The film is based on the young adult book by Jean-Claude Grumberg. It is the first animated film by director and Oscar winner Michel Hazanavicius (THE ARTIST) and screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, among others. More information
Monday, January 27 2025, 18:45 CET EM (Stuttgart Innenstadtkinos, Bolzstraße 4) Tickets
As part of the cinema initiative “27 January – 80 Years of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau”, numerous other events are on the program, such as the documentary film drama DIE ERMITTLUNG (2024) – a cinema adaptation of the stage drama of the same name by Peter Weiss (1965) at the Haus der Geschichte Baden-Württemberg on January 26, 2025, followed by a panel discussion. Admission is free, please register at veranstaltungen@hdgbw.de. More information
In addition, the exclusive film series Filmreihe im Bundesplatz-Kino will take place in Berlin from January 26 on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. More information
January 17, 2025
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!
We wish you and your loved ones a fantastic and restful holiday season and a happy, healthy, and successful 2025! Thank you all for your collaboration, your trust in us, and all the wonderful moments we shared together this year. We are already looking forward to the coming year with you!
A thousand thanks to our CREATORS from RECOM FILM for hosting our AMCRS Christmas party! What a wonderful evening!
Photo: RECOM FILM
Photo: RECOM FILMPhoto: AMCRS
December 13, 2024
Lecture “Film as Space” at Merz Akademie
Our CREATORS from the Merz Akademie invite you to the lecture “Film as Space – Inside and outside. Body and world. Yesterday, today, tomorrow.” (German/English) on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 18:15 CET. This is the inaugural lecture by Maria Mohr, who has been Professor of Film and Video at the Merz Akademie since 2023. Maria Mohr studied architecture and experimental media design. Her documentary films are research, journeys and reconstructions of biographies of people for whom this world, as it appears to be, is not enough.
Image: Merz Akademie
The lecture will take place in the auditorium of the Merz Akademie (Teckstr. 58, 70190 Stuttgart) as part of the lecture series “Realism: The Great Promise of Cinema” (curated by Maria Mohr together with Peter Ott) in the winter semester 2024/25 – in cooperation with the Stuttgarter Filmwinter. Further lectures in the series will follow on January 7, 2025 (“Portraits in Film” (German/English) by Katharina Pethke) and on January 14, 2025 (“On Parrots.” (German/English) by Gernot Wieland). Filmmakers who are characterized by particularly innovative concepts of realism were invited to the lecture series to present their work.
B.REX wins prize at the CREÄTIVE LÄND CHÄLLENGE 2024
Our CREATORS from b.Rex have won THE CREÄTIVE LÄND CHÄLLENGE 2024 competition in the software/games industry category – with “INKLU GAME”!
“How does a wheelchair user board a train? How does a blind person find the right platform? INKLU GAME is a virtual, app-based game designed to create an awareness-raising experience for young people. The game incorporates a media and inclusion-focused pedagogical approach, combining innovative digital media with an inclusive education concept. Through the app, players experience an immersive journey that brings the realities of people with disabilities to life. This fusion of technology, inclusive pedagogy, and interactive storytelling represents a cultural achievement that promotes both education and empathy.”
The game can be downloaded for free in the App Store.
The CREÄTIVE LÄND CHÄLLENGE 2024 is a creativity competition organized by MFG Baden-Württemberg, supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor, and Tourism of Baden-Württemberg. Under the motto “Share your values – Show your works,” cultural and creative enterprises across the state were invited to showcase their diversity and innovative potential. With over 170 submissions from all regions of Baden-Württemberg, the competition highlighted the impressive range and dynamism of the cultural and creative industries.
The award-winning works can be viewed and experienced free of charge in an exhibition at the Haus der Wirtschaft until December 18, 2024.
All winners, photo: MFG
November 30, 2024
Unreal Engine MegaMeetup Stuttgart #7 on December 12 at B.REX
Our CREATORS from b.Rex invite to their seventh Unreal Engine MegaMeetupStuttgart. This time you can try out numerous exhibits and present your own projects on the Open Stage. As always, networking will of course also take centre stage.
Photo: b.Rex
B.Rex will provide food (also vegetarian) and drinks. There will also be entertainment at the pinball machine or their retro arcade machines. Weather permitting, the event will take place outside in the backyard and you’ll have a barbecue!
The Unreal Engine MegaMeetup Stuttgart #7 will take place on December 12, 2024, 18:30 to 20:30 CET, at b.Rex, Reinsburgstraße 96/1, 70197 Stuttgart-West.
Filmschau Baden-Württemberg (December 4 to 8, 2024)
The Filmschau Baden-Württemberg, the state film festival in Stuttgart, takes place annually over five days at the beginning of December in Stuttgart’s Innenstadtkinos – this year it celebrates its 30th anniversary from December 4 to 8. Around 120 films are presented by professionals from the industry and up-and-coming filmmakers from Baden-Württemberg’s film schools. Feature films, short films, animated films, documentaries and commercials will be shown, including many premieres.
It is organized by the Filmbüro Baden-Württemberg e.V.. In the competition for the Baden-Württembergischer Filmpreis, the best productions are awarded by five three-member expert juries in the categories Best Feature Film, Best Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Animated Film and Best Commercial Film. Prizes with a total value of up to 10,000 euros are awarded.
Members of the AMCRS are also strongly represented in the program, including numerous projects by alumni and students of Baden-Württemberg’s film and media academies and universities.
Animationsinstitut of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg: CERVUS ROSTRATUS (Director: Tobias Eckerlin), CONTRADICTION OF EMPTINESS (Director: Irina Rubina), DEAD END (Director: Fabienne Prieß, Levin Tamoj), DETLEV (Director: Ferdinand Ehrhardt), PEAR GARDEN (Director: Shadab Shayegan), KRONOS (Director: Lasse Falk, Haiyang Liu), IN A TIME WARP (Director: Anh Tú Nguyen), THE DEEP ABOVE – FIRST HUNT (Director: Niklas Wolff), KAULQUAPPE (Director: Julia Skala), MIND THE GAP (Director: Gwenola Heck), TURMSPRINGER (Director: Oscar Bittner) …
Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart: OUT THERE (Director: Ben Marquardt), AUSGELIEFERT (Director: Mauriz Thabo Röckle), FROGGING HELL (Director: Louis Reichardt), KINNHAKENHANK (Director: Sebastian Greim) (all HdM films)
Studio FILM BILDER: ANIMANIMUSICAL (Director: Julia Ocker), FRITZI UND SOPHIE – GRENZENLOSE FREUNDSCHAFT; EPISODE 4: BEINAHE VERHAFTET (Director: Ralf Kukula, Matthias Buhn, Thomas Meyer‐Hermann)
LAVAlabs (VFX): CRANKO (Director: Prof. Dr. Joachim A. Lang)
In the supporting program, the Schnupperkino awaits the youngest moviegoers with a short film reel featuring ANIMANIMALS, MEIN TIER AUF DER SCHMUSEDECKE and TOM UND DAS ERDBEERMARMELADEBROT MIT HONIG (all Studio FILM BILDER).
The new category “Best Visual Effects (VFX)” focuses on the area of the film industry in the southwest, which has achieved a leading position creatively and economically in Germany and throughout Europe. The nominees: CRANKO – Rolf Muetze (VFX Supervisor), Juri Stanossek (Associate VFX Supervisor) and Alexandra Stautmeister (VFX Producer) (LAVAlabs), AVATAR – THE LAST AIRBENDER – Emanuel Fuchs (VFX Supervisor), Gus Martinez (VFX supervisor) and Amelie Dillig (VFX producer) (Accenture Song VFX), BLUE BEETLE – RISE FX, GHOSTED – RISE FX
Calls for Entries ITFS – German Animation Screenplay Award and Animated Games Award Germany
The 32nd Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) will take place from May 6 to 11, 2025. It focuses on artistic animated films and the promotion of young talent. In addition to the short and feature film competitions (submission deadlines: short film competitions – November 15, 2024; feature film competition – January 15, 2024), additional categories are now open for submissions: the German Animation Screenplay Award, the Animated Games Award Germany, and the Work in Progress section.
The German Animation Screenplay Award recognises outstanding screenplays for feature-length animated films. The goal of the competition is to honor the central role of professional screenwriters in the creation of outstanding films and to encourage the development of exceptional stories for animated films.
The Award for the Best Screenplay for a Feature-Length Animated Film comes with €2,500, sponsored by the Animation Media Creators Region Stuttgart (AMCRS).
The Award for the Screenplay with the Greatest International Market Potential is endowed with €2,500, sponsored by our CREATORS from SOLA MEDIA.
For the best screenplay award submissions are possible in German and English, for the market potential award submissions are only possible in English. Submission Deadline: February 1, 2025 | Regulations | Submit here
Winner German Animation Screenplay Award for a Feature-Length Animated Film at ITFS 2024: Das Neinhorn, Photo: Trickfilm-Festival Stuttgart, Reiner Pfisterer
Winner Animated Games Award Germany at ITFS 2024: Closer the Distance, Photo: Trickfilm-Festival Stuttgart, Reiner Pfisterer
The Animated Games Award Germany is endowed with €5,000 and is sponsored by MFG Baden-Württemberg. It targets developers of high-quality video games who have their primary or secondary residence in Germany.
Eligible for submission are completed games for commercially available platforms that were released after January 1, 2024. The top five games will be nominated for the GameZone and showcased to the public during the event. Submission Deadline: February 1, 2025 | Regulations | Submit here
The Work in Progress section provides a platform for animation projects in the concept, development, or production stages. Producers and directors have the opportunity to present their current projects in film, TV, web, games, and immersive media to an international professional audience.
Each presentation lasts approximately 20 minutes and includes initial visual insights, trailers, and a follow-up Q&A session. The audience gains exclusive behind-the-scenes access and can connect directly with the creative teams behind the projects. Submission Deadline: February 15, 2025 | Submit here
November 15, 2024
Open Days at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Press Release Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and Animationsinstituts, Ludwigsburg, November 12, 2024
Open Days at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg: A Look Behind the Scenes – Online and On-Site in Ludwigsburg
The world of media is becoming increasingly diverse: films, series, streaming services, and transmedia formats. How can young people navigate this wide array of options to discover their interests and determine the right educational or career path for them? The Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (FABW) and its Animationsinstitut provide guidance with two Open Days. On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, the Filmakademie will participate online in the statewide Study Information Day. Additionally, the FABW will host an on-site event on Thursday, November 28, 2024, offering exclusive insights to visitors in Ludwigsburg.
Set Extension Workshop 2023, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Whether it’s about study programs, admission requirements, or campus life in Ludwigsburg – lecturers, students, study coordinators, and project supervisors will be available to answer questions and present the various disciplines of the Filmakademie. The student office will also provide comprehensive advice on applications, tuition fees, and admission requirements. Upon request, attendees can receive a certificate of participation.
Overview of degree programs and specializations at the Filmakademie:
At Filmakademie: Cinematography, Documentary Film (Directing), Screenwriting (Feature Film & Series), Film Music, Film Sound/Sound Design, Journalistic Film (Directing), Editing, Motion Design, Production: Executive & Line Producing / International Producing / Series Producing, Production Design / Art Direction, Narrative Film (Directing), Commercial Film (Directing & Producing)
In advance, interested individuals have the opportunity to explore the campus and the Animationsinstitut on the Filmakademie’s YouTube channels, watch informational videos, and discover numerous films: www.youtube.com/@FilmakademieBW www.youtube.com/@InsideFABW
November 15, 2024
Now online – TechTalks Presentations from October 22!
The TechTalks Stuttgart event series presents technical topics from the fields of visual effects (VFX) and animation for scientists, creative professionals, students and the interested public. After the keynote speeches, people can spontaneously take to the microphone on their own behalf. At the recent TechTalks on October 22, 2024, the Research & Development department of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg’s Animationsinstitut presented two of their current projects: EMIL-XR and MAX-R in Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg’s Albrecht Ade Studio.
You can now watch the two presentations of that evening online!
EMIL-XR: Volker Helzle and Andreas Dahn introduced the European Media & Immersion Lab, featuring the R&D’s Lighthouse project FATE OF THE MINOTAUR – an immersive VR-journey designed for up to four players. EMIL – European Media and Immersion Lab (emil-xr.eu)
MAX-R Project: Simon Spielmann and Jonas Trottnow shared advancements in the Mixed Augmented and Extended Reality Media Pipeline (MAX-R), including AI-assisted tools that push high-quality XR content creation to new levels. MAX-R (UPF)
Photos: FABW
At the hands-on demos, the attendees could test the latest versions of the R&D’s Digital Locations and AnimHost. They also had a chance to step into virtual reality for an unforgettable encounter – coming face-to-face with the Minotaur.
