Best Fest - Stuttgart 2021

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.