April 23, 2024

Our CREATORS @ FMX and ITFS on Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Day 2 of the STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK 2024! Find out where to find our CREATORS at FMX and ITFS on Wednesday, April 24!

9:30-19:00
FMX List-Saal Marketplace
MFG / AMCRS, RnDeep
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29878

9:30-19:00
FMX Max-Eyth-Saal Recruiting Hub
Accenture Song, Pixomondo, Recom, Rise
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29875

9:30-19:00
FMX Steinbeis-Saal School Campus
Animationsinstitut / FABW, Hochschule der Medien, Merz Akademie
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29867

10:30-19:30
ITFS Königsbau-Passagen GameZone
„The Bear – A Story from the WORLD OF GRA“ (by ITFS/FMX/APD Trailer Team)
Animationsinstitut Alumni (Mucks! Games)
https://www.itfs.de/en/events/gamezone-2/

11:00
FMX Raum Mannheim, Houdini Suite
USD Rendertime Procedurals in Production
Fuat Yüksel, RISE | Visual Effects Studios
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29971

12:30
FMX König-Karl-Halle
Real-time dreams: Can game engine unlock story worlds?
Track “Managing Change” curated by Imke Fehrmann, RISE
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28818

14:30
FMX Turm Aalen, VOD
How to Improve Profitability in VFX and Animation with an Improved Production Controlling Workflow
Heiko Burkardsmaier, Accenture Song
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28987

14:30
FMX Raum Reutlingen, Chaos Suite
Avatar the Last Airbender. Earth Bending Omashu
Georgios Mouroussidis, Nils Weisbrod, Accenture Song
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/30128

14:30
FMX
Coaches & Mentors Meetup
Organized and facilitated by Imke Fehrmann, RISE → per invite only (Please contact program@fmx.de for details)
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29954

15:00 ITFS
Festival Centre, Haus der Katholischen Kirche
Lecture: VR und Gesellschaft VR – Women & Making of Hölderlin’s Echo
Uni Tübingen
https://www.itfs.de/en/events/lecture-vr-and-society-vr-women-hoelderlins-echo/

15:30
ITFS Gloria 2
Tricks for Kids 1
Nashorn (Julia Ocker, Studio Film Bilder)
Siebenschläfer (Julia Ocker, Studio Film Bilder)
https://www.itfs.de/events/tricks-for-kids-1/

15:45
FMX Turm Aalen
Eisspin / Wormcatcher / The Salt Bag / Alpha channel in machine learning / ORIONO / Cyclic
Cyclic (Philipp Kamm, Célime Mörbt, Hochschule der Medien )
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28806

17:00
FMX König-Karl-Halle
VFX and the world of FALLOUT
Andreas Giesen, RISE | Visual Effects Studios
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28787

17:00
FMX Raum Reutlingen, Chaos Suite
Bridging the Gap: Pre-viz and post into the LED stage production era
David Gaspar Anastacio, Accenture Song, Oliver Markowski, RISE | Visual Effects Studios
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/30131

19:00
FMX Plaza in front of Haus der Wirtschaft
Get-Together

20:00
ITFS Gloria 1
International Competition 2: Welcome to the Dark Side!
Dodo (Yi Luo), Mariupol. A Hundred Nights (Sofiia Melnyk), Animationsinstitut / FABW alumni
https://www.itfs.de/en/events/international-competition-2-welcome-to-the-dark-side-2/

21:30
Die Note, Berliner Platz 1
Animation Lounge
AMCRS

April 22, 2024

Our Creators @ FMX and ITFS on Tuesday, April 23, 2024!

Let’s get started with STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK 2024, during which animation, VFX and games fans and professionals from all over the world will come together in Stuttgart to experience and exchange the latest trends, most impressive projects and most exciting stories: FMX – Film & Media Exchange (April 23-26, 2024), the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (April 23-28, 2024) and the Animation Production Days (April 23-25, 2024) will take place! We could hardly wait!

Of course, our CREATORS will be on board as well! Check out where they’ll be on the first day, on Tuesday, April 23!

9:30-19:00
FMX, List-Saal, Marketplace
MFG / AMCRS, RnDeep
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29878

9:30-19:00
FMX, Max-Eyth-Saal, Recruiting Hub
Accenture Song, Pixomondo, Recom, Rise
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29871

9:30-19:00
FMX, Steinbeis-Saal, School Campus
Animationsinstitut / FABW, Hochschule der Medien, Merz Akademie
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29867

10:00-18:00
FMX, Foyer Bertha Benz
Immersive XR Demos
Track “EU XR” curated by Volker Helzle, Animationsinstitut / FABW
EMIL:
FABW – Fate of the Minotaur: Alexander Kreische, Andreas Dahn, Eduard Schäfer, Justus Blönnigen, Leszek Plichta, Lisa Forelli, Simon Spielmann, Volker Helzle, Yvonne Krühler
Pixelcloud – Climate Change VR: Christoph Rasulis, Elija Schneider, Jonas Kirchner
MAX-R:
FABW – VPET (Digital Locations) & AnimHost: Alexandru Tufis-Schwartz, Francesco Andreussi, Jonas Trottnow, Simon Haag, Simon Spielmann, Volker Helzle
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29798

10:00
FMX Turm Aalen
Cybercity Lovestory IP-Intro and Screening (Film & VR pilot)
Animationsinstitut / FABW Alumni
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29246

10:00
FMX Bertha-Benz-Saal, VOD
PANEURAMA innovation alliance for the creative media sector
Track “EU XR” curated by Volker Helzle, Animationsinstitut / FABW
Christian Müller, Animationsinstitut / FABW
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28982

10:45
FMX Bertha-Benz-Saal, VOD
MAX-R – Mixed Augmented and Extended Media Pipeline
Track “EU XR” curated by Volker Helzle, Animationsinstitut / FABW
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28983

11:15
FMX Turm Aalen
Cybercity Lovestory MD-Intro and Screening (Film & VR pilot)
Animationsinstitut / FABW Alumni
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/30071

11:15
FMX Raum Reutlingen, VOD
Recruiting Presentation Accenture Song
Lutz Marquardt & Betty Tytko, Accenture Song
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29660

11:30
FMX Bertha-Benz-Saal, VOD
EMIL – European Media and Immersion Lab
Track “EU XR” curated by Volker Helzle, Animationsinstitut / FABW
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28984

12:15
FMX Bertha-Benz-Saal, VOD
Panel Discussion EU XR
Volker Helzle, Animationsinstitut / FABW (also curator of the Track “EU XR”)
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29665

12:30
FMX Turm Aalen
Cybercity Lovestory – Behind the Scenes of a visionary IP
Animationsinstitut / FABW Alumni
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29850

14:30
FMX Bertha-Benz-Saal, VOD
FRITZI & SOPHIE – a boundless friendship
Thomas Meyer-Herrmann, Studio FILM BILDER
Track “Managing Change” curated by Imke Fehrmann, RISE
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28802

14:30
FMX Turm Aalen
That which doesn’t kill us… AI Education Panel
Olia Lialina, Merz Akademie
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28972

14:30
FMX Meidinger-Saal
Immersive Artwork: Pushing the boundaries of location based entertainment
Track “Games & Beyond” curated by Anna Brinkschulte, Animationsinstitut / FABW
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28782

15:45
FMX Bertha-Benz-Saal
The Intricate Process of Producing Visual Effects for Television Series
Track “Managing Change” curated by Imke Fehrmann, RISE
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28801

15:45
FMX Turm Aalen, VOD
Technical Directing and Setextension Workshop
Animationsinstitut / FABW students
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28864

15:45
FMX Raum Tübingen
Futurescape Fishbowl on Innovating in Creative Education and Industry
Animationsinstitut / FABW
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29801

15:45
FMX Meidinger-Saal, VOD
Creating The Blackwall VFX for Cyberpunk 2077 : Phantom Liberty
Track “Games & Beyond” curated by Anna Brinkschulte, Animationsinstitut / FABW
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28881

16:00-19:30
ITFS Königsbau-Passagen GameZone
„The Bear – A Story from the WORLD OF GRA“ (by ITFS/FMX/APD Trailer Team)
Animationsinstitut Alumni (Mucks! Games)
https://www.itfs.de/en/events/gamezone/

17:00
FMX Meidinger-Saal, VOD
THE BEAR – Making Meaningful Mobile Games and Designing for Calmness
Animationsinstitut Alumni Clara Deitmar, Julius Dorsel (Mucks! Games, FMX/ITFS/APD 2024 trailer team)
Track “Games & Beyond” curated by Anna Brinkschulte, Animationsinstitut / FABW
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28880

17:00
FMX Bertha-Benz-Saal, VOD
Panel: Being the Change Through Mentorship
Imke Fehrmann, RISE (also curator of the Track “Managing Change”)
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28803

17:00
FMX Turm Aalen, VOD
The strengths of story worlds: IP-based projects “PAM PAM PAM” and “THE DEEP ABOVE”
Animationsinstitut / FABW students
https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29527

17:00
LAVAlabs, Mittelstraße 9/1, 70180 Stuttgart
BBQ Lavalabs
All AMCRS members are cordially invited!

19:00
FMX Plaza in front of Haus der Wirtschaft
Get-Together

April 22, 2024

The AMCRS Showreel 2024 is online!

Just in time for STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK 2024, we are releasing the showreel of the Animation Media Creators Region Stuttgart for you! Take a look at the current projects and highlights of our CREATORS from the areas of animation, VFX and games! Have fun watching!

April 19, 2024

New Creators on Board – welcome, gretels gold!

We are very pleased to introduce you to our new AMCRS member gretels gold!

gretels gold specialize in the development and financing of animation projects and family entertainment formats.

Their managing director Gisela Schäfer has over 25 years of experience in the industry and close relationships to companies such as LEONINE, ZDF, ARD, BETA Film, ZDF Studios and edel kids. International co-operations, e.g. in Benelux, France, India, Italy, Malaysia and Singapore, form a further basis for projects. Gisela Schäfer has produced numerous projects, including the feature films “The Ogglies – Welcome to Smelliville”, “Yakari – The Film” and TV-series such as “Henrietta – The Cow” and hybrid productions such as “Let it Glow – How Pauline Saved Christmas”.

A warm welcome! Find out more about gretels gold here!

April 9, 2024

The ITFS 2024 German Animation Screenplay Award Nominees!

The Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film 2024 has announced the nominated projects for this year’s German Animation Screenplay Award!

Billie Beat (Author: Beke Rienitz)
Das NEINhorn (Authors: Marc-Uwe Kling, Marcus Sauermann)
The Ogglies – Rexy Alarm! (Author: Toby Genkel)
Out of Frame (Authors: Giles New, Keiron Self)

The Award for the best German screenplay for an animated feature film that has not yet been realized comes with a cash prize of € 2,500, sponsored by Animation Media Cluster Region Stuttgart (AMCRS).
The German screenplay with the biggest international market potential will receive a prize of € 1,500, donated by Pink Parrot.

The awards aim to promote excellent screenplays for German animated feature film projects in German and English language as well as promising authors, and to highlight the importance of professional screenwriting.

The German Animation Screenplay Award will be presented at the ITFS as part of the AniX Awards on Thursday, April 25 at 19.00 CET in the Filmmakers’ Lounge (Festival Center – Haus der Katholischen Kirche Stuttgart), along with the Trickstar Business Award, which honors the best innovative and forward-looking business model in the animation sector, and the ASIFA Prize, which goes to Michaela Pavlátová this year.

If you would like to find out more about the screenplays and the people behind them, join the W orkshop-Talk on Thursday, April 25 at 12:30 CET at Cinema: There, Marco Kreuzer, board member of the VeDRA – Verband für Film- und Fernsehdramaturgie, will talk to the nominees of the German Animation Screenplay Award about dramaturgical work and script development based on the nominated scripts.

The candidates for the Animated Games Award Germany 2024, the € 5,000 prize for the best and most innovative animation-based computer game from Germany, donated by MFG Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, were also announced. The Animated Games Award Germany 2024 will be presented at the ITFS Grand Award Ceremony on Sunday, April 28, 2024.

–> Find out all nominations h ere!

We keep our fingers crossed for all nominees!

Source: I TFS News, ITFS LinkedIn

April 7, 2024

SWR TV documentary about current animation projects involving our Creators

Fritzi & Sophie – A Boundless Friendship

The German TV documentary “Frame by Frame – Wie Trickfilmer ticken” by SWR provides insights into the creation of the animated series “Fritzi & Sophie – A Boundless Friendship” and the animated feature film “The Light of Aisha”.

“Fritzi & Sophie” is a co-production of Balance Film Dresden, Trickstudio Lutterbeck Cologne and our CREATORS from Studio Filmbilder in Stuttgart and the first animation series to be produced entirely in Germany. Director and producer Thomas Meyer-Hermann (Studio Filmbilder), director and producer Ralf Kukula (Balance Film) and others involved in the production process will talk about the new technique in animated film of using motion capture in combination with CGI.

Exciting insights into the series and its creation will also be available in a few weeks at the Stuttgart Animated Week at FMX and ITFS. It will also celebrate its world premiere at ITFS (episodes 1-4, episodes 5-8).

Shadi Adib, director of the feature film “The Light of Aisha” and alumna of Animationsinstitut, talks about the making of the international co-production, whose screenplay by Xavier Romero and Llorenç Español won the German Animation Screenplay Award at ITFS 2019 and which is due to be released in cinemas in the fall. Further insights are provided by Kate Forsdick and Holger Tesch from The M.A.R.K. 13 Group in Stuttgart and Peter Keydel from Mago Production in Barcelona.

Take a look!

Directly to feature in the ARD media library, it is available until April 1, 2025.

April 2, 2024

Start-Up Monday in Ludwigsburg on April 8, 2024

On April 8, the Wirtschaftsförderung der Stadt Ludwigsburg and the Kokolores Collective are hosting their first Start-up Monday. The networking event will take place at the Kokolores creative center in Ludwigsburg (Mörikestr. 28/2) and will begin at 16:30 CET.

Start-up Monday connects the Ludwigsburg start-up community with the regional creative scene. Participants will gain an insight into the Kokolores creative center and can get to know and try out various regional products from the fields of games, animation and virtual reality. The program includes a discussion round, start-up pitches and plenty of space for networking with music and drinks. Our CREATORS from Pixelcloud and Animationsinstitut will also be part of the event.

Founders and start-ups from the Ludwigsburg area will have the opportunity to present themselves and their creative products at Start-up Monday. If you are interested, please register by e-mail to Dr. Max Höllen from the Wirtschaftsförderung der Stadt Ludwigsburg by April 4, 2024. Anyone who would like to drop by spontaneously is also welcome.

This way to the event on LinkedIn!

April 2, 2024

Night of Shame on April 26, 2024!

Night of Shame is the curated film show that celebrates filmmakers’ worst! From charmingly incompetent to all out shameful – established directors excavate their questionable films and submit them to the fascinated gaze of a live audience. An introduction, a screening and an on-stage interview with our host Michael Bohnenstingl. Slightly uncomfortable or outrageously funny! Finally our filmmaker is rewarded by the redemptive applause of a loving crowd. Night of Shame makes you feel humbled, elated, and a bit closer to each other. Because ultimately: “We’re all the same in our shame.”

Be there on Friday, April 26, 2024, at 20.00 CET – during Stuttgart Animated Week (aka ITFS (April 23-28, 2024), FMX (April 23-26, 2024) and APD (April 23-25, 2024)) – when it gets really embarrassing again, but also incredibly funny!

Location: Contain’t, Container City Kunstverein Wagenhalle, Nordbahnhofstraße 1, 70191 Stuttgart

Get your tickets as soon as possible, as experience shows that the show is booked up pretty quickly!

Further information on the Night of Sha me website and Instagram

The Night of Shame has already taken place at Animationsinstitut, at the Kaboom Festival in Amsterdam and twice during the Stuttgart Animated Week. It is an event organized by Studio Seufz, hosted by I TFS and Animationsinstitut der Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and supported by AMCRS, Film Commission Region Stuttgart, Kulturförderung der Stadt Stuttgart, Sono2, contain’t e.V. and Soybloq.

March 1, 2024

Thomas Strittmatter Award 2024

TSP Winner 2024 Schiar Simo („Himmelfahrt“) (right) and Maria Köpf (Jury), Oskar Sulowski (Jury), Anne Zohra Berrached (Jury), MFG Managing Director Carl Bergengruen, State Secretary of the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg Arne Braun © AEDT, Stefan Krempl

Screenwriter Schiar Simo is the winner of the 2024 Thomas Strittmatter Prize, endowed with 20,000 euros by MFG Filmförderung, for his screenplay for the black humor thriller “Himmelfahrt“. In the story, a Syrian man who is considered a model migrant and lives as a baker in Germany turns out to be a terrorist ‘sleeper’ who unexpectedly has to choose between his new home and his sacred mission.

The Thomas Strittmatter Prize was presented by Arne Braun, State Secretary of the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg, and MFG Managing Director Carl Bergengruen at a festive reception on the fringes of the 74. Berlinale at the Baden-Württemberg State Representation. A number of current MFG-funded productions were also presented, in particular the Berlinale films “Treasure” by director Julia von Heinz, the German-Tanzanian documentary “The Empty Tomb” by directors Cece Mlay and Agnes Lisa Wegner and the youth drama “Elbow” by Aslı Özarslan.

In addition to Baden-Württemberg’s Minister President Winfried Kretschmann and personalities and filmmakers from numerous fields, representatives of the AMCRS and their HEROES were also guests, including the team of the animated film “Giants of La Mancha” (including Dominique Schuchmann and Wolfgang Kerber (M.A.R.K. 13) as well as Benjamin Ey (Studio 100) and one of the voice actors, Julian Janssen (‘Checker’ team)), Jan Pinkava (Animationsinsitut), Lilian Klages (Eagle Eye Filmproduktion), Kate Forsdick (M.A.R.K. 13), Heiko Burkardsmaier (Accenture Song Content Germany GmbH), Sebastian Runschke (SERU Animation), Robert Gehring (MFG), AMCRS manager Stefanie Larson and many more.

Sources: MFG Baden-Württemberg
https://www.mfg.de/aktuelles/details/4075-thomas-strittmatter-preis-2024-geht-an-autor-schiar-simo-fuer-sein-drehbuch-zur-schwarzen-komoedie-himmelfahrt/
https://www.mfg.de/newsdetail/4041-drei-nominierungen-fuer-den-thomas-strittmatter-preis-2024-fuer-ein-herausragendes-drehbuch/

March 1, 2024

Pre Fixe with Animation Lounge: Die auditive Ebene im Animationsfilm

Together with the Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH (organizer of Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film) and the AMCRS, MFG organizes the Pre Fixe with Animation Lounge as a prelude to the monthly network meeting of the film industry (Jour Fixe), at which speakers from the animation film scene report on current projects using practical examples and provide insights into their work.

On Monday, March 11, 2024 at 18:00 CET, Foley artist and sound designer Luis Schöffend will talk about “Die auditive Ebene im Animationsfilm” (The auditory level in animated film).

In animated films, sound design plays a crucial role as there’s no traditional original sound like in game or documentary films. Foley artist and sound designer Luis Schöffend provides insight into organizational, creative, and technical aspects relevant to sound design in animated films. The presentation is aimed at all professionals in the animation film industry, as well as interested listeners from other fields. Through various film examples, it becomes apparent how handcrafted sounds and creative sound designs breathe life into animated images. And just as diverse as each film is, so too is the consideration for sound design.

Luis Schöffend works as a sound effects artist on animated, dramatic, and documentary films, games, radio plays, theater, and performances. As a sound designer, his work is predominantly heard in animated films and series, as well as in experimental formats. The films and their sound design in which Luis has been involved have been recognized multiple times, including winning the German Film Award (“Lola, Best Sound Design”) and at the Filmfest Dresden (“Goldener Reiter, Filmton”).

The event will take place at the Kulturzentrum Merlin, Augustenstraße 72, 70178 Stuttgart. Admission is free.