May 7, 2019

2019 Stuttgart International Animation Film Festival "Bloeistraat11" Tops of Animation Film Festival of Stuttgart

The 26th edition the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) came to a close on Sunday after six days of screenings and events. Belgian-Dutch short film Bloeistraat 11 (pictured at top) was awarded the grand prix, which comes with a cash prize of 15,000 EUR funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg and the city of Stuttgart. The film also won the top short film, the Cristal, at Annecy in 2018.

In awarding the grand prix to Bloeistraat 11, the international competition jury, comprised of Ulu Braun, Erik van Drunen, KongKee, Christina Lima, and Maya Yonesho, said: “The story of the friendship between two young girls, takes us back on a journey to our childhood and lets us almost physically re-live memories. With an unusual use of materials, which are a fundamental part of the storytelling, and subtle design the director evokes a closeness of feelings we all connect to. Pure and honest, the film creates the magical atmosphere that only cinema, in its best way, can achieve.”

Take a look at the teaser trailer below:

Mamoru Hosodas's Oscar-nominated film Mirai was selected as the best feature-length film at the festival.

In total, ITFS awarded over 55,000 EUR in prizes for filmmakers. These awards included 10,000 EUR for the top graduation film (Tue Sanggaard's Animals), 6000 EUR for the audience award (Floor Adams' Mind My Mind), 5000 EUR for Germany's Next Animation Talent (Elisabeth Jakobi's Juli auf dem Zauberberg), and 4000 EUR for the best short film for children (Martin Smatana's The Kite).

A complete list of winners is below:

Grand Prix

Special Mention

Lotte Reiniger Promotion Award – Best Graduation Film

SWR Audience Award

Young Animation – Award for the Best Student Film

Young Animation (Special Mention)

Tricks for Kids – Award for the Best Short Film for Children

AniMovie – Award for the Best Feature Film

German Screenplay Award

German Voice Actor Award

Pitching of the Arab Animation Forum

The FANtastic Prize

Animated Games Award Germany

Animated Games Award Germany (Special Mention)

Trickstar Business Award

Trickstar Business Award (Special Mention)

Germany's Next Animation Talent

Crazy Horse Session – 48h Animation Jam

Crazy Horse Session – 48h Animation Jam (Special Mention)

Music Game Jam