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Helping Hands Wanted for the ITFS 2025!

The Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, which takes place this year from May 6 to 11, 2025, is looking for committed and motivated individuals who would like to support the ITFS team in various positions. Whether as a helping hand during the festival week or in a responsible position in advance – there are many opportunities to become part of the team.

During the festival week (May 6 to 11, 2025) they are particularly looking for:

  • Cinema Stage Managers (Saalregie für die Kinos)
  • Guest Assistants (Betreuer*innen für die Festivalgäste)
  • Info Point Staff (Mitarbeiter*innen für die Infopoints)
  • Social Media Coordinators (Social Media Beauftragte)
  • Helping Hands for many areas of the festival (Helfende Hände für viele Bereiche des Festivals)

They also offer positions that start in the run-up to the festival:

  • GameZone Project Manager (February 15 to May 15, 2025)
  • Hosting Staff (March 1 to May 15, 2025)

You can find all the details about the tasks, application and remuneration here (German).

ITFS 2024, Photo: Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, Reiner Pfisterer

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)

Hochschule Offenburg: VEXIER (Director: Matthias Wissmann)

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

In addition, Heiko Burkardsmaier, VFX Executive Producer and Head of Business/Legal Affairs at Accenture Song VFX will receive this year’s Baden-Württemberg Honorary Film Award.

Sources:
Filmschau BW Program | Filmschau BW Press Release | MFG Baden-Württemberg | Hochschule der Medien

Call for Entries ITFS 2025

ITFS, Photo: Reiner Pfisterer

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 deadline for 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.

Source: Press Release ITFS

ITFS, Photo: Reiner Pfisterer

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

Get your tickets for FMX and ITFS!

In a few weeks, Stuttgart will once again become a hotspot for the animation and VFX industry and for animation fans worldwide when the FMX – Film & Media Exchange conference, the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film and the Animation Production Days open the doors to their visitors.

FMX (Photo: Dominique Brewing)
ITFS Gala (Photo: Reiner Pfisterer)
APDs (Photo: Reiner Pfisterer)

The FMX will take place from April 23 to 26, 2024 on site at Haus der Wirtschaft. Numerous presentations will subsequently be available online on demand from April 27 to May 31. The ITFS will take place in Stuttgart from April 23 to 28, 2024 at various locations and on Stuttgart’s Schlossplatz. The co-production market Animation Production Days will be organized as a cooperation between FMX and ITFS from April 23 to 25, 2024.

From now on, FMX Conference, Day and Online Passes as well as ITFS Festival and Professional Passesare are available in their ticket shops. Worthwhile for visiting both events is a Combi Pass which is available in both the FMX and ITFS ticket shops (until March 15 at the Early Bird rate).

Ticket shop FMX | Website FMX

Ticket shop ITFS | Website ITFS

Registration APD | Website APD

Annegret Richter new Artistic Director of Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH!

Annegret Richter, Photo: Martin Jehnichen

Press Release, November 30, 2023

Complete Press Release and CV Annegret Richter

In June of this year, Heike Mozer took over the commercial management, and now the artistic position of the Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH (FMF) has also been filled: Annegret Richter, an experienced curator and festival organiser who has known and accompanied the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) for years, is taking over.

Heike Mozer and Annegret Richter would like to lead the ITFS into the future and to re-establish it as an annual highlight in the festival calendar for the German and international animated film industry. “We complement each other in different areas and have a very similar view of things when it comes to fundamental issues. It is important to us to create places for encounters, as well as to connect filmmakers, the industry, and the audience. With Annegret, I now have a creative partner by my side,” emphasises Heike Mozer. Together, the managing directors want to further develop the ITFS and intensify the synergies with FMX and the APDs. 

It is a great opportunity and honour for me to work with Heike Mozer and the FMF team to develop the festival for the future,” says the experienced curator Annegret Richter, whose expertise is also highly valued at the ITFS. Her many years of networking in industry and networking projects make her an experienced, interested and passionate advocate for animated film. In her new role, she wants to work to strengthen animation: “Animation tells the important stories and issues of our time. In my opinion, animation for adults does not yet receive enough visibility. That’s why I think the festival also has a task for society as a whole to bring audiences into contact with the films and the filmmakers. Especially people who perhaps didn’t even know that animated film was relevant to them.

Annegret Richter worked as festival director at the short film festival “Filmfest Dresden”, was head of the animated film section at DOK Leipzig and has been managing director of AG Animationsfilm since 2016. She also regularly curates film programmes and has been a member of festival juries and selection committees. She is also familiar with current developments and discourses through teaching assignments and her work as a lecturer. 

NaturVision Filmfestival is looking for a new Festival Director (m/f/d)!

NaturVision, Germany’s first nature film festival and today one of the most outstanding festivals for nature, wildlife, environmental protection and sustainability in Europe, is looking for a new Festival Director (m/f/d)! The position offers great scope for creativity, many creative opportunities, and the chance to participate in transformation processes that are crucial for our society. The place of work is Ludwigsburg, the next and 22. NaturVision Film Festival will take place from July 20 to 23, 2023.

They are looking for a personality with, among other things:

  • Courage, ideas and entrepreneurial initiative to constructively shape and further develop an internationally established festival whose diverse activities now extend far beyond a mere film festival
  • Ideally, professional experience in the event sector, a relevant academic education and profound knowledge in the fields of media, nature, sustainability and environment
  • Management and leadership experience as a managing director or in a comparable function with corresponding organizational and budgetary responsibility.

Curious? Here you can find out more about the position and the application (in German): https://natur-vision.de/de/ueber-uns/jobs/festival-leitung/