ITFS Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, 4-9 May 2021

Festival Description

Founded in 1982, ITFS ranks among the world’s most important events for animated film in all its aspects, and with its intersections with visual effects, architecture, art, design, music, science, games, et al. Every year, it attracts up to 100,000 visitors and industry professionals from all over the world with the best of high-quality animations and interactive works.

ITFS is organised by Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH established in 2000, who have made it their business ever since to promote high-quality media content and create outstanding film and media events, so as to achieve a sustainable strengthening of the creative industries in the Stuttgart region.

ITFS is an Oscar-qualifying festival which offers directors, production companies and distributors as well as talent and all further professionals from the animation and games industries a platform to present their films, interactive and transmedia works as well as VR and AR projects to an interested, wide audience and a large number of industry representatives. The competitions and film programmes screened at Innenstadtkinos are the heart of the festival. A total of up to 90,000 € in prize money is awarded by international expert juries in currently twelve competition categories.

2021 Call for entries 

The ITFS offers filmmakers, directors, production and distribution companies a professional platform to present their films to an interested broad audience as well as to industry representatives. On six days, animated film fans of all ages have the opportunity to watch and experience animated short and long films, series and games as well as VR and AR projects. The festival will show the full spectrum of current animated film production with its intersections to visual effects, architecture, art, design, music and games. The festival focuses on artistic animated film, innovative interactive and transmedia projects and the promotion of young talents. Prize money of a total of almost 70,000 € is awarded in the various competitions.

Any animated film, including computer animations and combinations of live action and animation, can be entered for the competition if it was completed after October 01, 2019. Only completed films can be taken into consideration in the preselection.

• Only productions up to 30 minutes in length may be submitted to the International Competition, to the student film competition Young Animation, to the Trickstar
  Nature Award and to the children’s film competition Tricks for Kids.
• Any animated film produced by students and graduates of film, art and media universities and other educational institutions may be entered in the student competition
  Young Animation. Student films may not be submitted directly to the International Competition.
• Animated short films and series for children (max. one episode each) can be entered in the children’s film competition Tricks for Kids. Series may be submitted subject to the condition that the episode tells self-contained stories or part stories.
• Animated short films addressing the issues of climate protection, biodiversity, the environment and sustainability in a critical and informative and also entertaining and
  humorous way may be submitted to the Trickstar Nature Award.
• Productions over 60 minutes in length and which, at the time of the Festival, have not yet had an official theatrical release in Germany, may be submitted to the
  feature film competition AniMovie.

Competitions:

• International Competition – International Short Film Competition
• Young Animation – International Student Film CompetitionTricks for Kids – International competition for animated short films for children
• Trickstar Nature Award – Competition for animated short films that deal with the issues of climate protection, biodiversity, environment and sustainability in a critical and informative and also entertaining and humorous way.
• AniMovie – International Feature Film Competition

• Festival Regulations
• Entry form
• Submission deadline: 1 December  18 January 2021 (only for the Animovie - Feature Films Competition).

Call for entries at a later date:
Trickstar Business Award – Prize for innovative business models in the animation field (call for entries November 2020 / closing date March 1, 2021)
German Animation Screenplay Award – Award for the best screenplay for a German animated feature-length film (Call for submissions October 2020 / Closing date February 1, 2021)
Animated Games Award Germany – Award for an animation-based computer game with the best visual design and aesthetics from Germany (Call for entries December 2020 / Closing date February 1, 2021)

2020 Festival Coverage

• REPORT: Impressions from online ITFS festival 2020
• Check the full live-stream schedule of Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film 
• Six Designs for 2020 ITFS Stuttgart Festival

2018 Festival Coverage

• Music &animation concert by Chad VanGaalen
• 170 Participants for Animation Production Day 2018
• 48 Selected Projects for Animation Production Day 2018