The Festival of Animation Berlin (FAB 2025) will again take over the German capital’s animation scene from September 26–28, 2025. As Berlin’s only festival dedicated exclusively to animated film: shorts, features, student work, children’s films, and experimental hybrids. FAB’s return brings a focus on variety, community, and global exchange. The venues are unchanged: silent green Kulturquartier and City Kino Wedding.

Six Competitions, 132 Films, and a Japanese Overture

This year’s FAB opens on September 26 with a concert by the Animanga Choir, which will perform music from anime films and series. The opening night is immediately followed by the “German Competition,” one of six competitive categories at the festival. In total, FAB 2025 will showcase 132 films from 33 countries across the following categories: International Competition, German Competition, New Talent (student films), Commissioned Works, Pink Panda (children’s animation for three age groups), and Feature Film Competition. Entries range from 2D and 3D animation to stop-motion, mixed media, and traditional hand-drawn techniques, offering what organizers promise is a snapshot of contemporary animation practice.

Special Focus: Japan’s Animation Talent Takes the Stage

A major focus this year is Japanese animation. Lina Machida, director of the whimsical, poetic official festival trailer, appears as a special guest and workshop leader. In her hands-on session on spatial (projection-based) animation, participants will experiment with projectors as creative tools. Machida, together with Sawako Kabuki, whose hand-drawn, often explicit animations are rarely shown outside Japan, curates a feature film selection spotlighting standout anime titles not usually screened abroad.

FAB’s Japanese guest list also includes stop-motion artist Takeshi Yashiro, whose film GON, THE LITTLE FOX previously won FAB’s main prize in 2020. Yashiro will present a masterclass on authentic material techniques in stop-motion, referencing the Japanese concept of “Mitate-e” (a traditional practice of playful visual analogy). Meanwhile, acclaimed director Kōji Yamamura – Oscar nominee and Annecy Crystal winner for MT. HEAD – will run two improvisation workshops, exploring the interplay between animation and sound.

Complementing the Japanese focus, industry insiders Levent Kotil and Ihabo Azzamo will discuss working from Germany on Japanese productions, while José Luis Gonzales Solis and Jessica Apel present a case study on APUKUNAPA KUTIMUYNIN, the first Peruvian anime film.

Stop-Motion: Symposium, Masterclasses, and Sandmännchen

FAB 2025 also features a symposium on stop-motion animation, aiming the spotlight at this analog craft. Besides Yashiro’s input, the event hosts established and emerging stop-motion filmmakers, with interactive sessions and a “Mini-Mitmach-Studio” (mini-participation studio) led by Sandmännchen director Stefan Schomerus. Here, festival-goers can try their hand at stop-motion, regardless of prior experience.

Industry Meetups: FAFF Anniversary, ASIFA at 65

As usual, FAB doubles as a host for partner festivals and institutions. London’s FAFF (Factual Animation Film Festival) celebrates its tenth anniversary at FAB with a “Best-Of” selection, while ASIFA – the International Animated Film Association – marks its 65th year by screening prize-winning student films in a free program.

For all details, and to keep up with the latest program releases, visit the FAB homepage.

The post Berlin’s Animation-Only Festival FAB 2025 Returns: Japan, Stop-Motion, and 132 Films first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.