With a sparkling launch at Gloria 1 cinema on the evening of May 6th, 2025, Stuttgart’s largest animation festival, the 32nd edition of the International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS), thunderously declared itself officially open to a capacity audience. People in the international film industry hung on every word of festival directors, Heike Mozer and Annegret Richter, not to mention Arne Braun, the State Secretary for Culture, Stuttgart’s Lord Mayor, Frank Nopper, and Michael Kaiser, MD of Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation (WRS). The unanimous message boldly emphasized the growing importance of film festivals as vital platforms promoting both cultural exchange and creative innovation.

The festival had been inaugurated on the prioir evening with a star-studded state reception event hosted in the New Palace’s stunning White Hall. Incorporating three major related happenings – ITFS, Animation Production Days, and FMX — Film & Media Exchange into one behemoth, the event showcased the full spectrum of the animation world. The fusion of festival, marketplace, and conference fashioned a unique platform for global animation projects.

Arne Braun, State Secretary for the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts, stressed:
“The creative industries are stepping up to the plate as key influencers of our region’s long-term strategy. This is an incubator for innovative thinking, constantly spawning resourceful ideas—and stimulating job growth. No area embraces this ethos more than the realm of animated media.”
With a note of pride, he pointed out that in the past 15 years, the number of VFX and animation enterprises in Baden-Württemberg has increased threefold, with their financial turnover soaring eightfold. Moving on, he said: “Stuttgart Animated Week — encompassing the International Festival of Animated Film, the FMX Conference, and the Animation Production Days — serves as our calling card to the globe and is a magnet for talented individuals, visionary thinkers, and international decision-makers. Animation, VFX, and games transcend entertainment alone.”

New Innovations and Programme Showstoppers

Immersing itself in the international animation landscape, ITFS presents approximately 500 short and feature-length motion pictures, master classes, and studio presentations. More interactive features include a bespoke Professional Afternoon and numerous networking opportunities. The hands-on Schlossplatz Activity Area, topped with a blend of workshops, themed days, and exhibitons, allows direct audience participation.

This year, the 2025 edition introduces additions that will be evident throughout the festival. For instance, the awards ceremony will now be held on Saturday evening, May 10.

“With the move of the awards ceremony to Saturday night, we are dynamizing the festival— a development beneficial to all our guests, who will now be able to watch the winning movies the next day. Our vibrant family programme also transforms festival Sunday into a dedicated audience day,” enthused Heike Mozer, ITFS’s Managing Director.

In a departure from previous years, AniMovie competition will showcase six international animated full-length films, all notable for their compelling narratives and high-calibre production values. This selection includes MEMORY HOTEL — a deeply layered narrative from German director Heinrich Sabl that matured over 25 years. The generous €3,000 prize money for the AniMovie Award comes courtesy of this year’s generous sponsor, SWR (Südwestrundfunk).

“The AniMovie competition reflects the incredible richness and artistic endeavour of the current animated feature market. We are thrilled to see a German film in contention, and we deeply appreciate SWR’s recognition of the importance of this genre, sending out a vital and encouraging message to the industry,” said Annegret Richter, ITFS’s Artistic Director.

Spotlight on Switzerland – and Stop Motion

The focus country for this year’s festival is Switzerland, highlighted through exceptional films, innovative projects, and in-depth insights, with a robust delegation representing both the ITFS and the APD. The festival’s free exhibition at the Festival Centre, spotlighting props and puppets from the Swiss stop-motion film, SAUVAGES, bridges thematically to this year’s focus on stop-motion.

Annegret Richter remarked: “We’ve observed a significant rise in stop-motion and puppet animation in both competitions and other festival formats. Contemporary animation fascinatingly contrasts with this mesmerizing, tactile approach, showcasing consummate craftsmanship and patience. In our rapid-fire, digital, and AI-driven world, it offers a soothing and welcome contrast.”

Following the festival’s official launch, the first integration of the International Competition (IC), Where We Come From, was screened. This collection of seven animated shorts used a range of techniques to explore themes such as political transformation, personal choices and unique perspectives.

The shorts included work by acclaimed animator Richard Reeves, whose innovative technique involves directly drawing on film. His experiential short, FUSION, (Canada) was created without the use of a camera or musical instruments. The collection also featured THE WILD-TEMPERED CLAVIER by Anna Samo (Germany), a stop-motion commentary on the pandemic and war using a highly original visual approach—painting on toilet paper rolls in homage to direct film techniques, such as drawing on 35mm film reels.