AI.”
One account wrote, “AI most directly harms people with disabilities and marginalized communities. I understand the excitement about using AI, but I’m a little disappointed in this.”
Another replied: “This is great, but please stop using AI. It’s really ruining the planet!”
Along with sharing the promotion on social media, Darefest also posted an article on its website explaining the decision, writing that the festival is “committed to supporting creativity, innovation, and accessibility within the filmmaking community.”
“As part of the Deaffest 2026 promotional campaign, we conducted a small creative study using AI-assisted tools to better understand how emerging technologies work and benefit traditional trailer production.”
“This research reflects our interest in understanding how new tools can support filmmakers, especially those with limited budgets and resources.
“At the same time, Darefest remains committed to fairness, transparency, and ensuring that opportunities within the festival are inclusive and balanced for all filmmakers.
“We believe it is important for festivals to stay aware of developments in the creative industries in order to continue to support our community and avoid unintentionally limiting opportunities for filmmakers who choose to use new technologies responsibly.Darefest is currently closely monitoring the ongoing industry debate about the use of AI in the screen space.”
“This promotion was created by a human team with the help of new creative tools.”
Defest will be held in Wolverhampton from May 8th to 10th.
DeFest has been contacted by Liam O’Dell for further comment.
