ITFS 2022 Releases Program Highlights

Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) returns this year as a hybrid event running May 3-8. This year’s motto, “Black is Back” will be reflected in film programming and events with a focus on the fundamentals of animation – reduction, simplification, and clarity, as well as exaggeration and over-drawing. The event will take place at various venues in Stuttgart with an online program presented at onlinefestival.itfs.de and in the virtual world of the ITFS VR Hub.

The International Competition honors:

• Best films by students from international institutes of higher education for film, media and art
• Tricks for Kids the best animated short film for children
• AniMovie the best animated feature-length film
• Trickstar Nature Award for the best animated short film on the topics of climate protection, biodiversity, the environment, and sustainability
• Trickstar Business Award for the best innovative and ground-breaking business model for a project or company in the animation sector
• Animated Games Award Germany for the best and most innovative animation-based computer game from Germany
• German Animation Screenplay Award for the best German screenplay for a feature-length animated film as well as the screenplay with the greatest international market potential

All competition programs can be viewed on-site at Innenstadtkinos and in the ONLINE+ media centre. In the animation competition Crazy Horse Session – 48 H Animation Jam, international teams will face the challenge of creating an animated film involving Festival mascot Trixi in 48 hours.

In the supporting program, ITFS 2022 will focus on Austria, along with other highlights. Animation production in the Alpine republic is known for experimentation, innovation, and dark humor. Selected artists, studios and institutes of higher education will present their work. Austrian partner festivals are Tricky Women / Tricky Realities and Ars Electronica. In the themed series Wonderwomen – Women in Games & Animation, curated by Waltraud Grausgruber, ITFS continues the themed program started in 1996 and curated by Jayne Pilling, highlighting the changes in opportunities for women in animation.

In the “In Persona” series, internationally renowned animators share personal insights into their work and their working methods. Scheduled guests for the series include:

• Daniel Höpfner (Berlin)
• Jochen Kuhn (Ludwigsburg)
• Registra Pessoa (Porto)
• Jean-Charles Mbotti Malolo (Lyon)
• Thomas Renoldner (Vienna)

Other guests confirmed for ITFS 2022 so far include:

• Nick Park (Bristol), Oscar winning creator of the characters Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep
• Michelle and Uri Kranot (Nothing Happens, Hollow Land)
• Ron Diamond, film producer and Academy member (Los Angeles)
• Jürgen Hagler, professor at the Hagenberg University of Applied Sciences and curator at Ars Electronica.

Other event highlights include:

The Gamezone:

• Presents computer games and interactive projects including the games nominated for the Animated Games Award Germany and a selection of games degree program
• Hackathons and the GameZone Kids at Jugendhaus Mitte

Tricks For Kids:

• Film program, workshops, special screenings and participatory activities for children and school classes are offered in cooperation with vhs Stuttgart – Treffpunkt Kinder and Landesanstalt für Kommunikation Baden-Württemberg.
• At the Animation Academy for Kids, in cooperation with Kindermedienland Baden-Württemberg, experienced animators and film professionals discuss the world of animation production.

Special program dedicated to the motto "Black is Back!"

• Animated films of the last 25 years will be shown, which captivate with their black-and-white aesthetics, reduction, minimalism, and exceptional narrative forms
• Curated by the Artistic Managing Director of ITFS, Ulrich Wegenast.

Tickets now available at the Early Bird rate here.

Source: Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film

Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.