medianet CreativeTech AI Hackathon

Stations along a pipeline with real-world cases

What is the medianet CreativeTech AI Hackathon 2026?

A hybrid venture-building program comprising workshops, mentoring, and independent teamwork. Companies and institutions contribute real, previously unsolved problems . Each team takes on one of these and builds the tools and workflows to solve it. The result is not concept studies, but prototypes developed from real-world cases of real companies.

curated teams 5-6 people from tech, creation and concept
Challenge Tracks with companies from film, TV, advertising and creative technologies
Participation for hackers free, including token budget per team for model access and APIs
Program language English
All participating hackers receive a one-year individual membership at medianet berlinbrandenburg eV – and thus access to the network of around 400 member companies in the media, creative and digital industries.

Eight weeks residency, two events

How does that go?

September 7–September 30, 2026 — Application. You are applying as an individual, not as a team, and without yet committing to a specific challenge. The challenges will be available to view before the application deadline; teams and challenge assignments will be determined during the program.
October 5–8, 2026 — Selection & Notification. Selected participants will be notified.
08.10.-15.10.2026 — Independent team formation via skill profiles on the platform.
October 15, 2026 — Kickoff Event, NLND Berlin. Challenge pitches from the companies, final team assignments, networking. After the kickoff, the teams are in place, and the work begins.
October 15th – December 7th, 2026 — Residency. Eight weeks of hybrid learning: independent teamwork, weekly workshops and sessions, ongoing mentor office hours, plus online sessions for progress updates and pitch training. Your submission will only be visible to your challenge provider until the showcase.
December 7th, 2026 — Showcase Event, NLND Berlin. All teams will present their results to guests from film, television, advertising, technology, business, and innovation. Afterwards, the submissions will be visible to all participants in the results gallery.

four companies, four challenges

The challenge

Four companies. Four real-world production problems. Eight weeks to build new AI-based solutions. At the medianet CreativeTech AI Hackathon 2026, teams are working on challenges from:

Constantin Entertainment: “From Vertical Script to AI Trailer”

How can generative AI turn MATILDA , a historical vertical drama, into a compelling 9:16 trailer with consistent characters and world?

Gretchen: “Invisible Fixes in Post-Production: AI Object Removal / Replacement for Moving Shot”

How might we reliably remove unwanted on-set objects from complex moving shots when clean plates, camera movement and lighting do not perfectly match?

Promptr: “Kick-off Alignment for AI Production”

How might AI turn treatments and email threads into shared expectations, clear decisions and actionable feedback before a production kick-off?

seven200. AI Studios: “Agentic Previs: Directing AI Actors in 3D”

How might we translate the language of directing directly into dialogue, blocking and camera coverage for multi-character scenes played by AI actors in 3D?

You're reading this and thinking about at least one of the challenges: I have an idea for that? Perfect!

Apply by October 4th, 2026 to become a hacker for the medianet CreativeTech AI Hackathon 2026!

7 Module

The Residency

The program combines online and in-person sessions at NLND Berlin. A workshop takes place each week – alongside independent teamwork, mentor consultations, and product development.

Module 1: Challenge Selection & Framing (Program Mentors)
Module 2: Customer Insight & Validation (UX Research Lead / Design Researcher)
Module 3: Innovation Clinics (Program Mentors)
Module 4: Product & AI Concept Design (Senior Product Manager – AI/Tech Product)
Module 5: System & MVP Build Sprint (AI Solutions Architect / Full Stack AI Engineer)
Module 6: Storytelling (Pitch Coach)
Module 7: Pitch Practice (Pitch Coach)

The goal goes beyond the showcase

What is the goal?

There is no jury and no prize. All teams present on an equal footing. The goal is not to choose a winner, but to identify which ideas should be developed further. From viable approaches , products, business models, collaborations, and spin-offs should then emerge.