In nuce: Under the title “Greater commitment and new funding initiatives for German animated film for adults and artistic talent!”, the managing directors of the Film and Media Festival and the managing directors and chairwomen of the AG Animationsfilm have issued a press release which – in the form of a commentary – takes a critical look at the status of animated film in Germany and argues in favour of funding for animated short films. The four signatories are Prof Ulrich Wegenast (Artistic Director of the Film and Media Festival), Dieter Krauß (Commercial Director of the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film), Annegret Richter (Managing Director of the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film) and Fabian Driehorst (Chairman of the Board of AG Animationsfilm e. V.). Below is the text in full length. For better readability, we have added subtitles to the text.
The unabridged press release follows.
So why are there no feature-length films in the adult section from Germany? The way the Best Animated Film category was announced at the Academy Awards this year showed that animation for adults is still not taken seriously. And this despite the fact that “Flee”, a film explicitly aimed at an adult audience, was nominated at the 2022 Oscars! It is true that most animated films are made in the children’s film and family entertainment sector and are very successful. German animated films also regularly achieve box office success abroad, both in the cinema and on VOD platforms. But animation can do so much more. It enables innovative, artistic and creative design, different perspectives and forms of presentation that cannot be realised in real film. We believe that Germany has the potential for exciting stories in the adult sector. This is demonstrated by the international success of German short films, which are generally not children’s films. AG Animationsfilm and ITFS ask themselves: So why are there no feature-length films in the adult sector from Germany?
Animated films with adult themes – also from Germany? Animated films for adults have been celebrating great success with audiences and critics abroad for years. Films such as “Waltz with Bashir”, “Persepolis”, “Isle of Dogs”, “The Breadwinner” or “Flee”, which was recently nominated for three Oscars, show that animation can also tackle more serious themes and tell complex stories for an adult audience. Above all, the hybrid form of animated documentary film is gaining more and more audiences, as it allows socially relevant and political topics, such as war, persecution, flight or homosexuality in a homophobic environment, to be presented in an abstract, anonymised and yet captivating way. Unfortunately, German production companies only play a minor role in these productions – if at all! However, this is not due to a lack of interest or a lack of material from German production companies, as the annual submissions to the German Animation Screenplay Award of the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) and the Animation Production Days show.
Film funding for Germany as a centre for animation? What is needed is a much greater willingness on the part of television broadcasters and film funding organisations to support animated material for an adult audience. For example, not placing animation exclusively in the children’s sector, but rather in the entertainment sector of public broadcasters, would open up other budgets, themes and opportunities. And German distributors would also have to show more courage for ambitious animated films. These changes would also sustainably enrich the production landscape for animation in Germany, as the portfolio of many production companies, which is usually limited to children’s series and cinema films, would be significantly diversified by other themes. This form of diversification would not only be an economic one, but of course also a cultural one in terms of content, as the variety of themes of the films mentioned above makes clear. Greater support for animated films for adults would strengthen the important social relevance of animation and would therefore also be a stabilising factor for democracy, as animated films, unlike documentaries, often reach a new audience through their unique narrative style, aesthetics and visual language and can often be used over a longer period of time. Series such as the Amazon production “Undone” by Dutch animator Hisko Hülsing – an animation artist who is a regular guest at the ITFS with his short films – show that animation for adults does not have to be a niche product, even in series. The second season of “Undone” was released on Amazon Prime in 240 countries and territories on 29 April 2022.
Is German animated film (for adults a niche existence)? Overall, it is striking that it is not only on the major platforms such as Amazon Video or Netflix, e.g. with the stop motion project “The House”, which will be presented at this year’s ITFS, that European but not German animated film for adults is very successful! At this year’s ITFS, not only the above-mentioned Danish production “Flee” will be shown in the feature film competition, but also the Czech-Slovak-French production “My Sunny Maad”. The film “The Odyssey” can also be seen at this year’s ITFS. Although there is German production involvement here, the wonderfully picturesque story about flight and displacement bears the clear signature of French director and animator Florence Miaihle in terms of content and aesthetics.
The European Film Awards – A summary: The strong presence of adult material and themes in European animated film is also reflected in the European Film Awards, which have been presented since 2009: of the 13 awards presented to date, ten prizes have gone to animated films for adults – including “L’Illusioniste”, “Chico & Rita”, “Alois Nebel”, “The Congress”, “Loving Vincent” and most recently “Josep” (2020) and “Flee” (2021). None of these were explicitly German animation productions, but only in the case of “Alois Nebel” productions with a small co-production share from Germany! How can that be?
Funding tools, initiatives & promotion of young talent – is it enough? It would be too easy to blame this disastrous result solely on the German TV stations and film funding organisations. Changes need to be made to the overall structure of the German animation production landscape and new funding tools and initiatives need to be developed. This absolutely starts with the promotion of young talent! For example, the AG Animationsfilm has been calling for years for the creation of newcomer formats on German television with adapted conditions for animated films in terms of budget and length. This also includes, for example, the establishment of medium-length formats, specials or mini-series. However, funding and broadcasters need to break new ground for this. Although festivals such as the ITFS support up-and-coming animators with the Lotte Reiniger Award – endowed with 10,000 euros – this is not nearly enough. Initiatives such as Ani:Dox from Denmark, which was involved in the development of the material for “Flee”, show that promoting young talent through prize money and programmes can certainly be successful.
German short film funding – a model for the future: This once again clearly shows that the promotion of animated films for adults begins with support for short films. For example, 90% of the animated short films produced at German film schools are aimed at an adult audience. However, this ratio is completely reversed after graduation, as – in contrast to France and other European countries – there is simply no comprehensive funding programme for (animated) short films. Such short film funding would be cost-effective and sustainable! If every German regional film funding programme were to provide an amount of one million euros per year for around ten short films, the animation landscape in Germany, as far as animated films for adults are concerned, could flourish and grow permanently in a short space of time. A significant increase in short film funding from the federal government, which currently provides a maximum of 30,000 euros per film, would also have an effect on the German animation landscape.
Artists in residence – funding for artists: In addition to quick and easy short film funding in the field of animation, “animators in residence” programmes, as we know them from the visual arts, would also be particularly helpful. Such programmes exist in France at the production company Folimage or at the Animation Workshop Viborg in Denmark and are extremely successful! Such programmes would also be a great opportunity to create stronger links between art foundations and film funding organisations, which usually operate completely separately, and to create new synergies.
An outlook: These examples alone show that, with just a few changes, it would be possible to establish an internationally relevant animation scene that grows sustainably. The talent and the material for a new animation awakening are available, as the programme of this year’s ITFS impressively demonstrates.
Click further: We last reported on the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) on 8 April 2022, when it was advertised with film and workshop offers for the little ones (and their adult followers) – including film premieres, open-air cinema and other offers at the “Tricks for Kids”.
