Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film

The Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) is one of the largest and most traditional animation festivals for artistic animated film, in Europe and worldwide. It is also an Oscar-qualifying film festival. Founded in 1982, the ITFS has developed into a meeting point for the international animation community.

It showcases current animated short and feature-length films in five competition categories: International Competition, Student Competition, Tricks for Kids Competition, Trickstar Nature Award, and AniMovie Competition.

In addition to the competition prizes, further industry-specific awards are presented, such as the Trickstar Business Award and two screenplay awards.

As part of the open-air programme on Schlossplatz, both family-friendly and socially relevant films are screened for a broader audience. Activities are also offered, with a focus on families and regional visitors. The "Young ITFS" section also features a competition with films for pre-schoolers as well as films for children up to the age of 12. The prizes in this category are awarded by a jury formed only by children. Additionally, media education workshops and activities on Schlossplatz, along with film and workshop programmes for school classes round off the programme.

The Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film also actively promotes knowledge transfer through masterclasses, studio presentations, and work-in-ProgresS sessions. The promotion of young talents is just as much a focus as the discourse on films, aesthetics, techniques, and on animation content.

Together with the industry events Animation Production Days (APD) and the specialist conference FMX – Film and Media Exchange, that take place at the same time, the ITFS forms the Stuttgart Animated Week.