The Friends of the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (Förderverein ITFS e.V.) are delighted to be given the opportunity to organise four Best of programmes for this year’s festival. The selection of the best animated short films from the last 30 festival editions showcases the diversity of filmmakers and their works worldwide. Although our selection cannot be comprehensive, we are certain that the creativity and quality of each and every film will fascinate audiences.
An absolute highlight are two film programmes called ‘Homemade Highlights’. They present the works of outstanding animation artists from the region. These films show the unique artistic and narrative creative styles of the respective filmmaking personalities, such as Jochen Kuhn, Volker Engel, Kiana Nagshineh, Andreas Hykade, Shoko Hara and many more, who not only receive great recognition locally but also internationally.
Do not miss this rare opportunity to enjoy all these film masterpieces on the big screen again!
A little girl discovers a tiny octopus on her head. Hidden under her hair, it remains her secret. A friendship forms between the cute octopus and the little girl, while the octopus grows and develops a will of its own. The girl always sticks by her octopus even when her parents take her to the doctor. The octopus continues to grow and is now wrinkly and ugly. One day, the heavy tentacles wrap themselves around the girl’s head. With her last strength, the girl frees herself and realises that she is now defenceless.
The Flederschwein lures monster Nimmersatt with a trick out of his underground cave and sends him on an endless journey. With that, his workers are freed.
We are placed in a world where television has total power. “Flaming Arrow” , the hero of the film, is the only one in the mass of TV addicts who still knows true feelings. We feel with him as he takes up the fight against media power. He has the same struggle as we do: to recognise what is reality and what is only film.
This is an animated documentary short film about love. Three women share glimpses of their affection, attraction and relationship with Richard Ramirez: A serial killer and rapist they contacted after he was convicted in the 1980s. Through their perspective, we revisit exchanged letters and emotions that are as obsessive as they are hauntingly familiar.
Far from here lies a giant field of rape.
In the scattered remains of a burnt-out cosmos, the last forgotten god of panic, “Ah Pook the Destroyer”, sits in dialogue with his alter ego about the inescapable balance between life and death.
A blind date in the Grand Café.
This foliage carries life: a little girl dives into a vegetative vortex of shapes and colours.
Rhino, hippo and antelope throw the crocodile out of the apartment. But inter-animal communication is not that simple: all efforts to find a somewhat decent explanation only reveal how impenetrable and unspeakable the conflict situation is.
A woman is overpowered by a stranger. The two fight each other. The point of view switches ever more wildly between man and woman. Truth and perception become blurred. Another point of view is added by eyewitnesses. They look down on the perpetrator and the victim. Even the woman cannot clearly understand what has just happened.