Animated films are considered to be one of the most innovative forms of cultural expression of our time, combining image, sound, and language in a specific manner. Through their interplay with computer games, they also offer new forms of participation that will sustainably influence our experience and understanding of media.
The Online Animation Library aims to make the Festival’s film archive accessible outside the festival itself. Since the foundation of the ITFS in 1982, a comprehensive archive has come into being. More than 10,000 animated films have been formatted on film, as videos, DVDs and as data files. Each year approximately 1,500 animated films are accrued from the submissions to the Festival. The digital film archive catches about 5,000 films which could also be viewed by Stuttgart citizens at Stuttgart City Library. The access is password protected. Children get the chance to get in contact with animated films in a playful and responsible way.
During ITFS in spring each year, the digital Animated Video Market takes place at Stuttgart City Library. Professionals of the festival like film rights buyers from television broadcasters and international distributors are invited to watch the new submissions of the ITFS as equally the film archive of the ITFS. The access is password protected.
The EU-assisted online submission platform Reelport acts in collaboration as the project’s database platform. Reelport not only caters for film markets such as Cannes, but also serves as an online video database on an international level. In contrast to online platforms like YouTube, a qualitative review of animated films takes place, as all films have already been screened during the pre-selection process of the film festival.
This project has been made possible via the cooperative efforts of the Stuttgart City Library, the MfG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg and the Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH.
Cooperating partners of the Online Animation Library are the Nanyang Technological University Singapur and the DEFA Foundation Berlin. More cooperation talks are currently performed.
