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 deadlinefor 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.
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.
We thank all participants and attendees for the great afternoon and the many wonderful conversations!
Photo: Louis NauchePhoto: Louis NauchePhoto: MFGPhoto: MFGPhoto: MFG
May 4, 2024
FMX 2024 Presentations available online!
FMX, Photo: Dominique Brewing
The Stuttgart Animated Week 2024 came to an end on Sunday, April 28, 2024, with the grand awards gala at the ITFS. Note down the dates for next year in the calendar right away – the next ITFS will take place from May 6 to 11, 2025, and the FMX – Film & Media Exchange from May 6 to 9, 2025.
If you were unable to attend FMX this year or would like to watch individual FMX presentations again – most of the conference content will be available online via FMX On Demand until May 31, 2024. Watch out for the turquoise VoD flags in the FMX Program Schedule indicating which presentations are included in FMX On Demand. Tickets are available at the FMX Ticket Shop, the FMX On Demand Guide explains in detail how to get access.
FMX 2024, Panel “EU XR”, Photo: D. Brewing
FMX 2024, World of Gra, Photo: D. Brewing
FMX 2024, Improve Profitability in VFX and Animation, Photo: D. Brewing
FMX 2024, Being the Change through Mentorship, WIA, Photo: D. Brewing
April 26, 2024
Animation Media Lounge April 2024
On April 24, 2024, we had our annual party, the Animation Media Lounge in the “Note”, to which we invited on the occasion of the STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK 2024 (FMX, ITFS and APD 2024), musically accompanied by the Caligari Band. Thank you for coming – we hope you had a blast!
April 25, 2024
Our Creators @ FMX and ITFS on Friday, April 26, 2024!
Our CREATORS can be found at numerous talks, presentations, screenings, meetings and events at FMX and ITFS on Friday, April 26 – day 4 of the STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK2024. Find out where and when!
10:30-19:30 ITFS Königsbau-Passagen GameZone „The Bear – A Story from the WORLD OF GRA“ (by ITFS/FMX/APD Trailer Team) Animationsinstitut Alumni (Mucks! Games) https://www.itfs.de/en/events/gamezone-2/
11:15 FMX Turm Aalen Starting and succeeding as creative producers in animation and VFX production Animationsinstitut / FABW alumni, curated by: Christian Müller, Animationsinstitut / FABW https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28832
20:00 Contain’t, Container City Kunstverein Wagenhalle, Nordbahnhofstr. 1 NIGHT OF SHAME by Studio Seufz Studio Seufz, ITFS, Animationsinstitut, AMCRS https://www.nightofshame.com/
10:30-19:30 ITFS Königsbau-Passagen GameZone „The Bear – A Story from the WORLD OF GRA“ (by ITFS/FMX/APD Trailer Team) Animationsinstitut Alumni (Mucks! Games) https://www.itfs.de/en/events/gamezone-2/
12:30 FMX Bertha-Benz-Saal Panel Discussion: How to pull it off? Jan Pinkava, Andreas Hykade, Animationsinstitut / FABW (Andreas Hykade also curator of the Track “Raw and Relevant”) https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28894
19:00 ITFS Haus der Katholischen Kirche, Königstr. 7 AniX Awards (with German Animation Screenplay Award) AMCRS German Animation Screenplay Award sponsored by the AMCRS https://www.itfs.de/en/events/anix-awards/
April 23, 2024
Our CREATORS @ FMX and ITFS on Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Day 2 of the STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK 2024! Find out where to find our CREATORS at FMX and ITFS on Wednesday, April 24!
10:30-19:30 ITFS Königsbau-Passagen GameZone „The Bear – A Story from the WORLD OF GRA“ (by ITFS/FMX/APD Trailer Team) Animationsinstitut Alumni (Mucks! Games) https://www.itfs.de/en/events/gamezone-2/
17:00 FMX Raum Reutlingen, Chaos Suite Bridging the Gap: Pre-viz and post into the LED stage production era David Gaspar Anastacio, Accenture Song, Oliver Markowski, RISE | Visual Effects Studios https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/30131
19:00 FMX Plaza in front of Haus der Wirtschaft Get-Together
21:30 Die Note, Berliner Platz 1 Animation Lounge AMCRS
April 22, 2024
Our Creators @ FMX and ITFS on Tuesday, April 23, 2024!
Let’s get started with STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK2024, during which animation, VFX and games fans and professionals from all over the world will come together in Stuttgart to experience and exchange the latest trends, most impressive projects and most exciting stories: FMX – Film & Media Exchange (April 23-26, 2024), the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (April 23-28, 2024) and the Animation Production Days (April 23-25, 2024) will take place! We could hardly wait!
10:00-18:00 FMX, Foyer Bertha Benz Immersive XR Demos Track “EU XR” curated by Volker Helzle, Animationsinstitut / FABW EMIL: FABW – Fate of the Minotaur: Alexander Kreische, Andreas Dahn, Eduard Schäfer, Justus Blönnigen, Leszek Plichta, Lisa Forelli, Simon Spielmann, Volker Helzle, Yvonne Krühler Pixelcloud – Climate Change VR: Christoph Rasulis, Elija Schneider, Jonas Kirchner MAX-R: FABW – VPET (Digital Locations) & AnimHost: Alexandru Tufis-Schwartz, Francesco Andreussi, Jonas Trottnow, Simon Haag, Simon Spielmann, Volker Helzle https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/29798
14:30 FMX Meidinger-Saal Immersive Artwork: Pushing the boundaries of location based entertainment Track “Games & Beyond” curated by Anna Brinkschulte, Animationsinstitut / FABW https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28782
15:45 FMX Meidinger-Saal, VOD Creating The Blackwall VFX for Cyberpunk 2077 : Phantom Liberty Track “Games & Beyond” curated by Anna Brinkschulte, Animationsinstitut / FABW https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28881
16:00-19:30 ITFS Königsbau-Passagen GameZone „The Bear – A Story from the WORLD OF GRA“ (by ITFS/FMX/APD Trailer Team) Animationsinstitut Alumni (Mucks! Games) https://www.itfs.de/en/events/gamezone/
17:00 FMX Meidinger-Saal, VOD THE BEAR – Making Meaningful Mobile Games and Designing for Calmness Animationsinstitut Alumni Clara Deitmar, Julius Dorsel (Mucks! Games, FMX/ITFS/APD 2024 trailer team) Track “Games & Beyond” curated by Anna Brinkschulte, Animationsinstitut / FABW https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2024/detail/event/28880
17:00 LAVAlabs, Mittelstraße 9/1, 70180 Stuttgart BBQ Lavalabs All AMCRS members are cordially invited!
19:00 FMX Plaza in front of Haus der Wirtschaft Get-Together
April 19, 2024
German Computer Game Award 2024 for THE BEAR!
The Bear, Mucks! Games, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
The interactive bedtime story THE BEAR – A STORY FROM THE WORLD OF GRA has won the German Computer Game Award (DCP) in the category “Best Graphic Design”. THE BEAR is the debut work of Clara Deitmar, Julius Dorsel and Luzie Kehle – all former students of the Animationsinstitut at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. The team accepted the award yesterday evening in Munich.
THE BEAR is an interactive experience for tablets. Two friends, the bear and the little one, embark on a journey through a dreamy universe where they collect stars and experience stories together. THE BEAR is about rediscovering the intimate and emotional state just before falling asleep.
Winning the DCP feels like a dream for the team: “It was absolutely amazing to be part of the DCP this year! The nominations alone meant so much to us – winning is just phenomenal. We couldn’t have wished for a better start for our newly founded studio.”
The German Computer Game Award is the most important prize for games in Germany and is endowed with around 800,000€. It is awarded by the Federal Government, represented by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, together with game – Association of the German Games Industry and the Digital Games Culture Foundation.
For Jan Pinkava, Director of the Animationsinstitut, the triumph at the DCP is a strong signal for Ludwigsburg as a games location: “To put it simply: The Filmakademie is in Ludwigsburg, and Ludwigsburg is a growing centre for the creative arts. Our Interactive Media teaching is about content – what the artwork does and what it means – with a special emphasis on storytelling. That is why our talented students produce meaningful work, like THE BEAR. At the Animationsinstitut we are proud of our extraordinary students and their contribution to the region.“
While still studying Interactive Media, Deitmar, Dorsel and Kehle founded the studio Mucks! Games, under whose name they recently published THE BEAR. The game is available for iOS systems.
Find out more about WORLD OF GRA and THE BEAR here.
