Showcasing some of the best animated films from the International Competition (IC) of Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS), one of the world’s leading animation festivals.
I’M HERE
Poland 2020
Dir.: Julia Orlik
An elderly man is looking after his paralyzed wife. Despite his old age and health problems he’s doing his best to relieve her suffering. Everyone has a different view on how to properly care for the sick. Often there are arguments about this.
BESEDER (GOOD AND BETTER)
Germany, Israel 2020
Dir.: Gil Alkabetz
“It’s hard to think it’s gonna be good, much easier to think it’s gonna be bad.” A song in waltz rhythm is combined with absurd animated loops to express a feeling of concern and uncertainty about the future.
CANDELA
Spain 2020
Dir.: Marc Riba, Anna Solanas
Mrs. Candela spends the last days of her life in a dying suburb of a big city.
SAD BEAUTY
Netherlands 2020
Dir.: Arjan Brentjes
In a heavily polluted world, a young woman mourns the disappearance of animal species. When she falls ill due to a bacterial infection, nature appears to send her a message in her hallucinations.
ONLY A CHILD
Switzerland 2020
Dir.: Simone Giampaolo
“Only a Child” is a visual poem created by over 20 animation directors, which gives shape and colour to the original words spoken by 12-year-old Severn Suzuki at the UN Summit in Rio in 1992 – a child’s desperate call to action for the future of our planet.
STEP INTO THE RIVER
China/France 2020
Dir.: Weijia Ma
Lu and Wei live in a village in rural China. They often play at the nearby river and have a special relationship with the river as China’s one-child policy has led to some parents to drown their newborn baby girls there. The river looks like a cradle of tragic stories.
PRECIOUS
France 2020
Dir.: Paul Mas
Julie, a 9-year-old girl, is unable to integrate into her school. It is with Emile, an autistic boy that she discovers her talent for drawing. In this way, she begins to be accepted by the other students. The more she feels integrated, the more she rejects Emile.
MY GALACTIC TWIN GALACTION
Russia 2020
Dir.: Sasha Svirsky
Trouble in the galaxy: Good and evil, utopia and dystopia, narration and post-narration compete in a mortal battle to entertain the audience.
EMPTY PLACES
France 2020
Dir.: Geoffroy de Crécy
Completed before the global lockdown, “Empty Places” is an ode to the melancholy of machines.