Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 9, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
At the 17th Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS), more than 500 of the best animated films from all over the world will be shown from May 4 to 9. Prize money totalling EUR 56,000 will be awarded in seven competition categories.
In the International Competition, the heart of the festival, this year’s nominees include the anti-globalisation animation “Logorama”, 2010 Oscar winner for “Best Animated Short Film”, and the Oscar-nominated short film “The Lady and the Reaper”, produced by Antonio Banderas.
The AniMovie feature-film competition features the world premiere of “The Sandman and the Lost Sand of Dreams” by producer Jan Bonath (Scopas Medien AG, distributor: Falcom Media, cinema release: 30.09.2010). Further competition films include Hayao Miyazaki’s enchanting anime production “Ponyo” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” by cult director Wes Anderson. The Tricks for Kids competition includes high-calibre children’s animated films such as the BBC production “The Gruffalo”, nominated for the BAFTA Award.
The supporting programme also features top events and star guests. American animation artist David Silverman, director of numerous episodes of the world-famous animated family “The Simpsons” and the feature film “The Simpsons Movie”, presents his work at the festival and introduces his latest commercial, “Hard Times”, produced for the Super Bowl. In the In Persona series, Bruce Bickford, animator of numerous Frank Zappa films, among others, provides an insight into his life’s work. With an eye towards the Football World Cup, there is also a series of South African animated films, including works by world-famous artist William Kentridge.
The award for the best voice actor in an animated feature film will be presented for the second time. The nominees will be announced at the press conference on April 22. Benno Führmann won the award last year.