“A Sparrow’s Song“ team at the Annie Awards: Vincent Maurer, Tobias Eckerlin, Lilli-Luisa Heckmann (Photo (c) private)
“A Sparrow’s Song” won the award in the Best Student Film category at the 53rd Annie Awards! We congratulate the team behind this diploma project from Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg‘s Animationsinstitut:
Student Director / Student Producer: Tobias Eckerlin, Lead Technical Director: Vincent Maurer, Lead Character Artist: Elias Weber, Lead Animation: Lilli-Luisa Heckmann, Lead Animation: Jiro Magracia, Lead Groom/Feathers Artist: Rebecca Liebelt – and many more!
In the category Best TV/Media – Children, “The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball – Episode: The Rewrite” by Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe won the award. Our CREATORS from Studio Soi were also involved in the production of the animated series.
Animationsinstitut alumni – center Tobias Eckerlin, Vincent Maurer and Lilli-Luisa Heckmann, framed by Oscar Jacobson and Franz Rügamer (nominated for The Undying Pain of Existence) (Photo (c) private)
Lilli-Luisa Heckmann, Tobias Eckerlin, Vincent Maurer (Screenshot Live Stream Annie Awards (ASIFA Hollywood))
September 27, 2025
Prix Italia Nomination for Pixelcloud’s GreenGuardiansVR
Great excitement for our HEROES at Pixelcloud: their VR game GreenGuardiansVR has been nominated in the “Digital Innovation” category of the prestigious Prix Italia. The award honors outstanding productions in the fields of radio, podcast, TV, and digital media, and is organized by the Italian broadcaster RAI.
SWR / Pixelcloud – GreenGuardiansVR
GreenGuardiansVR was produced by Südwestrundfunk (SWR) and Pixelcloud for ARD. The creative team included Christoph Rasulis (Director), Tim Philipp (Project Manager), Rolf Rothgerber (Developer), and Jonas Kirchner (Producer).
About the game: Young people under 25 often see the climate crisis as abstract, overwhelming — or both. We want to change that! We reimagine climate journalism through GreenGuardiansVR: a satirical co-op VR game combining action, teamwork, and humor. Instead of feeling helpless, players fight the root causes of global warming with up to four players in a gripping story that playfully teaches facts and media literacy.
A mega-corporation turns you into a robot, forcing you into a seemingly rosy future — while unstoppable climate change looms. Rebels hack the system to warn you: only together can you break the propaganda machine, take on the corporation, and save the planet.
The award show will be presented during the Prix Italia Festival (October 20 to 24, 2025) in Naples. We’re keeping our fingers crossed!
PIXOMONDO, Accenture Song VFX, and RISE FX are nominated for the prestigious EMMYs for their work on the series “The Penguin”, “Dune: Prophecy”, “House of the Dragon”, and “The Last of Us”!
Category “Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie“:
“Dune: Prophecy“ (HBO | Max) – Visual Effects Supervisor Accenture Song VFX Germany: Peter Lames
“House Of The Dragon“ (HBO | Max) – Visual Effects Supervisor PIXOMONDO: Sven Martin | Associate Visual Effects Supervisor PIXOMONDO: Fausto Tejeda
“The Last Of Us“ (HBO | Max) – Visual Effects Supervisor, RISE FX: Andreas Giesen
Category “Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Single Episode“:
Last week, the winners of the VES Awards 2025 were announced! The Visual Effects Society’s prestigious annual celebration recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation worldwide and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists who bring this work to life.
Among the winners are also AMCRS members. The award in the category OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE went to “The Penguin; After Hours“. The winning team includes, among others, Karen Cheng from PIXOMONDO as well as Jonas Stuckenbrock from Accenture Song VFX, who is also a graduate of the Merz Akademie. We congratulate them and are thrilled for all the winners!
VES Awards Nominations for Accenture Song VFX, Scanline VFX and Pixomondo!
Congratulations to our CREATORS from Accenture Song VFX, Scanline VFX, and PIXOMONDO for their nominations at the 2025 VES Awards! The Visual Effects Society’s prestigious annual celebration recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation worldwide and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists who bring this work to life.
Accenture Song VFX are nominated in the OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT category for “Dune: Prophecy; Two Wolves; Zimia Spaceport“.
Teams from PIXOMONDO have been nominated no less than four times: in the OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE category for “House of the Dragon S2: The Red Dragon and the Gold“, in the OUTSTANDING CG CINEMATOGRAPHY category for “House of the Dragon S2: Battle at Rook’s Rest“, in the OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE category for “The Boys S4: Life Among the Septics“ and “The Penguin: After Hours“.
Scanline VFX got two nominations in the OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT category – for “Avatar: The Last Airbender; Legends; Koizilla“ and “Three Body Problem; Judgement Day“.
The winners will be announced at the awards gala on February 11, 2025. We are keeping our fingers crossed for everyone involved!
Yesterday, the nominations for the Annie Awards 2024 were announced! Three out of five nominations in the “Best Student Film” category went to diploma projects from Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg’s Animationsinstitut! Wow, congratulations to everyone involved!
POLLIWOG (kaulquappe) Student Director: Julia Skala Student Producer: Max Pollmann
TURMSPRINGER Student Director: Oscar Bittner Student Producer: Andra Berila
PEAR GARDEN, Image: FABW
POLLIWOG, Image: FABW
TURMSPRINGER, Image: FABW
We have our fingers crossed for the ceremony at the 52. Annual Annie Awards on February 8, 2025! List of all nominees
Trailer PEAR GARDEN
Trailer POLLIWOG
Oscar Bittner on TURMSPRINGER
November 8, 2024
MORIA SIX wins two prizes at DOK Leipzig 2024
The MFG-funded MORIA SIX by Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg graduate Jennifer Mallmann received two awards at the International Festival for Documentary and Animated Film DOK Leipzig(October 28 to November 3, 2024): the DEFA Förderpreis, endowed with 4,000 euros, and the Filmpreis Leipziger Ring der Stiftung Friedliche Revolution, endowed with 2,500 euros. MORIA SIX was also one of the “DOK Busters 2024”.
Producer Matthias Drescher (Film- und Fernsehlabor Ludwigsburg), Sina Diehl (Cinematography), Svenja Vanhoefer, Line Producerin (Student Producer Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg), Jennifer Mallmann (Director/Author), Carl Bergengruen (Managing Director MFG). | Photo: Film- und Fernsehlabor Ludwigsburg
In her graduation film MORIA SIX, which celebrated its world premiere in Leipzig with two sold-out screenings, director Jennifer Mallmann takes a differentiated look at the Moria refugee camp, where a devastating fire broke out in September 2020. In calm, precise images, the film addresses the mechanisms of the European policy of isolation, which treats people like criminals and locks them up in futuristic high-security camps.
MORIA SIX is a production of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and our CREATORS from Film- und Fernsehlabor Ludwigsburg, produced by Matthias Drescher (Film- und Fernsehlabor Ludwigsburg).
The First Steps Awards is the most important German prize for young filmmakers. This year, the expert jury has made its choice from over 200 entries and announced the nominees. The winners will be announced on Monday, September 30 at the Theater des Westens in Berlin and broadcast as a livestream in the ARD Mediathek from 19:30 CET. The nominations alone are associated with a prize of 1,000 euros.
Among the nominees is MORIA SIX by Jennifer Mallmann, produced by our CREATORS from FFL Film- und Fernseh-Labor Ludwigsburg and funded by MFG, was nominated in the “Documentary” category. The film takes a critical look at the new European refugee policy, using the example of the controversial conviction of six refugees who were held responsible for the devastating fire in the Moria camp on Lesbos in September 2020.
PEAR GARDEN (director: Shadab Shayegan) is nominated in the “Short Steps” category and uses a purist drawing technique to sensitively tell the story of a grandmother who has lost her breasts through a mastectomy and the associated fears of her grandchild. More about PEAR GARDEN
SCRUBBY (director: Paul Vollet) is also nominated in the “Short Steps” category. The titular creature wants to live in its mother’s thick fur forever. But in his search for security, Scrubby realizes that even strong people sometimes lose their strength and need someone to lean on. More about SCRUBBY
We congratulate everyone involved and keep our fingers crossed!
The nominations for the Emmy Awards2024 have been announced!
The series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” was nominated in the category “Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie”. Accenture Song VFX (with – among others – visual effects supervisor Emanuel Fuchs), Scanline VFX and PIXOMONDO were involved in the creation of the series. RISE also have every reason to celebrate: they contributed to the visual effects of the series “Fallout,” which has been nominated in the same category.
PIXOMONDO were also involved in the series “3 Body Problem” and “Winning Time”, both of which were nominated in several categories.
The 76th Emmys will be awarded on September 15, 2024 in Los Angeles. We are keeping our fingers crossed for all nominees!
On Sunday evening, April 28, 2024, the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film 2024 came to an end with the festive awards gala. Among the winners are also animated film projects by graduates and alumni of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg’s Animationsinstitut!
Yi Luo, Photo: ITFS, Reiner Pfisterer
Dodo (directed by Yi Luo)
In the International Competition, the Lotte Reiniger Promotion Award for Animated Film (award for the best graduation film with a cash prize of 10,000 Euro, sponsored by MFG Film Funding Baden-Württemberg) goes to
Jury Statement: We saw a film that deals with the trauma of losing a father in a crucial stage child’s development. Executed in a very impressive art style that meticulously draws the viewer into the essence of the story.
Bianca Scali, Photo: ITFS, Reiner Pfisterer
it’s just a whole (directed by Bianca Scali)
The Award for the best student film with a cash prize of 2,500 Euro, sponsored by LFK Landesanstalt für Kommunikation Baden-Württemberg and MFG Film Funding Baden-Württemberg goes to:
Jury Statement: We would like to give the award to the film “It‘s just a whole“ for the brilliant way in which the artists lead us into a dramatic experience in which one negotiates one’s existence facing a sometimes cold reality, loneliness and the primal fear of disappearance. For the film’s unique animation style in which graphics, sounds and textures are used in a way that immediately convey emotions that are transposed into physical reactions.
At the Grand Prix (State of Baden-Württemberg and the City of Stuttgart Grand Award for Animated Film with a cash prize of 10,000 Euro), director and Animationsinstitut alumna Sofiia Melnyk was honored with a Special Mention for Mariupol. A Hundred Nights (Ukraine 2023).
