When Filmmaker Ben Chimoy hosted the first Runway meetup in Berlin, seven curious creators showed up at a café with their laptops. Today, his AI Filmmakers Berlin community boasts over 50 people per event, attracts award-winning filmmakers, and has inspired other German cities to launch their own chapters. The community is now preparing for its biggest gathering yet—a special meetup during the Berlinale, one of Europe's most prestigious film festivals.
Why Runway?
Ben Chimoy always combined new technologies with filmmaking—working with 3D, VR, and XR even as a student. When working at Zalando, he began incorporating AI elements into commercial spots. When he left to build his own agency, he used AI-generated videos to show clients design, colors, and overall film feel before committing to expensive traditional production. One client loved the AI prototype so much they wanted to use it in their actual marketing campaign.
For me, that was really an eye opener because at that time, about two years ago, the conversation was very hard on 'AI is not emotional.' And for me, it was proof of the opposite.
What set Runway apart was its early mastery of style consistency across shots. That reliability made it possible to focus more on storytelling decisions instead of technical workarounds, and led him to dust off old film school scripts—projects that film school professors had panned as too expensive to produce, requiring complex 3D work and elaborate setups. With Runway, he could iterate style prompts quickly until finding the right aesthetic, then maintain that visual consistency throughout every shot.
I was using References, iterating the style with different style prompts. When I found something, it was easier to have every shot in the style I wanted. At that time, it was one of the tools that was very ahead of the others on style prompting and consistency.
The Next Generation of Creatives
Ben is also involved in teaching AI filmmaking, which gives him close insight into how younger creatives are experimenting with these tools. While his generation experiences constant "wow" moments comparing AI workflows to traditional production timelines, students who've never known those long processes approach the technology more practically. He reminds students of the tremendous opportunities for experimentation this unlocks.
The way is so short from your mind to the screen—that's not normal. Back when I was a student, everything was very careful because we knew things took resources and time. You'd think 10, 20, 30 times and maybe not even do it. Now — just do it.
Berlin's personality—its openness to creative risk—helps overcome these barriers.
Berlin is a creative magnet. It’s an open city, and I think that’s why it goes well with AI filmmaking. You need a certain personality that would embrace a bit of risk, or to say it in another way, to be flexible and adapt quickly. Berlin has that vibe and has always had this vibe. That's why we have such big names in the community.
Among the regulars are creators like Mark Wachholz, whose short film "The Cinema That Never Was" has won prizes at multiple festivals, and who was present since that first seven-person gathering.
What's Next: Runway at the Berlinale
For February 2026, Ben is planning something bigger: a Runway meetup during the Berlinale, one of Europe's largest and most renowned film festivals. This will be an especially exciting meetup, as it will be the opportunity to welcome international talent gathering in the city.
The program will feature the usual showcase of short films from regular contributors, but with a new dimension: exploring extended distribution logics and formats with leading German media company ProSiebenSat.1.
About the artist:
Ben Chimoy is an award-winning Berlin-based GenAI Director, screenwriter, and producer blending cinematic storytelling with AI-native filmmaking. He studied at the Film University Babelsberg and has worked at companies including Meta and Zalando. Through the Runway Community, he also founded and leads AI Filmmakers Berlin, a platform connecting filmmakers working with artificial intelligence.
You can register for the Berlinale Runway meetup here.
Editorial Note: Runway Meetups are community-initiated and organized. They are not sponsored by Runway. To meet your local community (or bring it together), please visit runwayml.com/meetups
