‘Is AI intelligent?’ is the question posed by internationally renowned AI researcher Bernhard Schölkopf in his keynote at the first edition of the Innovationslabor Zukunft (Innovation Lab Future). From May 28 to June 1, 2025, Schauspiel Stuttgart will transform the Kammertheater into a theatrical AI laboratory with 30 events.
Can an AI direct a play? Can AI help us overcome death? How does a human move in the metaverse? Human and machine – who is programming whom? Is AI emotional? With the help of experts such as Ranga Yogeshwar, Oscar winner Jan Pinkava (head of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg’s Animationsinstitut), theatrical performance projects (by Wilke Weermann, Florian Etti, Alessa Bollack, and Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart), workshops by La Fura dels Baus, and performances by Rimini Protokoll, the festival explores complex questions about the future of artificial intelligence and society.
With the Innovationslabor Zukunft, Schauspiel Stuttgart creates a space for exciting encounters, diverse presentations, discussion formats, and keynotes featuring experts from science, business, the arts, and philosophy. Encounters with a humanoid robot, Kenza Ait Si Abbou, Ars Electronica Director Veronica Liebl, ZKM Director Alistair Hudson, film producer Nico Hofmann, Prof. Dr. Judith Simon (member of the Deutscher Ethikrat), Minister Petra Olschowski, producer and pianist Roberto Di Gioia, and many more. SWR Kultur will produce four live broadcasts/podcasts – including from the Kammertheater.
AI becomes tangible and experiential: AI live on stage, AI-driven live music production, AI in film, and actors performing live in the Metaverse.
In cooperation with SWR Kultur, Hochschule der Medien, Media Solution Center Baden-Württemberg, HLRS, ZKM Karlsruhe, EIT Culture and Creativity, ICE Innovation by Creative Economy, Akademie für Darstellende Kunst Baden-Württemberg
Two Animationsinstitut projects on the 2025 BAFTA Student Awards longlist!
A few days ago, the longlist for the 2025 BAFTA Student Awards (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) was announced – and two student projects from the Animationsinstitut at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg made it in: “A Sparrow’s Song” (Director: Tobias Eckerlin, more information) and “kaulquappe (polliwog)” (Director: Julia Skala, more information).
The finalists will be revealed at the end of May – fingers crossed!
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 10, 2025
Our Creators @ ITFS on Sunday, May 11, 2025!
The final day of the STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK 2025 is here – after a week full of events and inspiration, amazing encounters with old and new friends, tons of input on the latest developments in art, technology, and research, hopefully lots of new project ideas and collaborations – and, of course, a celebration of films, games, and all kinds of media projects and experiences! We hope you made it this far and had an incredible time!
Here’s where you can find out how our CREATORS are involved with ITFS on Sunday, May 11, 2025.
Schlossplatz, photo: ITFS, Reiner Pfisterer
11:00-17:00 ITFS, Staatsgalerie, Konrad-Adenauer-Str. 30-32, GameZone Hochschule der Medien, Animationsinstitut / FABW, Merz Akademie https://itfs.de/en/show/gamezone-2/
18:00 ITFS, White Noise, Eberhardtstr. 35 Exhibition: It’s Just a Whole Exhibition aby Animationsinstitut / FABW graduate Bianca Scali / Winner ITFS 2024 “Student Competition“ https://itfs.de/en/show/exhibition-its-just-a-whole-12/
Lenas Hof – Das mutterlose Ei
May 9, 2025
Our Creators @ ITFS on Saturday, May 10, 2025!
Hands up, it’s the weekend – and Day 5 of the STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK 2025! Enjoy your time at ITFS and check out which of our CREATORS – and which of their projects – you can catch on Saturday, May 10. In the evening, the big ITFS Awards Ceremony will take place – fingers crossed for all the nominees!
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-10/
May 9, 2025
The Winners of the AniX Awards at ITFS 2025!
The first award winners of the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS)2025 have been chosen: In a joint awards ceremony – the AniX Awards – the German Animation Screenplay Award and the Trickstar Business Award were presented on the evening of May 8, 2025 at the Festival Centre in the Haus der Katholischen Kirche.
Award winners and nominees, juries, and sponsors AniX Award ITFS 2025, Photo: Reiner Pfisterer
The prize for the best German screenplay for an animated feature film in the amount of € 2,500 sponsored by the Animation Media Creators Region Stuttgart (AMCRS), goes to “Fräulein Dezember und die Mondschein-Bande“ (“Miss December and the Moon Clan”) by Lisa Fechner (Producer: Peter Keydel, Production: Mistral Filmstudio GmbH)
From the jury statement: Miss December is a loving, exciting, and funny Mary Poppins story, paired with magic and scary moments. Based on an Italian children’s book by Antonia Murgo, Lisa Fechner succeeds in crafting the dialogues in a fresh yet profound way. The plot is exciting, humorous, quirky, and has the necessary nostalgic feel, reminiscent of Charles Dickens’ stories and quirky families à la Wednesday and Hotel Transylvania.
The Award for the Screenplay with the Greatest International Market Potential is endowed with €2,500, sponsored by SOLA MEDIA – and the winner is Nessie Junior (Authors: Matthias Drescher, Jens Opatz, Producer: Matthias Drescher, Production: FFL – Film und Fernsehlabor Ludwigsburg GmbH & Co. KG)
From the jury statement: The story of the young sea monster Fin, who teams up with 13-year-old Kellina to uncover long-buried secrets about his origins, impresses with emotional depth, narrative strength, and a compelling sense of storytelling. […] Nessie Junior addresses universal themes such as friendship, identity, family, and the search for belonging – topics that resonate across cultures and are relevant to audiences worldwide. The legendary figure of Nessie is internationally recognized and sparks curiosity and empathy across generations, especially among family viewers. […] With Nessie Junior, Jens Opatz and Matthias Drescher have crafted a heartfelt, original, and internationally accessible story with the potential to become a beloved favorite among audiences worldwide.
The jury consisted of Solveig Langeland (Founder and Managing Director, Sola Media GmbH, Stuttgart), Jørn Precht (Author, Screenwriter, Professor for Storytelling, Hochschule der Medien, Stuttgart), Ron Segal (Author, Screenwriter, Berlin), Holger Weiss (CEO & Founder, Executive Producer, M.A.R.K. 13 Group, Stuttgart) und Silke Wilfinger (Founder & Owner, SILKWAYFILMS, Munich).
Stefanie Larson (AMCRS), Winner Peter Keydel Matthias Drescher, Jens Opatz, Solveig Langeland (Sola Media), Silke Wilfinger (Silkway Films), Peter Keydel, Holger Weiss (M.A.R.K. 13), Jørn Precht (Hochschule der Medien), Ron Segal
The Trickstar Business Award, the prize for the best innovative and forward-looking business model in the animation sector in the amount of € 7,500 sponsored by Verband Region Stuttgart, goes to SYNK by ThePack (CEO: Jan Hameeuw) – a real-time content generator and workflow management system that creates synergies and enables a huge increase in the efficiency of 3-D productions.
Congratulations to all the award winners!
May 8, 2025
Our Creators @ FMX and ITFS on Friday, May 9, 2025!
STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK 2025 – Day 4: Where will you find our CREATORSon Friday, May 9, at FMX and ITFS? Let’s find out!
11:00-17:00 ITFS, Staatsgalerie, Konrad-Adenauer-Str. 30-32, GameZone Hochschule der Medien, Animationsinstitut / FABW, Merz Akademie https://itfs.de/en/show/gamezone-8/
10:00 FMX, Turm Aalen How to start and succeed as a Creator in the Creative Industries Panel “Fresh Visions” curated by Christian Müller, Animationsinstitut / FABW https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/list?t=1829
10:30 ITFS, Festival Centre, Veronika-Saal Making of: The Light of Aisha Shadi Adib (Animationsinstitut / FABW graduate), Holger Weiss, Dominique Schuchmann (The M.A.R.K.13™ – Group) https://itfs.de/en/show/making-of-the-light-of-aisha-2/
14:30 FMX, Raum Reutlingen WHY SO SERIOUS? Fun, Action and Humor in Educational Gaming. Jonas Kirchner, Christoph Rasulis, Pixelcloud (Panel “LÄND-made” curated by Christian Müller, Animationsinstitut / FABW) https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/detail/event/32901
15:45 FMX, Raum Reutlingen DARK SCIENCE – realtime renderings instead of reenactment Manuel Hummer, Alina Fromm, Alex Schuster, Recom Film (Panel “LÄND-made” curated by Christian Müller, Animationsinstitut / FABW) https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/detail/event/32902
17:00 FMX, Bertha-Benz-Saal Filming in the Metaverse: Real Time Distributed Virtual Production Panel “Tech Talks” curated by Volker Helzle, Animationsinstitut / FABW https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/list?t=1818
18:15 FMX, Bertha-Benz-Saal & VOD Building a State-of-the-Art Multifunctional VFX Studio for Advanced Educational and Training Purposes “Tech Talks” curated by Volker Helzle, Animationsinstitut / FABW https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/list?t=1818
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-8/
20:00 FMX/ITFS, Gloria 2 ITFS/FMX Joint Screening of FLOW To attend the screening, pick up your ticket at the ticket counter on Haus der Wirtschaft / Level 0 starting on Wednesday, May 7 at 15:00! https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/detail/event/32894
20:30 Kulturwerk, Ostendstr. 106 A Night of Shame Studio Seufz, Animationsinstitut / FABW https://www.nightofshame.com/
Our Creators @ FMX, ITFS and APD on Thursday, May 8, 2025!
Our CREATORS are involved in numerous talks, presentations, screenings, meetings and events at FMX, ITFS and APD on Thursday, May 8 – Day 3 of the STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK2025. Find out where and when!
ITFS, Photo: Reiner Pfisterer
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/
19:00 ITFS, Haus der Katholischen Kirche, Königstr. 7 German Animation Screenplay Award at AniX Awards Stefanie Larson, AMCRS (Sponsor of German Animation Screenplay Award), FFL Film und Fernsehlabor Ludwigsburg https://itfs.de/en/show/anix-awards-2/
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-6/
19:00 FMX, In front of Haus der Wirtschaft Get-Together sponsored by One of Us
19:00 RISE, Schloßstr. 70 Party RISE | Visual Effects Studios
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
