Bigloo to host 2026 global AI short drama festival

[UP! START] Spoon Labs to host a drama contest titled '3 Minutes That Make You Curious About the Next Episode.'

NBNTV | Reporter Jeong Dong-jin — Bigloo, a short-form drama platform, will host the '2026 Bigloo Short Drama Festival,' a global AI short drama contest with a total prize pool of $20,000 (approximately 30,000,000 KRW), starting on the 21st.

According to Spoon Labs on the 14th, the contest will be conducted using Bigloo Studio, an AI production platform developed in-house by Bigloo. The theme is '3 minutes that make you curious about the next episode.' Interested creators must submit a 3-minute AI short drama pilot video by October 11.

The 20 teams that pass the internal screening and advance to the finals will have their works posted on the Bigloo platform in late October, where rankings will be determined based on viewership data. Five teams will be selected in November. The first-place winner will receive $10,000 (approximately 15,000,000 KRW), the two second-place winners will receive $3,000 (approximately 4,500,000 KRW) each, and the two third-place winners will receive $2,000 (approximately 3,000,000 KRW) each.

All entries, including the final winners, will be given the opportunity to produce official works through an additional screening process.

To create an environment where creators can participate without a heavy cost burden, Bigloo has introduced a pre-registration system and a step-by-step credit refund policy. From today until the 20th, 300 pre-registered individuals will be granted 5,000 credits for production. These 5,000 credits are typically enough to produce five to six 30-second videos at 720p resolution.

Furthermore, the structure is designed so that creators receive more of their used paid credits back as they pass each screening stage, allowing them to reinvest in future works. Upon passing the first screening, 50% of used paid credits will be refunded up to a limit of 10,000 credits; upon advancing to the finals, 100% will be returned within a limit of up to 25,000 credits.

Bigloo plans to host these contests regularly to establish a creator cultivation pipeline ranging from discovering new talent and IP to formal content collaboration. Rather than providing one-time prize support, the goal is to create a structure that connects Bigloo Studio, which handles production, with the Bigloo platform, which handles distribution, to link discovery with content commercialization.

Choi Hyuk-jae, CEO of Spoon Labs, stated, "As AI video technology advances rapidly, anyone can create an impressive single scene, but what we are focusing on is the next step. Ultimately, we will enhance Bigloo's content competitiveness by building a system that can secure new IP more quickly and verify it in the market best practices.""