20th edition of the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film

Stuttgart – Heaven on earth for all fans of animated films! The Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) is the biggest and one of the most important festivals for animated film worldwide. And from April 23 to April 28, 2013 it opens again the doors to the worlds of animation. Around 1,000 of the best international animated films will be shown in Stuttgart representing the whole spectrum of the genre. The Simpons, Shaun the sheep, Maya the bee or the Mainzelmaennchen – all animated heroes and cartoon characters are going to be around to celebrate the big animation jubilee together with professional visitors and fans.

By Nancy Phelps

This year was a very special 30^th Anniversary for the Trickfilm Festival of Animated Film in Stuttgart, Germany.  My week began Monday evening, the night before the official festival opening, when I attended the opening reception for an exhibition of works by former students of Professor Albrecht Ades, founder of the prestigious Film Academy Baden-Wurttemberg in the nearby town of Ludwigsburg.  He is credited with ushering in a new era of modern German animation which was highly influenced by Czech works and laid the foundation for today’s thriving entertainment industry in the Baden- Wurttemberg region.

 

From 1980 to 1991 some 30 films were produced in his class and the Professor’s strong motivating influence on his students is reflected in the works of some of the now famous animators who studied under him.  Looking at the graphic works in the exhibit, some by Thomas Meyer-Hermann, Andreas Hykade, Sabine Huber and Gil Alkabetz, I could see that they have taken their teacher’s motto “We must kill Mickey Mouse” to heart.

For the 2012 opening night ceremony, the festival staff chose a new format.  Instead of the usual round of introductions and speeches followed by a screening, the first competition program was interspersed among the introductory speeches.  The festival received a special birthday present when Malte Dringenberg, head of Mercedes-Benz Classic Press Office, who announced to the audience that Mercedes-Benz has become a very active festival sponsor.  (Stuttgart is the home of Mercedes-Benz.) Another high point of the evening was  the awarding of special Life Time Achievement Trixie Statutes to Professor Albrect  Ades and Gabriele Rothemeyer.  Ades founded the Trickfilm Festival and served as its first artistic director from 1982 to 2003.  Ms. Rothemeyer followed him in the position from 2003 to 2005, and succeeding her is Ulrich Wegenast, the present director.

 

 

By Nancy Phelps

This year the sun was shining down brightly on the Trickfilm Festival in Stuttgart in more than one way.  Outside, the sky was a beautiful blue and in the screening rooms the films were as brilliant as the sun.

While the competition programs were strong and the feature films in competition offered some interesting surprises, and the highlight of the festival for me this year was the large number of special presentation screenings.

With 170 films in the competitions plus another 800 films screened in special programs and over €61,000 in prize money, Trickfilm Festival has become a major  international event.  Even though it is becoming a large festival with an audience attendance of over 50,000, Stuttgart manages to retain the very personal feeling of a smaller festival making every one of the 2,000 accredited guests feel welcome and special. 

The 17th edition of the International Trickfilm Festival of Animated Film, May 4 through 9 in Stuttgart, Germany was definitely bigger and better than ever.  The only problem I had was that there was so much to see and do that I had to make some difficult choices.

In addition to the five short film competition screenings there were four Tricks For Kids programs, four Young Animation presentations, four Panorama screenings, feature films, and a bevy of guests.

A rare appearance by the legendary Bruce Bickford was a special treat.  Bruce, an animation veteran of 40 years, introduced two of his films, the 45 minute Cas’l and Prometheus’ Garden.  He also answered numerous questions from the sold out audience.  In a separate program Monster Road, Brett Ingram’s 2004 film about the life and work of Bickford gave an intimate glimpse into the life and work of the self taught Claymation master who spent 6½ years working with Frank Zappa to create such films as Baby Snakes and Dub Room Special.