20 Years of Tom & the Slice of Bread with Strawberry Jam & Honey
Studio FILM BILDER and KiKA are celebrating the 20th birthday of the cult character TOM. Many TOM fans are sending their congratulations on social media, including beloved colleagues such as Sandmännchen, Günter Kastenfrosch, the raven Rudi, and “Die Pfefferkörner”. On Saturday, November 15, 2025, KiKA will host a TOM Day featuring 20 episodes of the series, embarking on a journey through the past two decades of “Tom & the Slice of Bread with Strawberry Jam & Honey”(„TOM & das Erdbeermarmeladebrot mit Honig“).
Tom’s Special Day, Image: Studio FILM BILDER
In November 2005, KiKA aired the first 13 episodes of the series. Since then, TOM has made many friends, experienced adventures across a total of 52 episodes – and received 52 half slices of strawberry jam bread with honey, each of which tasted as good to him as if it had been a whole one. The lovable hero was created by Stuttgart-based animation artist Andreas Hykade. He designed the characters and the world, developed the scripts, and directed the series. All episodes were produced entirely at Studio FILM BILDER in Stuttgart. The animated series was given a special touch by Dirk Bach, who – as narrator and the voice of all the characters – gave the series its unmistakable tone. “Tom & the Slice of Bread with Strawberry Jam & Honey” has received several awards, including the Grimme Online Award in 2009 and the prize for Best TV Series at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2013.
“Tom & the Slice of Bread with Strawberry Jam & Honey” is a co-production of Studio FILM BILDER Stuttgart and SWR, funded by MFG Baden-Württemberg.
The series LENA’S FARM, created by our CREATORS from Studio Film Bilder, has won the renowned Japan Prize in the Pre-Schoolcategory. Director Elena Walf will accept the award on November 20, 2025, in Tokyo.
LENA’S FARM is aimed at young children and their families, portraying the colorful life on a farm. With empathy and humor, Elena Walf transforms the relationships among the farm’s animal residents into poetic stories and lovingly drawn images. Animated in classic hand-drawn style, each film bears the author’s distinctive touch down to the finest detail, and every one of the 26 episodes (each 5 minutes and 40 seconds long) also works as a self-contained short film.
Produced by Studio Film Bilder in co-production with ZDF and Minya Film (Zagreb), the series received funding from MFG Baden-Württemberg, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, and Creative Europe MEDIA.
Within just a few months of its release, LENA’S FARM has already won 17 awards, including at Cartoons on the Bay and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The series was broadcast on KiKA and has so far been sold to twelve international broadcasters and streaming platforms, including Disney Europe. The world sales company Meta Media (London) believes that the highly regarded Japan Prize will help LENA’S FARM win the hearts of even more children around the world.
Source: Studio Film Bilder
June 18, 2025
Lena’s Farm wins at Annecy 2025
Picture: Studio Film Bilder
Photo: Studio Film Bilder
Director Elena Walf and Studio Film Bilder are celebrating a successful start to the festival tour of their series LENA’S FARM. After already winning awards in recent days at the Italian festivals Cartoons on the Bay and Periferie Animate, as well as at the festival in Zlín, Czech Republic, the crowning moment came in France: on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at the Festival d’Animation Annecy, Elena Walf was honored on the main stage with the Jury Award for a TV Series.
The series consists of 26 episodes, each 5 minutes and 40 seconds long, which also work as stand-alone short films. It was produced by Studio Film Bilder in co-production with ZDF and Minya Film from Zagreb. Financing was made possible by MFG Baden-Württemberg, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, the CroatianAudiovisual Centre, and the Creative Europe MEDIA program. Global distribution is handled by Meta Media, London.
Congratulations to Elena Walf, Studio Film Bilder and everyone else involved!
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
January 17, 2025
Studio FILM BILDER’s “Lena’s Farm” on TV
The animated series “Lena’s Farm” by Elena Walf (Studio FILM BILDER) will be broadcast on KiKA, the children’s channel of ARD and ZDF, from February 4, 2025. In the new animated series for pre-school children, the animals on Lena’s farm experience all kinds of social challenges, which are told non-verbally in humorous stories. “Lena’s Farm” (ZDF) – an instructive example of understanding and tolerance – can be seen from February 4, 2025, Mondays to Fridays at 9:10 CET as well as on kikaninchen.de and in the KiKANiNCHEN app.
Lena’s Farm, Image: Studio FILM BILDER
Author Elena Walf tells heart-warming stories about understanding and tolerance. Each episode revolves around a different problem between individuals and the group, with a different animal always taking center stage. These are interpersonal problems that are easy for children to understand thanks to the translation into the animal world. The series manages without any language at all. Elena Walf’s imagery is all the more expressive for that. It is as clearly and pointedly drawn as it is lovingly embellished in detail.
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 7, 2024
SWR TV documentary about current animation projects involving our Creators
Fritzi & Sophie – A Boundless Friendship
The German TV documentary “Frame by Frame – Wie Trickfilmer ticken” by SWR provides insights into the creation of the animated series “Fritzi & Sophie – A Boundless Friendship” and the animated feature film “The Light of Aisha”.
“Fritzi & Sophie” is a co-production of Balance Film Dresden, Trickstudio Lutterbeck Cologne and our CREATORS from Studio Filmbilder in Stuttgart and the first animation series to be produced entirely in Germany. Director and producer Thomas Meyer-Hermann (Studio Filmbilder), director and producer Ralf Kukula (Balance Film) and others involved in the production process will talk about the new technique in animated film of using motion capture in combination with CGI.
Exciting insights into the series and its creation will also be available in a few weeks at the Stuttgart Animated Week at FMX and ITFS. It will also celebrate its world premiere at ITFS (episodes 1-4, episodes 5-8).
Shadi Adib, director of the feature film “The Light of Aisha” and alumna of Animationsinstitut, talks about the making of the international co-production, whose screenplay by Xavier Romero and Llorenç Español won the German Animation Screenplay Award at ITFS 2019 and which is due to be released in cinemas in the fall. Further insights are provided by Kate Forsdick and Holger Tesch from The M.A.R.K. 13 Group in Stuttgart and Peter Keydel from Mago Production in Barcelona.
Take a look!
Directly to feature in the ARD media library, it is available until April 1, 2025.
On Wednesday, October 11 at 20:00 CET, the HFM – Haus für Film und Medien Stuttgart e.V. will show the animated masterpiece “Loving Vincent” as part of the event series HFM X Arthaus in the Atelier am Bollwerk / Arthaus Filmtheater Stuttgart GmbH (Hohe Str. 26, 70176 Stuttgart).
The event will be moderated by Uwe Schmitz-Gielsdorf (former managing director of the Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH), guest will be Thomas Meyer-Hermann (animated film producer and director, Studio Filmbilder Stuttgart).
The AMCRS HEROES @ ITFS on Sunday, April 30, 2023!
ITFS Trickstars (Photo: Reiner Pfisterer)
The last day of a week full of events and inspiration, great meetings with old and new friends, an incredible amount of new background knowledge about current developments in art, technology and research, hopefully many new project ideas and collaborations and above all films, games and other media projects and experiences has almost arrived! We hope you’ve made it this far – here come the events our AMCRS HEROES are involved in at the ITFSon Sunday, April 30, 2023. We are keeping our fingers crossed for all nominees for the grand ITFS 2023 award ceremony!
The AMCRS HEROES @ ITFS on Saturday, April 29, 2023!
ITFS Open Air (Photo: Reiner Pfisterer)
Hands up, it’s weekend! Enjoy your time at ITFS and check here to see which of our HEROES (or their works) will also be there on Saturday, April 29, 2023.
20:30 CET ITFS Gloria 2 Best of Animation – Homemade Highlights 2 Films by Regina Welker, Thomas Meyer-Hermann, Anselm Pyta, Angela Steffen, Kiana Naghshineh, Shoko Hara, Studio Filmbilder, Animationsinstitut Alumni et al., curated by Förderverein ITFS e.V. https://www.itfs.de/en/events/best-of-animation-homemade-highlights-2/
