Animation Ireland is delighted to partner with the International Festival of Animated Film – Stuttgart (ITFS) in curating and producing The Special Focus: Ireland programme at the world-renowned animated film festival in Germany, this April 23 – 28. The Special Focus: Ireland is presented as part of Zeitgeist Irland 24, a yearlong season of Irish arts and culture in Germany, an initiative of Culture Ireland and the Irish Embassy in Germany.
From world renowned homegrown studios to exceptional emerging talent, over thirty Irish delegates will join Animation Ireland at ITFS to present, contribute and participate in The Special Focus: Ireland series of events across the festival’s six days. The programme will feature film screenings, artist talks, workshops, discussion panels and more.
Animation Ireland CEO Ronan McCabe will lead the Irish delegation and will host the keynote panel discussion Ireland Animated: Talent Development and Opportunities, along with representatives from Screen Ireland, RTÉ, the National Talent Academy for Animation, and Irish studios Kavaleer and Moetion Films. Sixteen Irish animation studios are taking part: and maps and plans, Boulder Media, Cartoon Saloon, Daily Madness Productions, Dream Logic Studios, Elk Studios, Ink and Light, JAM Media, Kavaleer, Lighthouse Studios, Moetion Film, Monster Entertainment, Paper Panther, Piranha Bar, Studio 9 and Studio Meala.
The International Festival of Animated Film – Stuttgart is an annual festival celebrating animation in all its diversity, and is attended by more than 6,000 animation professionals, students, artists, and enthusiasts from across the world. The festival offers diverse programmes of both short and feature film screenings, as well as competitive screenings, innovative interactive and multimedia projects, talks and Q&As, and conversations on animated film, aesthetics, and techniques. Irish participation will include screenings of Cartoon Saloon’s multi award winning, Academy nominated Song of the Sea, directed by Tomm Moore and Moetion Films’ Two By Two: Overboard.
A free Open-Air Cinema in Stuttgart’s Schlossplatz is one of the highlights of ITFS, with the dynamic programme of animated films bringing large local and regional audiences of all ages, backgrounds, and interests together, in a unique urban outdoor cinematic experience. Irish feature films that will be screened include JAM Media’s A Greyhound of a Girl featuring Brendan Gleeson, Sharon Horgan, Mia O’Connor, Charlene McKenna and Rosaleen Linehan.
A significant selection of Irish short films will also screen at the Open-Air Cinema including Cartoon Saloon’s From Darkness, directed by Nora Twomey and Late Afternoon, directed by Louise Bagnall; JAM Media’s Worry World, directed by Jessica Patterson; Mayfly Films’ Irish Folk Furniture, directed by Tony O’Donoghue; and maps and plans’ Empty Little People, directed by Josh O’Caoimh and Mikai Geronimo; Wiggley Woo’s Nana’s Terrifying Zoom Call, directed by Gilly; Hermit from Studio Meala, directed by Sarah Benson; The Boy in the Bubble from Igloo Productions, directed by Kealan O’Rourke; The Rooster, The Crocodile and The Night Sky from Barley Films, directed by Pádraig Fagan; The Gentleman’s Guide to Villainy, directed by Aidan McAteer and Irish National Opera’s The Colour Green, by director Holly Keating.
Platforming students and emerging animation filmmakers is at the heart of ITFS, and the vibrant work of new German and international talent features prominently across the six-day festival. Representatives from Ballyfermot College of Further Education (BCFE) and Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) will present their animation schools, showcasing their courses, tutors, campuses, and alumni to ITFS audiences, promoting Ireland’s superb animation education environment.
The Future Minds programme will be a selection of short films by talented animation graduates from across Ireland. Irish universities and colleges whose students are screening at ITFS include Atlantic Technological University (ATU), Ballyfermot College of Further Education (BCFE), Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT), Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), Munster Technological University (MTU), Technological University of the Shannon: Clonmel (TUS Clonmel) and Technological University of the Shannon: Athlone (TUS Athlone). The wealth of emerging talent from Ireland points to the excellent work being undertaken at grassroots level to build the understanding of animation as an attractive, viable and sustainable career option for young people.
Many Animation Ireland attendees have also been invited to participate in Animation Production Days (APDs), the three-day global animation business event and conference, which runs alongside the International Festival of Animated Film – Stuttgart. APDs is a curated series of one-to-one meetings, with participants from more than 20 countries negotiating partnerships on selected projects. German and international producers present and discuss their current project ideas across film, TV, games and more, with potential production partners, as well as broadcasters, global distributors, distribution companies, funding bodies and private investors from Germany and across the world. Irish attendance includes national broadcaster RTÉ and animation studios Monster Entertainment, Daily Madness Productions, Ink and Light, Paper Panther, Moetion Films, and maps and plans, and Dream Logic Studios. APDs will feature a host of industry events, exploring personal experiences, business models, market trends and the shared challenges that face the global animation market.
Animation Ireland will be in Stuttgart to coordinate and support Irish delegates, making introductions and forging connections, ensuring that the member studios and the young Irish talent in attendance maximise the opportunity to showcase their work widely, and explore potential opportunities for new projects with global players. In Stuttgart, Animation Ireland will continue their mission to advocate for Ireland as the first-choice location for commissioners of animated TV and film product. The organisation will be working to uplift and amplify the work of member studios and their workforces as world class innovators in animation, with the ability, knowledge, and experience to consistently, efficiently and cost effectively facilitate the most demanding of production needs.
About the Organisations.
A professional trade organisation within Ireland’s creative and screen industries, Animation Ireland is the all-island, unified voice of Ireland’s animation studios, working together to consolidate Ireland’s position as world leaders in global animation production.
A season of Irish arts and culture in Germany throughout 2024.
Zeitgeist Irland 24 is a celebration of the richness and diversity of contemporary Irish culture. From literary greats across the ages, to Irish traditional music, dance and performances that have reverberated across the world, Irish artists have always had a reputation for breaking boundaries. Weaving the collective story and experiences of the Irish, Zeitgeist Irland 24 brings a new generation of Irish artists to German audiences, continuing to break boundaries and build on our global reputation for cultural excellence.
Zeitgeist Irland 24 is a €2.5 million joint investment in a season of Irish arts and culture in Germany, that was launched in March 2023 by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, and Tánaiste and Minster for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin. An initiative of Culture Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland in Germany.
International Festival of Animated Film – Stuttgart (ITFS)
April 23 – 28, 2024 – Stuttgart, Germany
Founded in 1982 as a biennial film festival, 25 years later the International Festival of Animated Film – Stuttgart (ITFS) ranks among the world’s most important events for animated film. Every spring, animation enthusiasts, artists and industry professionals come together in a unique, inspiring festival atmosphere to celebrate the world of animation in all its diversity. The focus of the ITFS is on artistic animated film with short and feature film competitions, innovative interactive and transmedia projects, and the promotion of young talent. Thanks to the special combination of film festival, specialist congress and financing market, Stuttgart has developed into a unique platform for the financing and development of animation projects.
Presented by The Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH
Animation Production Days (APDs)
April 23 – 25, 2024 – Stuttgart, Germany
The Animation Production Days (APDs) are a curated business platform for the German and international animation industry, which take place annually as part of the International Festival of Animated Film – Stuttgart (ITFS) and the FMX – Conference on Animation, Effects, Games, and Immersive Media. In exclusive one-to-one meetings, German and international producers from over 20 countries discuss their current project ideas in the areas of film, TV series, games, cross and transmedia with potential co-production partners, as well as broadcasters, global distributors, distribution companies, funding institutions and investors. Another important part of the program is the conference, where inspiring projects, innovative business models and market trends are presented. In addition, the APDs offer various networking events with industry participants from the partner events ITFS and FMX. At the APDs, around 160 participants from more than 20 countries negotiate cooperation for 40 to 50 selected projects in around 800 pre-planned individual discussions every year.
The APDs are a joint venture between the International Festival of Animated Film- Stuttgart and the FMX – Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Immersive Media. The APDs are a co-production with Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH and Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.
The Special Focus: Ireland
International Festival of Animated Film – Stuttgart
April 23 – 28, 2024, Stuttgart, Germany
in partnership with
Animation Ireland
Presented as part of
Zeitgeist Irland 24
A season of Irish arts and culture in Germany throughout 2024.
An initiative of Culture Ireland and the Irish Embassy in Germany.
International Festival of Animated Film – Stuttgart (ITFS)