Thank you for your inspiring work, your creativity, expertise, and incredible dedication. But most of all, thank you for the many enriching encounters and conversations – it was truly a pleasure!
May 6, 2025
Animation Media Lounge on May 7, 2025
STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK 2025 is in full swing! Thanks to the event trio of FMX – Film & Media Exchange (May 6-9, 2025), the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (May 6-11, 2025) and the Animation Production Days (May 6-8, 2025), the capital of Baden-Württemberg is currently the global hotspot for the animation and VFX industries. To make sure there’s also time to celebrate, we’re inviting all participants of the three events to a very special party – the “MASSIVE MEGALOMANIAC ROCKSTARLICIOUS MONSTER PARTY“ aka Animation Media Lounge 2025 on May 7, 2025! Come by!
When: May 7 2025, starting at 21:30 CET Where: Die Note, Berliner Platz 1, 70174 Stuttgart
14:30 FMX, Bertha-Benz-Saal & VOD The Rise of African Animation, VFX and Content Development – How Cultural Differences are fueling Industry Growth Panel “Managing Change” curated by Imke Fehrmann, RISE | Visual Effects Studios https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/list?t=1810
18:15 FMX, Bertha-Benz-Saal & VOD Story Telling for War Children: Extremist and counter-Extremist Narratives Panel “Managing Change” curated by Imke Fehrmann, RISE | Visual Effects Studios https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/list?t=1810
18:15 FMX, Turm Aalen & VOD School Presentations: Flamin‘ Hot / Beyond Boundaries / The Goo / Lonely / Cyclus / FATIMA Mariana Mendes dos Santos, Alex Ferstl, Merz Akademie (Panel “School Presentations” presented by Alexandra Joshi, Animationsinstitut / FABW, Mark Szilagyi, FABW) https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/detail/event/31835
18:00 ITFS, White Noise, Eberhardtstr. 35 Exhibition: It’s Just a Whole Exhibition by Animationsinstitut / FABW graduate Bianca Scali / Winner ITFS 2024 “Student Competition“ https://itfs.de/en/show/exhibition-its-just-a-whole-4
21:30 Die Note, Berliner Platz 1 Animation Lounge by AMCRS
May 5, 2025
Our Creators @ FMX, ITFS and APD on Tuesday, May 6, 2025!
Let’s dive into STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK 2025! Animation, VFX and games fans, professionals, and students from around the world are coming together in Stuttgart to explore the latest trends, cutting-edge technologies, stunning projects, and the most exciting stories. With FMX – Film & Media Exchange (May 6-9, 2025), the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (May 6-11, 2025) and the Animation Production Days (May 6-8, 2025), there’s a lot to look forward to!
And of course, our CREATORS are part of it, too! Let’s take a look at how they’re contributing during these inspiring days: the talks, presentations, and workshops they’re leading, where you can meet and chat with them in person, what they’ve curated — and which of their projects you can see on site or even try out for yourself. We’re kicking things off on Tuesday, May 6, 2025!
FMX
9:00-12:15 APD, Landesmuseum Württemberg – Altes Schloss, Schillerplatz 6 Co-Production and Financing Market (pre-arranged one-to-one meetings) 3 CAPTAINS (Studio FILM BILDER), 48ers (The M.A.R.K.13™ – Group), A Trip with a Drip (gretels gold) https://animationproductiondays.de/projects-2025/
10:00 FMX, Turm Aalen Founding and funding an indie game studio Iris Harr, MFG, Dominik Schön, Kaleidoscube (Panel “LÄND-made” curated by Christian Müller, Animationsinstitut / FABW) https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/detail/event/33034
10:00 FMX, Turm Aalen Creativity and Artificial Intelligence – How to Use Cutting Edge Technology in Creative Projects Panel “LÄND-made” curated by Christian Müller, Animationsinstitut / FABW https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/list?t=1891
14:00 APD, Festival Centre, Haus der Katholischen Kirche, Eugen-Bolz-Saal Conference Part 1 / Panel Discussion “Crisis, Change, Resilience: Filmmaking in Times of Transformation” Curator and Host: Lilian Klages https://animationproductiondays.de/programme/conference-2025/
17:00 FMX Turm Aalen & VOD An Examination of Grey Characters: How to Write Them and What to Learn from Them Panel “Fresh Visions” curated by Christian Müller, Animationsinstitut / FABW https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/list?t=1829
18:00 ITFS, White Noise, Eberhardtstr. 35 Exhibition: It’s Just a Whole Exhibition by Animationsinstitut / FABW graduate Bianca Scali / Winner ITFS 2024 “Student Competition“ https://itfs.de/en/show/exhibition-its-just-a-whole-2/
19:00 FMX, in front of Haus der Wirtschaft Get-Together sponsored by Houdini
May 3, 2025
Diploma Showroom 2025
The team of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg’s Animationinsinsitut cordially invites you to its Diploma Showroom 2025 on Thursday, May 8, 15:00 to 19:00 CET at the Animationsinstitut. You’ll have the chance to meet the graduates behind the the newest creations, learn first-hand how they were made, watch films and trailers on the big screen and play-test the interactive experiences. Look forward to ten individually designed project rooms offering exclusive glimpses behind the scenes.
Diploma Showroom 2025, Animationsinstitut / FABW, Illustration: Daniel Almagor
Location: Animationsinstitut, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Akademiehof 10, 71638 Ludwigsburg
For visitors of Stuttgart Animated Week (ITFS, May 6-11, 2025 / FMX, May 6-9, 2025 / APD, May 6-8, 2025) they will offer guided tours by public transportation (14:15 CET Meeting points FMX: Speakers Counter / APD: Farewell Lunch / ITFS: Welcome Desk).
April 22, 2025
Event Series “Mittendrin” – Sind wir „FilmLänd“?
ITFS, Photo: Reiner Pfisterer
In the upcoming edition of its “Mittendrin” event series, the Stuttgarter Zeitung turns the spotlight on Baden-Württemberg’s film industry. Titled “Sind wir „FilmLänd“?”(“Are we ‘FilmLänd’?”), the event will take place on Monday, April 28, 2025, at 19:00 CET at the SpardaWelt Eventcenter (Am Hauptbahnhof 3, Stuttgart) – just one week ahead of the Stuttgart Animated Week (ITFS, May 6-11, 2025 / FMX, May 6-9, 2025 / APD, May 6-8, 2025).
The Night of Shame is the curated film show that celebrates filmmakers’ worst! From charmingly incompetent to all out shameful – established directors from all over the world excavate their questionable films and submit them to the fascinated gaze of a live audience.
Stuttgart Animated Week 2025 – Programs and Trailers
Image: ITFS
Only a few weeks to go until the Stuttgart Animated Week 2025 – and we can’t wait! The teams behind the conference FMX – Film & Media Exchange(May 6–9, 2025), the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (May 6–11, 2025), and the industry platform Animation Production Days (APD, May 6–8, 2025) are in the midst of preparations to once again turn Stuttgart into a global hotspot for the animation and VFX industry this spring.
The FMX recently released its program, which contains the large variety of topics the conference stands for and adresses the latest and hottest in VFX, animation and digital media production. Program | Speakers | Ticket Shop(Early Bird until March 20!) | Get their newsletter
The ITFS competition films have been selected, and the first highlights of the supporting program have already been announced. Nominated films | Website | Ticket Shop(Early Bird until March 20!) | Get their newsletter
TALENT Meet-up BW 2025 offers young professionals the opportunity to experience the Stuttgart Animated Week 2025 – FMX – Film & Media Exchange (May 6-9), the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (May 6-11), and the Animation Production Days Conference (May 6) – with a free Combi Ticket. This initiative supports participants in networking, provides personalized program recommendations, and creates an optimal framework for exchange – both among attendees and within the international industry. Additionally, participants will get to know regional support programs and key contacts.
Ahead of Stuttgart Animated Week, the Studi Stage, part of the Open Stage Games BW on March 12, 2025, in Stuttgart, offers a great opportunity for initial networking and exchanges. The official kickoff of the TALENT Meet-up BW 2025 program will take place on May 5, from 14:00 to 16:30 CET in Stuttgart, bringing participants together to start the week. To wrap up the eventful days, a Get-Together on May 9, from 12:30 to 15:00 CET provides a space for sharing experiences and reflections.
Specifically for talents and start-ups from Stuttgart, Wirtschaftsförderung der Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart offers additional support: Through the FMX NEW_Comer program, they have the opportunity to secure a booth, a workshop slot, and a speaker badge at FMX 2025 (for more information, please get in touch with Hannah Schneider at hannah.schneider@stuttgart.de).
The TALENT Meet-up BW 2025 program is aimed at individuals who are at the beginning of their own startup journey, those in the midst of developing animation-based content – such as games, XR, VFX, and animation – or those from non-industry but related fields, such as students of (humanities) sciences, who want to connect with professionals from the animation, film, and games industries.
The 32nd Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) will take place from May 6 to 11, 2025. With focuses on artistic animated films and the promotion of young talent prizes totalling over 45,000 euros will be awarded across five competitions. Filmmakers worldwide are invited to submit their works starting September 1, 2024.
The submission deadline for the following short film competitions is November 15, 2024:
International Competition for animated short films
Student Competition for animated short films
Tricks for Kids – competition for animated short films and series for children
Trickstar Nature Award – competition for animated short films on nature and the environment
The submission deadlinefor the feature-length film competition AniMovie is January 15, 2025.
Film submissions are handled via the online submission platform Shortfilmdepot. Registration forms and regulations as well as more information about the festival, the competition categories, and the contact persons can be found on the ITFS website.
The STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK leverages synergies with parallel events: At the same time as ITFS, the co-production market Animation Production Days (APD) and the FMX – Film and Media Exchange conference take place. This unique combination of festival, conference, and market draws up to 6,000 professional visitors to Stuttgart each year.