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- Gilles DeCruyenaere
- Jun 11
- 7 min read
Behind the Curtain:
Patterns of Exploitation in AI Film Initiatives
Over the past year, I’ve participated in several AI film festivals and creator programs that presented themselves as exciting opportunities for emerging creators. But behind the glossy branding, I encountered a troubling pattern: unclear promises, opaque operations, and a lack of accountability.
I originally compiled this document for private sharing with a few individuals and platforms, but after continuing to witness the same concerns play out — and seeing no signs of transparency or reform — I believe it’s time to share it publicly.
The document below details my experiences with OCME, The AI Music and Video Show, AIF3, The AI Film Awards, and their affiliated projects. Screenshots and links are included to support the timeline and claims.
OCME, The AI Music and Video Show, AIF3, AI Film Awards, and KM Universe:
A Pattern of Misrepresentation and Grift in the AI Creator Economy
This document outlines a pattern of misrepresentation, vague promises, and questionable practices across a network of interconnected AI film initiatives. Based on firsthand experience and online research, it raises concerns about transparency, monetization claims, and potential grift affecting independent creators. The aim is to alert press, participants, and the broader creative community to these unresolved issues.
OCME/The AI Music and Video Show
The following is an email I sent to The AI Music and Video Show on January 14th, 2025, which outlines the concerns I had, and still have, regarding this organization:
Email to OCME/The AI Music and Video Show:
Hi Laura and Tony,
After much reflection, I've decided it's time for me to step away from my involvement with OCME and The AI Music Video Show.
While I've appreciated the opportunity to showcase my work, several ongoing issues have made it challenging to align with the project's direction and values:
Lack of consistent communication and transparency, despite assurances to the contrary. For example, stopping contributor payouts without prior notice or clear explanation.
Requests for unpaid work, such as creating tutorials, alongside requirements like signing up to OCME, providing a crypto wallet address, and uploading videos—all without clear timelines for compensation or monetization.
An empty treasury and free work being solicited, despite the apparent availability of funds for contests. This creates the impression of prioritizing new participants over ensuring fair treatment of current contributors.
Outdated and misleading websites, which diminishes trust in the platform. For example:
The OCME site states: "Monetize Your Content: As an OCME member, you have access to a unique monetization model for your AI-enhanced music videos and animations. We allocate 60% of our revenue—generated from subscriber fees—directly to creators like you."
The AIMVS site features questionable statements such as: "As an AI MVS creator, you'll benefit from: Expanded audience reach through our established platforms, Fair revenue sharing (60% of generated revenue goes to creators), Automated rights management and royalty payments..."
Considering the failure to mention that monetization is still a work in progress, some of these statements from both sites could be considered misleading.
Opaque presentation of company operations: Nexartis, which handles backend services for streams, uploads, and payments, lists as its clients several entities (The AI Music Video Show, The AI Music and Video Festival, The AI Music and Video Channel, Saturday Morning Cartoons, and OCME) that are all run by the same team. This circular relationship is presented in a way that could be seen as misleading or lacking transparency.
Concerns about OCME membership requirements: Announcing rising membership numbers while making OCME membership a requirement for participation in The AI Music Video Show raises questions about whether these numbers reflect genuine growth or are driven primarily by enforced participation.
These factors have created significant concerns about fairness, professionalism, and how contributors are valued. As a result, I feel it's best to part ways at this time.
I kindly request that my membership to OCME be canceled, and that my contributions to the channel/show be removed, with the exception of allowing my work to air if it is requested as part of a collective feature.
Thank you for understanding, and I hope these concerns can be addressed for the benefit of others involved.
Best regards,
Gilles DeCruyenaere "Kreefax"
On January 23rd, 2025, I received an email which did not directly address any of my concerns in any meaningful way.
Since then, The AI Music and Video Show has continued to recruit creators, thus diluting whatever amount creators could get if and when any payouts are actually available, requiring them to join the OCME ecosystem in order to be featured. They have also recently required users to supply crypto wallets along with other personal information, but also stating that creators could opt out of payouts, though doing so would result in their share of the payouts being divided among the other creators (a statement which appears designed to entice people into giving out this information). To date there is no clear monetization system in place.
I should note here that Laura Brugioni and Tony Rose (OCME and The AI Music and Video Show) were previously involved in a project called "Student Reader", which also touted the development of OCME as part of their apparent goal of helping teach students. It should be noted that neither https://studentreader.io/ nor https://ocmeco.org/ are showing on the web.
PJ Way, AIF3, and The AI Film Awards
Here is a timeline of events regarding the above mentioned entities, which raise serious red flags:
Timeline of Events
May 7, 2025: I tried to submit a film to AIF3 – Cannes, which is affiliated with the AI Film Awards. The deadline on FilmFreeway was listed as May 16, but submissions were already closed.
May 11: I contacted PJ directly and stated clearly that I had attempted to submit on May 7.
May 12: The deadline on FilmFreeway was silently changed from May 16 to May 10 — after my message.
PJ then claimed there was a late submission option through a partner festival (AI Film Awards Cannes) for a fee of €300 — a wildly disproportionate fee compared to earlier submission prices (under $30 USD). I agreed to receive the payment link, hoping to get a better handle on what was going on. He never sent it.
No Sign of the Event
May 22, 2025: The event date passed. The only evidence of it having happened is a single post on the AI Film Awards X page. There is no mention whatsoever of the event or of the winners from PJ Way and AIF3.
Pattern of Listing Changes
AIF3 has undergone five rebrands in five months:
January 21: AI Film Awards – Ukraine
February 3: AI Film Awards – Paris
March 31: AI Film Awards – Global
May 8: AI Film and Art Festival – Arizona
May 12: AI Film 3 – Cannes
This frequent rebranding appears to be a tactic to simulate legitimacy through location names — without any actual events or infrastructure to back them up.
My Prior Award – and Another Broken Promise
In PJ Way's first AIF3 festival (Year 1), I was awarded Best Sci-Fi and Top 10 Music Video. The FilmFreeway listing clearly stated there would be prizes for winners.
On May 5, I sent PJ a message asking if I had missed anything regarding prize distribution. On May 25th, he replied that last year's sponsors had not delivered on the prizes (which may be questionable considering one listed prize was Runway, a large and well-known company).
He then offered me a space on a large screen at The AI Music Video Festival (organized by the team at OCME and The AI Music and Video Show) which was occurring a few days later. Sensing this offer was performative, and already seeing serious problems with the organization, I declined.
Year 2 Already Promising More — Without Resolving Year 1
PJ has since announced Year 2 of the festival, with vague posts on X and a new FilmFreeway listing. The new listing again promises prizes, some "to be announced later." A post states: "For those who were shown last year, there are benefits for your initial belief" — without specifying what those benefits are. I, a winner from last year, received no direct contact, prize, or update.
The AI Film Awards (which AIF3 is affiliated with)
This organization raises several red flags, including apparently fake/abandoned websites and an obvious attempt to deceive the public by way of AI imagery.
The AI Film Awards is supposedly part of KM Universe, "a company driven by AI that is forging new paths in cinema." However, their online presence is highly suspicious:
Their website https://www.filmawards.ai/ contains placeholder content
The "Apply As Contestant" link goes to a "Page Not Found" error
Their LinkedIn posts feature clearly AI-generated images of supposed "studio spaces in Dubai"
Multiple associated websites appear to be fronts or contain only placeholder text
Connected Network
The following entities all appear to be connected: AIF3, The AI Film Awards, KM UNIVERSE DMCC, The AI Music and Video Show, OCME, AI Music Video Festival, and various related websites.
These interlinked projects all promise opportunity and exposure in the rapidly growing field of AI filmmaking, yet the lack of transparency, broken promises, and misleading representations suggest a model that benefits the organizers at the expense of the creators.
Conclusion
I am sharing this in the hope that others will come forward, and that media and industry professionals will take a closer look. Independent creators deserve honesty and accountability from the platforms that claim to uplift them.
The AI creator economy is still developing, and it's crucial that we establish standards of transparency and fair dealing now, before these patterns become normalized. Creators should be wary of organizations that:
Promise monetization without clear systems in place
Require extensive personal information without delivering on commitments
Constantly rebrand or relocate their "events"
Present circular business relationships as legitimate third-party endorsements
Use AI-generated imagery to simulate real infrastructure they don't possess
The creative community deserves better than empty promises and performative gestures. We must hold these organizations accountable and demand the transparency and professionalism that legitimate platforms provide.
Website Links/Info
https://x.com/AI_Film3/status/1907659477350031514 -- Post about Cannes AIFilmAwards - AIFilm3 festival
https://x.com/theaifilmawards. (Very empty x page - no list of winners for Cannes)
"AI film Awards is a part of KM Universe, a company driven by AI that is forging new paths in cinema."
Above site has link to “Visit Our Website”, which goes to https://www.filmawards.ai/
“Apply As Contestant” goes to "Page Not Found"
Search for “KM UNIVERSE DMCC” leads to: https://kmuniverse.com/about/ which has placeholder contact info
The following post on the KM Universe LinkedIn page shows images presented as "views of our 3 rooms in our AI Film Studio in hashtag#Dubai!" The images in the post are clearly ai generated! (See screenshots at the end of the Screenshots Gallery)
The following site appears unfinished or a placeholder (see screenshots):
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