Artificial intelligence takes center stage in Cannes
The 2025 Cannes Film Festival marked a turning point: for the first time, a music video created entirely by artificial intelligence received an official award. *Croquette Crew*, directed by the GenIArt collective, was named Best AI Music Video at the AI Film Awards, an emerging section dedicated to augmented audiovisual creation. This symbolic award raises questions about the shifting boundaries between art, technology, and creativity.
Croquette Crew: a creative and generative collective
The GenIArt collective, composed of artists, coders, and researchers, champions an experimental approach to the audiovisual medium. Croquette Crew, a playful and socially conscious project, features animal avatars rapping about contemporary themes such as cognitive overload, hyperconnectivity, and digital identity. The name alludes to the contrast between serious content and a humorous aesthetic, a hallmark of web culture.
A 100% AI-powered music video: from vocals to editing
What sets Croquette Crew apart is its exclusive use of artificial intelligence at every stage of production: voice, text, rhythm, images, animation, lip-syncing, and visual effects. No human artists appear on screen. The collective has combined several generative models to create a coherent, rhythmic, and aesthetically polished work, demonstrating the maturity of today’s tools.
What tools can be used to create a music video entirely using AI?
The video drew on a rich technological ecosystem:
- Voice and lyrics generated using ElevenLabs (realistic text-to-speech) and Suno AI (rap lyrics and melody),
- Animated images created using Runway, Kaiber, and Pika (generative video),
- Automated editing powered by Adobe Firefly, with Descript support for synchronization,
- Multimodal models such as GPT-4 for storyboarding, narrative structure, and semantic coherence.
The system is built around a coordinated no-code/low-code pipeline, facilitating real-time collaborative creation.
Toward a new augmented audiovisual culture?
This project symbolizes the emergence of a new form of generative art. The AI music video becomes a multifaceted, fluid, replicable, and customizable work of art. It questions the role of storytelling in a world where text, images, and sound can be generated at will. This accessibility opens up creation to non-technical users, but also raises challenges regarding originality, authenticity, and artistic value.
Ethical Issues: Rethinking Creation Without Dehumanizing It
While Croquette Crew impresses with its technological prowess, it also invites us to reflect on the balance between automation and human expression. The collective emphasizes the ethical use of AI as a tool for creative liberation, not as a substitute. An internal charter ensures that productions do not misappropriate existing works, that voice models do not mimic identifiable artists, and that every production respects intellectual property1.
Public and critical reactions
Premiered at Cannes, the music video captivated audiences with its bold aesthetic and offbeat humor. Some critics hailed it as an “artistic oddity,” while others expressed reservations about the “emotional void” of a work without human performers. On social media, the debate is heated, revealing a generational divide in the perception of generative art.
What’s next? AI as a catalyst for cultural innovation
With this award, the AI Film Awards appear to be acknowledging that artificial intelligence is no longer limited to tools but is becoming an integral part of the creative process. Many studios are now exploring hybrid formats: human-machine co-creation, interactive clips, and live generative performances. Croquette Crew could well mark the beginning of an aesthetic revolution in the audiovisual industry.
References
1. GenIArt. (2025). Ethical Charter for Generative Creation.
https://www.genIart.org/charte