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For AFRO TV's Cue Christmas '26 festival

Make your Christmas short

Start from a Christmas Eve template: three shots in one continuous take, with you in the story. Then keep building it into the short you submit.

30 days left. Submissions close November 20, 2026.

Start the Christmas templateSee the three shots
A grandmother and her granddaughter set out a wooden nativity scene on a fellowship hall table on Christmas Eve
Our own Christmas short, made in FXI Studio.

The festival

Cue Christmas '26

AFRO TV's Cue Christmas '26 festival takes Christmas-themed AI short films from October 5 to November 20, 2026. Ten finalists are named December 1, and the festival airs live December 12 on AFRO TV via Xfinity channel 1623 and NOW TV.

Festival rules and entry (opens in a new tab)

FXI Studio is an independent tool. Entries go to the festival directly, under its own rules.

Make your Christmas short in FXI

Three shots, one continuous take

Each shot starts on the exact last frame of the one before, so the camera never cuts away.

  1. A grandmother and her granddaughter at a fellowship hall table with a wooden nativity scene and a candle
    Shot 1

    Christmas Eve in the fellowship hall

    You arrive at the doorway of a church fellowship hall: paper lanterns, long tables, a tree in the corner. Add your photo and you are the one walking in.

  2. A grandmother opens a Bible beside her granddaughter, a nativity figurine on the table
    Shot 2

    Luke 2 at the table

    The camera follows you to a grandmother reading Luke 2 to her granddaughter from an open Bible. Chained from the last frame of shot one, so it never cuts.

  3. A family holds lit candles in a church pew on Christmas Eve
    Shot 3

    Candlelight in the sanctuary

    The three of you step into the sanctuary as the congregation lifts their candles toward the front. One continuous take, ready to extend in Director.

New accounts start with 65 free credits. Every cost shows before you tap.

After the template

Finish it for the festival

The template is your opening. Add scenes, sound and a closing shot in Director until the cut is ready to submit.

  • First Film Pack

    200 credits for $5, one time. Enough to add the scenes your short still needs.

    See the pack

  • Creator plan

    $15 a month with a monthly credit pool, for a short that keeps growing after the festival.

    Compare plans