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Our CREATORS at Gamescom 2025

THE LÄND joint booth at Gamescom 2024 (Photo: Tobias Vollmer)

Since 2013, MFG has organized a Baden-Württemberg state and joint booth in the business area of Gamescom in Cologne. At the booth, organized by the MFG initiative Games BW, exhibiting companies and institutions will once again have the opportunity at this year’s Gamescom (August 20 to 24, 2025) to showcase their latest developments to industry professionals and connect with the international gaming scene. The 2025 appearance will be held under the motto: “THE LÄND – Games & Virtual Worlds Made in Baden-Württemberg.” Come by!

This year, nine companies will be presenting at the THE LÄND booth. Our lineup of CREATORS includes b.ReX and kaleidoscube, both based in Stuttgart, and Zeitland media & games from Ludwigsburg. Other exhibitors include Blossom Seeker, GazeQuest, Half Soup Labs, kr3m. media, LAB132, and PONG.Li.

The THE LÄND state and joint booth can be visited from August 20 to 22, 2025, in the Business Area (Hall 4.1, Booth C64).

Additionally, for the first time this year, four indie studios from Baden-Württemberg will be presenting at the Indie Arena Booth (August 20–24) in Hall 10.2: Studio Seufz with “Lucky Tower Ultimate” and kaleidoscube with “Recur” – both members of AMCRS – alongside Application Systems Heidelberg and Walk The Frog.

You can find more information about the Indie Arena Booth 2025 here: indiearenabooth.de/gamescom2025/games 

Gamescom 2024 (Photos: Tobias Vollmer)

The state booth is organized by MFG Baden-Württemberg in cooperation with Baden-Württemberg International (BW_i), with support from the City of Karlsruhe through K³ Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaftsbüro Karlsuhe / UNESCO City of Media Arts, as well as  ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medien. The project is funded by the  Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Tourismus Baden-Württemberg.

More about the Gamescom Business Area

Source: games-bw.mfg.de

Call for Entries Filmschau BW and Jugendfilmpreis

Film submissions for the 31st Filmschau Baden-Württemberg and the Jugendfilmpreis are open until August 31, 2025. Current feature films, short films, documentaries, animated films, commercials, series, and VFX projects with a connection to the state of Baden-Württemberg can be submitted to the Filmschau by this deadline via email to einreichung@filmbuerobw.de. Submission forms are available for download at www.filmschaubw.de. All criteria for participation in the Filmschau and in the competitions for the Baden-Württemberg Film Awards can be found in the registration form. For the first time, commercials and VFX projects are also eligible for submission by students.

The submission form for the Jugendfilmpreis can be downloaded from www.jugendfilmpreis.de. This form also provides information about the eligibility criteria for participation in the Jugendfilmpreis.

The 31st Filmschau Baden-Württemberg will take place from December 3 to 7, 2025, at the Innenstadtkinos in Stuttgart, showcasing the latest feature films, short films, documentaries, animated films, and commercials with a connection to Baden-Württemberg. All players in the film industry of the southwest region are welcome to take part. The Landesfilmschau is often referred to as the showcase of the southwest’s film and media scene. Integrated into the Filmschau is the independent Jugendfilmpreis, which gives young filmmakers from the southwest a chance to shine – with a big screen and a live audience. Nicknamed the “Jufi”, the youth section will begin on December 4, 2025, and will conclude with a major awards ceremony on December 7, 2025, at the Altes Schloss in Stuttgart, where the Baden-Württemberg Film Awards, the Baden-Württemberg Honorary Film Award, and the Jugendfilmpreis will be presented.

Source: Press Release Filmschau BW

New Study: Baden-Württemberg Now Germany’s Leading Hub for Animation Film and VFX

Image: Cover Study, Goldmedia / MFG

Source: MFG Baden-Württemberg, January 24, 2025

A recent study by the research institute Goldmedia shows that Baden-Württemberg has risen to become Germany’s leading hub for animation films and digital feature film production in recent years. No other federal state in Germany is home to as many companies and professionals generating films and series entirely digitally. Many VFX companies based in Baden-Württemberg also collaborate on major Hollywood productions. Since 2010, the revenue of the local animation and VFX industry has grown by a remarkable 800 percent, reaching 170 million euros. According to the study, this development is largely attributed to the targeted support provided by Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg (MFG).

MFG Managing Director Carl Bergengruen stated: “In 2014, we became the first federal state to introduce a highly effective funding instrument specifically tailored to the animation and visual effects sector, laying the foundation for the significant growth of this industry.” Currently, the revenue in the field of animation and visual effects in Baden-Württemberg is generated by 85 companies. In 2010, there were only around 30 such businesses.

In the field of digital games, the study also identified significant revenue growth of at least 90 percent since 2015, reaching 190 million euros in Baden-Württemberg. This revenue is generated by 146 companies. The substantial growth is partly due to a specialized funding program introduced by the MFG in 2020 for local games companies. This program supports innovative games projects from concept to production.

The study also highlights the industrial policy significance of the animation, VFX, and games sectors for Baden-Württemberg. Technological innovations from these fields are already being applied in a wide range of industries, from the automotive sector and mechanical engineering to healthcare. However, 48 percent of the orders in the VFX and animation industry come from the audiovisual media sector, including film and series productions for cinema, streaming, and television.

In the games market, a significant portion of orders – 45 percent – comes from the entertainment sector of audiovisual media. However, similar to the animation and VFX sectors, there is a growing trend in orders from other industries.

The study also underscores the importance of the 70 industry-relevant degree programs and the highly sought-after networking and advisory activities offered by the MFG in the fields of animation, VFX, and games. Examples include the “Animation Media Creators Region Stuttgart” (AMCRS) network.

Source (in German): MFG, Goldmedia

Link to the study

The Stuttgarter Zeitung also reported on this topic in the article “Region Stuttgart ist Spitze bei Spezialeffekten aus Deutschland” on January 24, 2025. To the article

Minister President Winfried Kretschmann visits PIXOMONDO

On Friday, November 22, 2024, Minister President of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretschmann, along with State Secretary in the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Arne Braun visited the VFX studio of our CREATORS from PIXOMONDO in Stuttgart and learned about their work on site.

Carl Bergengrün (Managing Director MFG), Sabrina Christoforidis (Head of Studio Europe Pixomondo), Muhterem Aras (President of the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg), Winfried Kretschmann (Minister President of Baden-Württemberg), Arne Braun (State Secretary in the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg), Christoph Malessa (CTO Pixomondo), Robert Gehring (Head of Film Funding Unit MFG) | © PIXOMONDO

PIXOMONDO offers industry-leading expertise and solutions in virtual production and premium visual effects for films and television series. Their award-winning projects include work on Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning film “HUGO”, the multi-Emmy-winning TV saga “GAME OF THRONES”, the series “THE BOYS”, “HOUSE OF THE DRAGON” (HBO), and “THE PALE BLUE EYE” (Netflix film).

Minister President Winfried Kretschmann: “The film and animation industry is a creative stimulus for our society. Its increasing significance is reflected not only in film and media but also as a driving force for technological developments and visual solutions in numerous other sectors of the economy. In Baden-Württemberg, the importance of the animation industry is constantly growing. Through targeted measures, we want to set the course for this sector to continue to establish itself as an important driver for the cultural and creative industries. New technologies, such as AI, open up enormous potential for the future. We are proud to have a world-leading provider of visual effects and virtual technologies in THE LÄND. Pixomondo demonstrates how creative excellence creates jobs, strengthens the industrial location, and promotes international competitiveness.”

Source: MFG Baden-Württemberg

Start-up BW Summit 2024 on July 11

The Start-up BW Summit 2024 is a trade fair and congress with exhibiting start-ups, pitches and keynotes plus a festival on the Börsenplatz in Stuttgart with music and informal discussions. Start-ups, representatives of start-up ecosystems and companies as well as investors from Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Europe and the world meet at the Haus der Wirtschaft to pitch, network, exchange ideas and learn from each other.

You can expect a varied program with top-class speakers, a trade fair with start-ups, pitches and competitions as well as many offers for founders and all those who want to become one. The complete program can be found here.

MFG Baden-Württemberg will be represented in the “Länd of Start-ups” and has invited three innovative start-ups and young start-up teams from the cultural and creative industries: Eloquio from Heidelberg, Mucks! Games from Ludwigsburg (recently awarded the German Computer Game Award, the alumni from Animationsinstitut also created the trailers for FMX and ITFS 2024) and to teach from Stuttgart.

Participation in the summit is free of charge, registration is requested.

More information and sources:
Start-up BW Summit 2024 | MFG | Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism Baden-Württemberg

Job Offer: Advisor (m/f/d) for the field of AI

The State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg is looking for an Advisor (German: Referent/in) (f/m/d) for the newly founded AI_N (Artificial Intelligence Network) department at InnoLab BW for a limited period of two years as soon as possible.

The InnoLab_bw observes global innovation trends, networks with innovative players in the state and brings their needs and ideas to the attention of the state government. In various formats, it brings together people from administration, business, civil society and science to initiate specific innovation projects and develop prototypes. In doing so, InnoLab_bw thinks and acts “outside the box” and relies on fast, agile forms of work that overcome departmental and silo thinking. In this way, they want to help innovations “Made in BW” achieve a breakthrough more quickly.

The newly created AI_N (Artificial Intelligence Network) department will recognize and pick up on new trends and provide impetus to the state government.

To the job advertisement

Application deadline: May 20, 2024

New Funding Program for Gamification and Animation Media

The Ministry of Economics, Labor and Tourism Baden-Württemberg has launched a new funding call.

With the funding program “KMU-Transfer KREATIV – Gamification und Animation Media“, the Ministry of Economics promotes the cooperation of companies from the fields of gamification, animation media and other 3D technologies with companies from other industries. The funding program is intended to support SMEs in improving existing business models or making them more resilient, opening up new product developments and markets, and strengthening innovation and competitiveness. Companies from Baden-Württemberg with up to 250 employees are eligible to apply.

“With the new funding program, we are supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the application of gamification, animation and other 3D technologies to make them fit for the future,” said Minister of Economic Affairs Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut.

Applications can be submitted from now until November 10, 2023. More information on the funding program and the application documents can be found here (in German): https://wm.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/service/foerderprogramme-und-aufrufe/liste-foerderprogramme/kmu-transfer-kreativ-gamification-und-animation-media