November 21, 2025

Animationsinstitut Graduation film DETLEV wins German Short Film Award 2025

Press Release, Ludwigsburg, November 21, 2025

On November 20, 2025, the German Short Film Award was presented in Hamburg by Dr. Wolfram Weimer, Minister of State for Culture and the Media. In the category “Animated Film up to 30 minutes” DETLEV (Director & Producer: Ferdinand Ehrhardt, Producer: Saskia Stirn), a stop-motion short film produced by Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (FABW), took home the prize. The German Short Film Award is the most prestigious national distinction for short films in Germany.

Still DETLEV, Credits: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg

In DETLEV a man in his mid-forties, who is constantly freezing, drives to a lonely gas station every night to order a microwaved Toast Hawaii sandwich. Detlev indulges in this bizarre ritual because it is the only thing that gives him warmth. When a stranger observes him one night, his world begins to fall apart.

Director Ferdinand Ehrhardt is deeply grateful for the team experience he gained during the very complex production of the stop-motion film at Animationsinstitut of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg: “Working on DETLEV taught me that it’s good to reach out to the people around me, that trusting in the work of others pays off, and that collective work can create something far greater than I could’ve ever achieved on my own.”

Dr. Andreas Bareiss, Managing Director of FABW, highlights: “What a success! Congratulations to Ferdinand and the entire DETLEV team! The award is well deserved – and joins a long list of other well-deserved awards that FABW productions have already received this year.”

After the ceremony Ferdinand Ehrhardt expresses his gratitude about the award: “This award is an amazing honour, it fills me with pride and gives me the courage to continue on my path of filmmaking. I would like to thank our huge team for pouring so much heart and soul into these thirteen minutes of film during the three years of its production. Furthermore I would like to thank the Animationsinstitut and all of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg – there is no other film school in Europe that would have made an animation project of this magnitude possible. Thank you for allowing us to do this, and thank you for allowing me to continue doing it!”

Dr. Jan Pinkava, Director of Animationsinstitut, adds: “At the Animationsinstitut, we’re super proud of DETLEV. Using the painstaking hand-crafted medium of stop-motion animation, Ferdi and the team have created a moving and funny story full of heart and real human feeling. A very German tale, rewarded by audiences all over the world, and now again at home. Congratulations!”

Director and Producer Ferdinand Ehrhardt, Photo: Henrike Ehrhardt

Producer Saskia Stirn, Photo: Saskia Stirn

In addition to honoring DETLEV, the German Short Film Award recognized another FABW project: The film AT HOME I FEEL LIKE LEAVING (Director: Simon Maria Kubiena) took home the award for feature film (15 to 30 minutes).

Since 1956, the Federal Government of Germany honours and promotes filmmakers with this award. The award is generously endowed with a sum of 255,000 € that is awarded annually across nominations and gold medals in several categories, as well as an additional 20,000 € for the best medium-length film.

Find more information about the German Short Film Award here: https://deutscher-kurzfilmpreis.de/goldene-lolas-fuer-sechs-kurzfilme#

Source: P ress Release Animationsinstitut

Trailer DETLEV

October 17, 2025

TECHTALKS on November 3, 2025, at Das Gutbrod

The TechTalks Stuttgart present 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. The next event will take place on November 3, 2025 at 18:00 CET at Das Gutbrod, Friedrichstr. 10, 70174 Stuttgart.

Admission is free! Please register in advance at contact@amcrs.de. Please note: The event is not hybrid, but will be recorded and available at YouTube afterwards.

Program Schedule:

“Node-basiertes 2.5D Rendering“ | Michael Weigl, Student Technical Directing at Animationsinstitut
Michael Weigl presents a stylized rendering framework that was developed as part of a research project and several animation productions. The prototype of this framework was implemented as a node-based toolset within Blender’s “Geometry Nodes.” The goal is to enable new, complex visual styles – both graphic and painterly – in open-source software. The framework includes, among other things, lighting nodes, algorithms for vectorization, tracking functions, as well as a novel 2.5D layer management logic that allows abstract image operations directly within the rendering process. Together with the native functions of Blender’s “Grease Pencil” engine, this enables innovative workflows that combine 2D and 3D within a single context, thus making it possible to intuitively integrate painterly techniques into a 3D production.

“Hybrid Cloud Rendering“ | Holger Schönberger, Royal Render
We will explore how the combination of local infrastructure and the flexibility of the cloud can change your rendering workflows. From accelerating production to scaling resources according to demand, hybrid cloud solutions offer the best of both worlds: efficiency, security, and cost-effectiveness. Let us embark on this journey together and discover how you can overcome your creative challenges faster and more intelligently.

Infoflyer (PDF)

TechTalks Stuttgart on Facebook

September 21, 2025

Save the Date: Ludwigsburger Mediendialoge

At the kickoff of the Ludwigsburger Mediendialoge (Ludwigsburg Media Dialogues) on October 21, 2025, leading representatives from politics, business, and culture will discuss the future of the media industry in Southwest Germany.

Confirmed participants include:

Arne Braun, State Secretary, Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg
Dr. Patrick Rapp, State Secretary, Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Tourismus Baden-Württemberg
Carl Bergengruen, Managing Director, Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg (MFG)
Stefanie Larson, Manager, Animation Media Creators Region Stuttgart (AMCRS)
Clemens Bratzler, Program Director Information, SWR
Lisa Purtscher or Lotta Schmelzer, Producer (LiseLotte Film), graduates of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (FABW)

Location: Campus of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg | Date & Time: October 21, 2025, 18.00 CET
Registration required – limited seats available!
Official invitations will be sent out at the end of September.

For questions, please contact Fenja Schnizer or Andreas Friedrich via pre sse@filmakademie.de.

March 21, 2025

Nominations for the Deutscher Filmpreis 2025 announced!

LOLA Deutscher Filmpreis © Clemens Porikys

The Deutsche Filmakademi e (German Film Academy) announced the nominations for the Deutscher Filmpreis 2025 (German Film Award 2025) a few days ago. Members of the AMCRS can also hope for a LOLA!

In the “Best Visual Effects” category, Max Riess, Sven Martin and Bernie Kimbacher and their team from PIXOMONDO have been nominated for “Woodwalkers” – Sven Martin is a graduate of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg’s Animationsinstitut. Additionally, LAVAlabs was involved in creating the VFX for the film, which has also been nominated as “Best Children’s Film.”

Also nominated in the category “Best Visual Effects” are teams from RISE. They can even celebrate nominations for two productions – Jan Stoltz, Franzisca Puppe, Sebastian Lauer and their team for their work on “Hagen – Im Tal der Nibelungen” as well as Robert Pinnow and his team for the effects in “Das Licht.” Jan Stoltz also studied at the Animationsinstitut.

On May 9, 2025, the Lola winners will be announced at the Theater am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for all the nominees!

All Nominees | All nominations of MFG-funded produc tions | All nominations of productions by Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and its alumni

VFX Breakdown „Woodwalkers“ (PIXOMONDO)

VFX Breakdown „Hagen“ (RISE)

Trailer „Das Licht“ (X Verleih AG)

August 25, 2024

Nominations for the First Steps Awards 2024 announced

First Steps Award 2023 Sara Fazilat © Clemens Porikys

The F irst 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.

Three projects created at the Animationinstitut of the F ilmakademie Baden-Württemberg can also hope to win a First Steps Award. The animated film DODO by Yi Luo has been nominated in the “Short Film” category. DODO tells the poetic story of Dodo and her father, a big blue bird. One day he flies away and never comes back. Since then, Dodo has stopped growing. The film was awarded the Lotte Reiniger Prize by the MFG as the best entry in the animated short film competition at the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film in April. More about DODO

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 GARD EN

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 SCRU BBY

We congratulate everyone involved and keep our fingers crossed!

Sources: M FG News, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg Press Release

Complete List of First-Steps Awards Nominees

February 25, 2024

Talent Meet-Up BW 2024

Are you at the beginning of your own start-up, currently immersed in developing a new game, or still studying – perhaps “something with media”? Do you come more from an (academic) background but wish to connect with others from the animation, film, and games industries because you value cross-industry exchange? Do you welcome inspiration from a wide range of media sectors, enjoy meeting new people, and aren’t afraid of technological innovation?

Then the TALENT Meet-up BW 2024 is the right thing for you! Apply now for one of the 20 spots in this free, exclusive program with a unique networking opportunity.

Immerse yourself in the Stuttgart Animated Week together with other young professionals and visit the FMX – Film & Media Exchange (April 23-26, 2024), the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (April 23-28, 2024) and the APD Conference (April 23, 2024) of the Animation Production Day s with a free Combi Ticket. You will be supported in networking, you will receive individual program tips and the framework for the best possible exchange – with each other and in the international industry. Last but not least, you will get to know regional support services and contacts so that nothing stands in the way of your professional future in THE LÄND.

Application Deadline: March 15, 2024

This way to more information and the application for m!

Initiated and organized by: MFG Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporatio n, Film Commission Region Stuttgart, Filmakademie B aden-Württemberg, Animations institut, AMCRS