The first signs of Spring for me are the flowers in my garden and the International Trick Film Festival in Stuttgart.
It’s Not A Trick. It’s Animation!
The first signs of Spring for me are the flowers in my garden and the International Trick Film Festival in Stuttgart. The two new festival heads, Annagret Richter, Artistic Director, and Heike Mozer, Financial Director, are a dynamic team, and this is their second year.
The positive changes were very obvious right away. First of all, the entire staff was much more relaxed than I have ever seen them. Annagret and Heike were everywhere, talking not just with the animators that they already knew but also introducing themselves to first-time festival guests, making them feel welcome.
The Awards Ceremony and party have been moved from Sunday to Saturday evening so everyone can go to the Sunday bar-b-que and have a relaxing day before heading home on Monday. The programming was very strong with an emphasis on stop motion. There was also an Animation Nightmare Special and a focus on Swiss animation, as well as numerous workshops, masterclasses, and talks. So many interesting things were happening that it was impossible to see and do everything. Another big change this year was the delicious lunch that was provided to every participant. This may seem like a small detail but to animators, especially the students, who are on a budget, it is a big deal.
I had the honor of being a member of the Feature Film Selection Committee. My three fellow committee members and I are quite proud of the films that we selected. In years past the Feature Films catered heavily to family-friendly films. This year they were mostly more adult-oriented.
In 1999 German filmmaker Heinrich Sabl, known for his pre-2000 stop-motion animation, began work on his first animated feature, Memory Hotel. After over twenty years of work on his film, it was finally screened in the Stuttgart Feature Film Competition.
The film opens in May 1945 when five-year-old Sophie flees from the Russian front with her parents to a small Polish village. They have tickets for a ship bound for America. On the way to the harbor, they stop at a hotel where, to their surprise, they find a Nazi officer, Scharf, and Hitler Youth Beckman
Sophie’s parents are killed during a fight with Scharf and a Soviet soldier named Vasily and the child loses all of her memories. As Sophie grows up, she is forced to prepare food for her captures and the hotel guests. Beckman has been hiding in an alcove by the elevator shaft ever since Sophie’s parents were killed.
Time passes and Sophie is forced to marry Vasily. She also forms a friendship with Beckman. Memory Hotel has many twists and turns in its 100-minute running time. Henrich Sal has created an exciting, disturbing film incorporating dialogue that is a realistic portrait of the German/Soviet history of guilt and their attempts to cope with it.
During selection, I watched Memory Hotel with an eye for how it would fit into the festival and for the overall quality of the film. I was so intrigued with it that I immediately watched it again paying close attention to the story and dialogue. I find the film fascinating.
At Stuttgart, Henrich Sabl gave a presentation titled Memory Hotel – A Quarter of a Lifetime For a Film. During it, he showed a video about the making of the puppets and another one related to his work process. He talked about how he balanced working on a film for so long with the demands of daily life. He also revealed that he is not done with the film and that there will be a slightly different version at Annecy in a few weeks. He revealed that one of the reasons, aside from financial constraints, that the film took so long was that after 9/11 he made big changes in the film and more changes were made after Russia invaded the Ukraine.
Another feature film that touched me was The Square by South Korean animator Bo-sol Kim. The film is a romantic drama set in North Korea. Although it is beautifully animated with soft colors and lovely backgrounds, the 73-minute film portrays the harsh realities of life in present-day North Korea.
The story is about Isak Borg, the First Secretary of the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang North Korea, and Bok-joo, a local traffic officer. Borg is secretly dating Bok-joo and wants to marry her. This is not possible because his tour of duty is almost up and he cannot stay in the country and under North Korean law she cannot leave the country.
One day after Borg sees a suspiciously acting man at the couple’s secret meeting place, Bok-joo disappears. With his departure date nearing, he begins a frantic search for her and starts to suspect that his interpreter Lee Myeong-jun has been spying on him and has discovered his secret meetings with Bok-joo.
The jury gave The Best Feature Film award to Laszio Csaki from Hungary for Pelican Blue, a film that I like a great deal. I have written about it extensively in previous articles so I won’t go into detail here except to say that the film is about a little-known piece of history, Hungarians stepping out from behind the Iron Curtin, freedom to travel, and three young men who create the opportunity to experience the outside world for a whole generation. If you have the opportunity to see this charming “gangster comedy/animated documentary” don’t miss it.
I was extremely happy that the short film jury selected Florence Miailhe’s Butterfly (Papillon) for its top award for short film. All of Florence’s films are beautifully animated, visually stunning, and touching. Butterfly is the especially poignant true story of champion French swimmer Alfred Nakache. Born into a Jewish family in North Africa, he overcame his fear of water as a child and went on to break the world’s butterfly stroke record in 1941.
He, along with his wife and young daughter, was deported to Auschwitz. He survived the ordeal but his family did not. He returned to the water for the 1948 London Olympics. At the end of his life, on his final swim, his memories flash before his eyes.
I first met Matteo Burani in 2018 at Animarkt in Lodz, Poland where I was the young Italian director’s pitching coach. I found his project, Playing God, intriguing and since then, I have followed the progress of his film. The success of the 2021 Kickstarter campaign and finally to Stuttgart, where I got to see the film on the big screen. It looks beautiful and the story is engaging. The 9-minute stop-motion film is set in an artist’s atelier where a mysterious blind sculptor has spent much of his life trying to create a masterpiece. He is surrounded by deformed figures that he considers inferior, the result of years of trying to find perfection. Playing God is the story of a clay sculpture’s relationship to his creator and the elusive quest for perfection.
The stop-motion film pays homage to Eastern European stop-motion masters such as Jan Svankmajer, the Polish sculptors Stanislav and Szukalski, and the Italian sculptor Alberto Giacometti. Animator and art director Arianna Gheller made two hundred individual deformed clay puppets for the film. Playing God is so richly dense that you need to watch it at least twice, once to concentrate on the story and then again to focus on all of the beautifully sculpted figures.
I am fond of Living Large. The 88-minute Czech, French, and Slovenian film by Kristina Dufkova is based on a book by Mikael Ollivier. It is the story of 12-year-old Ben. He loves music but he loves food even more. He is constantly plagued by his school’s three bullies. His divorced parents don’t know what to do about him, and even the school nurse is concerned about his weight. Despite his love of food and his talent as a chief, Ben decides to go on a diet to rid himself of the bullies who love to torment him. Even more important, he has met Klara, the girl of his dreams, and has fallen in love. In the end Ben learns that what truly matters isn’t how you look, it’s how you feel about yourself.
With everyone, especially young people, being constantly confronted with images in magazines, advertisements, and on television of “the perfect body”, we have become a society compulsively obsessed with obtaining the unachievable “perfect body”. Living Large is a movie with a message not just for young people but the entire family, learn to accept and appreciate yourself.
The film was presented at 10 in the morning to a theatre full of 10 to 14-year-old school children as part of the Tricks For Kids screenings. Since no one from the film’s creative team was at the festival, I was asked to talk about Living Large with the students after the screening.
Katharina Vogt, Program Manager for Tricks For Kids, introduced me to the audience and acted as my translator. She had come armed with a stack of questions to ask me, but after she asked me the first question hands went up all over the theatre. For the entire half hour, the students asked me all sorts of questions about my life as an animation journalist. One young boy asked me how much money I made as an animation journalist. Another young lady who wanted a photograph with me asked when I was going to retire because she wanted my job. It was a lovely experience to be so warmly received by the students. I had a wonderful time even if we never did discuss Living Large.
Along with all of the screenings in the theaters, the big open-air screen on the large Schlossplatz next to the beer garden began showing short animations at 14h00. The films shown on the massive outdoor screen are as clear and bright in broad daylight as films projected inside a theatre. In the evenings, feature-length films are screened, such as Robot Dreams, a delightful film about the adventures and touching friendship between a dog and a robot in 1980s New York City. Whole families brought picnics and enjoyed some wonderful films for free.
Animation Production Days, or APD as it is known, is the only German focus on coproduction and financing for animation projects of its type. Fifty carefully selected, newly developed projects from 17 countries were presented at close to 1,000 business meetings over three days. The APD Conference discussed topics related to current trends and challenges in the industry.
Along with workshops and masterclasses, there were exhibitions. One exhibition presented sets and puppets from the Swiss/French/Belgian co-production Sauvages directed by Claude Barras. The 87-minute film is set in Borneo where Keria takes in a baby orangutan found on the palm oil plantation where her father works. At the same time, her cousin Selai comes to stay with her family to escape the conflict between his nomadic family and the logging companies; the ancestral forest is under threat more than ever. Together Keria, Selai, and the baby monkey named Oshi brave every obstacle to fight against the destruction of the rainforest. The film was also screened at the festival.
For me, the most exciting exhibition was located at the French Institute, which curated a presentation of works by artist Marie Paccou and featured her umbrellotropes, a form of animated Zoetrope Parasol. Using waterproof markers and white umbrellas, she draws beautiful patterns that, when spun at the correct speed, create a zoetrope effect.
At the exhibition, numerous beautiful parasols were on display and available for purchase at very reasonable prices beginning at 25 euros, certainly more than reasonable for a unique piece of art that can be used to shade you from the sun or keep you dry in the rain. I am now the proud owner of a beautiful umbrellotrope.
Marie also displayed some of her Flip-Book series. She brings to life with animation the plots of famous novels, drawing on the pages of the books themselves.
Along with her marvelous exhibition, she also gave a workshop. Participants were taught the principles of circular animation. They were then given a blank parasol to create their own Umbrellotrope. I am in awe of Marie Paccou’s creative talents.
Nik and I gave a presentation of my book ON THE ANIMATION TRAIL 20 Years of Animation Festival History. We were interviewed by the festival’s Yannik Tessenow. We also showed a short video by Joanna Quinn about the making of the book’s covers, a short teaser for a film that German animated documentary maker Katrin Rothe is making about Nik and me, and my 2-minute 59-second film Nancy’s Spectacle(s). The presentation was followed by a book signing.
During the week there were special parties and get-togethers. On the last day of the festival, there was a wine tasting. It was not your normal wine tasting. We boarded covered wagons pulled by tractors and were driven up into the beautiful hills amid row after terraced row of grape vines. Occasionally we stopped and got out, wine glasses in hand, where we were poured a different wine to taste at each stop while our tour guide told us about each one. He was full of fascinating facts about the area.
After our tour, we went to the winery for a delicious barbecue lunch. It was a perfect way to end a wonderful week at the International Trickfilm Festival.
I have so many people to thank for making my time in Stuttgart so memorable. A very big thank you to Head Film Programmer Andrea Bauer for inviting me to be on the Feature Film Selection Committee and for her years of friendship. To Anja Bickele, head of guest service, for her hard work in arranging for our hotel. I will never forget the interview with the school children, so thank you to Tricks For Kids Program Manager Katharina Vogt, and for the lovely interview by Yannik Tessenow. I certainly can’t forget about Silke Kabisch, Administrative Project Manager who mans the welcome booth and always has a smile and cheery hello for everyone. Also, all of the staff and super volunteers deserve praise.
Of course, I cannot forget Artistic Director Annegret Richter who has been a friend for so many years, and Heike Mozer, Managing Director. Well done everyone!
The 2026 edition of the festival will be held from 5 to 10 May 2026.
You can learn more about this year’s festival, how to submit your film for the next edition, or volunteer at: https://itfs.de
All of the winning films are listed at the end of this article.
RHYTHM OF CHANGE
Running concurrently with the festival for four days, FMX (Film & Media Exchange) is a leading conference for media and entertainment professionals and students. The event is more important than ever with the dynamic changes that are rapidly taking place in media technology now.
This year’s theme, Rhythm of Change, is a relevant theme at a time when people are trying to maintain a sense of rhythm in their lives and work during so many rapid changes.
The heart of FMX is the conference where speakers from throughout the world address such topics as the State of FMX; Managing Change; Lighting and Rendering; and VR and Games. There were also master classes on such diverse topics as Story Development, Sound Design and so much more.
With five large halls and five additional smaller salons, there was a lot going on from 10 in the morning until 19:00. One area was devoted to the School Campus where prospective students could learn about various animation university programs and campus life from faculty members and students. Education Today and Tomorrow featured programs such as What do I Need for a Future Job?
I did notice that the Recruiting Hub and Marketplace were much smaller this year with only 11 recruiting booths in what is normally a large hall full of booths. Similarly, the Marketplace only had 13 exhibitors in a room that is usually packed full of the latest technological innovations This sends a very definite message about the state of the economy and worldwide unrest in the animation community.
I always find something interesting in the Marketplace. I had attended the ANIX Awards the evening before where the Trickstar Business Awards are presented. The Business Award is given to the best innovative and groundbreaking business model by a project or company. The 7,500 Euro cash prize is sponsored by Verband Region Stuttgart. This year the award went to The Park, a Belgian Company with offices in the three regions of Belgium: Brussels, Flanders, and Wallonia for their real-time content creation and workflow management system called SYNK.
At the FMX Marketplace, the system was explained to me and I was given an impressive demonstration of what it can do. With its Versatile feature set and seamless integration of real-time technology, SNYK greatly reduces rendering times and enables smooth collaboration across different soft wear.
A major innovation is SYNK’s ability to allow animation artists to continue to work in whatever program they prefer. The Park has developed a tool that enables professionals, regardless of their experience with real-time technology, to produce high-quality content faster, more affordably, and with greater creative freedom. I was quite impressed with the demonstration that I saw.
Along with my book presentation at the festival, I did a book signing at FMX. I shared the table with Ed Hooks who wrote Acting For Animators. His book is now in its 5th edition. Ed is a regular every year at FMX where he gives a two-day masterclass on Acting for Animators. A big thank you to Bernd Haasis, FMX Communication and PR Manager, for arranging for my book signing.
Our yearly trip to The TrickFilm Festival and FMX is always rewarding.
The 2026 edition of FMX will take place 5 - 8 May 2026.
You can get up-to-date information about FMX and their On Demand system which allows you to listen to conference presentations in your own home on their website: www.fmx.de
WINNING FILMS
International Competition – Grand Prix
Award of the State of Baden-Württemberg and the City of Stuttgart for the best animated film of the International Competition with a cash prize of 10,000 €.
BUTTERFLY (PAPILLON)
Director: Florence Miailhe - France 2024
Special Mention:
JOKO
Director: Izabela Plucinska - Czechia, Germany, Poland 2024
Lotte Reiniger Promotion Award for Animated Film
Award for the best graduation film of the Student Competition with a cash prize of 10,000 €, sponsored by Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, MFG Film Funding.
HUNTING (QUI PART À LA CHASSE)
Director: Lea Favre - Switzerland 2024
Special Mention
HIC SVNT DRACONES
Director: Justin Fayard - France 2024
Award for the Best Animated Student Film
The award comes with a cash prize of 4,000 €, sponsored by the LFK Landesanstalt für Kommunikation Baden- Württemberg and Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, MFG Film Funding.
THE SELF AND THE OTHER
Director: Chen Ma - United Kingdom 2024
Special Mention:
MOUNTAIN MOUNTAIN
Director: Ben Tan, Grace Cheu Singapore 2024
Tricks for Kids Award
Award for the best animated short film for children with a cash prize of 4,000 €, sponsored by L- Bank, Staatsbank für Baden-Württemberg.
AMEN
Directors: Avril Zundel, Bettina Demarty, Kimié Maingonnat, Laurène Perego, Louise Poulain, Orphée Coutier - France 2024
Special Mention
HELLO SUMMER
Directors: Martin Smatana, Veronika Zacharová - Czechia, France, Slovakia 2024
Trickstar Nature Award
Award for the best animated short film on the topics of nature and the environment, with a cash prize of 7,500 €, sponsored by Verband Region Stuttgart.
THE REFUSERS
Director: Wiep Teeuwisse - Netherlands 2024
AniMovie
Award for the best animated feature film with a cash prize of 3,000 €, sponsored by SWR (regional Broadcasting for Southwest Germany).
PELIKAN BLUE (KÉK PELIKAN)
Director: László Csáki - Hungary 2024
Special Mention:
OLIVIA & THE CLOUDS (OLIVIA & LAS NUBES)
Director: Tomás Pichardo Espaillat - Dominican Republic 2024
German Animation Screenplay Award
Award for the best German screenplay for an animated feature-length film with a cash prize of 2,500 €, sponsored by Animation Media Creators Region Stuttgart (AMCRS).
Miss December and the Moon Clan
Author: Lisa Fechner Producer: Peter Keydel
Production: Mistral Film Studios GmbH
German Animation Screenplay Award
Award for the German screenplay with the biggest international market potential with a cash prize of 2,500 €, sponsored by Sola Media GmbH.
Nessie Junior
Authors: Jens Opatz und Matthias Drescher Producer: Matthias Drescher
Production: FFL – Film und Fernseh-Labor Ludwigsburg GmbH & Co. KG
Animated Games Award Germany
Award for the best animation based German computer game with a cash prize of 5,000 €, sponsored by Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, MFG Games Funding.
Harold Halibut
Developer: Onat Hekimoglu, Slow Bros. GmbH Publisher: Slow Bros. GmbH
Special Mention:
Mini Mini Golf Golf
Developer: Friedrich Kirschner, Three More Years GmbH Publisher: Three More Years GmbH
Trickstar Business Award
Award for the best innovative and groundbreaking business model for a project or a company in the field of animation with a cash prize of 7,500 €, sponsored by Verband Region Stuttgart.
SYNK by ThePack
CEO: Jan Hameeuw (Belgium)
