We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Tonio Freitag.
Most recently working as a freelance Visual Effects Artist and VFX Supervisor, he contributed his talent to Rise FX, Pixomondo, Chasing Carrots, and Unexpected.
Moreover, Tonio Freitag was engaged at the Animationsinstitut of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, working as a Technical Artist for Research & Development and teaching as a lecturer in Visual Effects.
In 2011, he graduated with a diploma from the Animationsinstitut. His diploma project “We Miss You“ was nominated for a VES Award in the category “Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project.”
As Head of 3D at Pixomondo in Stuttgart, he worked on international productions such as “Furious 7“, “Bridge of Spies,“ and “Game of Thrones“. At Rise FX in Stuttgart, he worked as CG Supervisor on projects including “Captain Marvel“, “Avengers: Endgame“, and “Doctor Sleep“.
He was also a long-standing member of the Visual Effects Society.
Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Tonio Freitag. Our thoughts are with them, and we wish them strength in this difficult time.
PIXOMONDO, Accenture Song VFX, and RISE FX are nominated for the prestigious EMMYs for their work on the series “The Penguin”, “Dune: Prophecy”, “House of the Dragon”, and “The Last of Us”!
Category “Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie“:
“Dune: Prophecy“ (HBO | Max) – Visual Effects Supervisor Accenture Song VFX Germany: Peter Lames
“House Of The Dragon“ (HBO | Max) – Visual Effects Supervisor PIXOMONDO: Sven Martin | Associate Visual Effects Supervisor PIXOMONDO: Fausto Tejeda
“The Last Of Us“ (HBO | Max) – Visual Effects Supervisor, RISE FX: Andreas Giesen
Category “Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Single Episode“:
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
May 5, 2025
Our Creators @ FMX, ITFS and APD on Tuesday, May 6, 2025!
Let’s dive into STUTTGART ANIMATED WEEK 2025! Animation, VFX and games fans, professionals, and students from around the world are coming together in Stuttgart to explore the latest trends, cutting-edge technologies, stunning projects, and the most exciting stories. With 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), there’s a lot to look forward to!
And of course, our CREATORS are part of it, too! Let’s take a look at how they’re contributing during these inspiring days: the talks, presentations, and workshops they’re leading, where you can meet and chat with them in person, what they’ve curated — and which of their projects you can see on site or even try out for yourself. We’re kicking things off on Tuesday, May 6, 2025!
FMX
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/
10:00 FMX, Turm Aalen Founding and funding an indie game studio Iris Harr, MFG, Dominik Schön, Kaleidoscube (Panel “LÄND-made” curated by Christian Müller, Animationsinstitut / FABW) https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/detail/event/33034
10:00 FMX, Turm Aalen Creativity and Artificial Intelligence – How to Use Cutting Edge Technology in Creative Projects Panel “LÄND-made” curated by Christian Müller, Animationsinstitut / FABW https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/list?t=1891
14:00 APD, Festival Centre, Haus der Katholischen Kirche, Eugen-Bolz-Saal Conference Part 1 / Panel Discussion “Crisis, Change, Resilience: Filmmaking in Times of Transformation” Curator and Host: Lilian Klages https://animationproductiondays.de/programme/conference-2025/
17:00 FMX Turm Aalen & VOD An Examination of Grey Characters: How to Write Them and What to Learn from Them Panel “Fresh Visions” curated by Christian Müller, Animationsinstitut / FABW https://fmx.de/en/program/program-2025/list?t=1829
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-2/
19:00 FMX, in front of Haus der Wirtschaft Get-Together sponsored by Houdini
November 25, 2024
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
