News

Merry Christmas!

We wish our partners, colleagues and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2025!
For this year´s christmas greeting the protagonists Anna Shirin Habedank and Julian Janssen from our animadok series “On Fritzis trace - What was it like in the GDR?” acted as models. The 6-part series can currently be viewed in the ARD media library.


Did you already get all your Christmas presents like Julian and Anna?

Free TV premiere "Fritzi and Sophie" and "On Fritzi's traces"

Here is a short overview of the broadcasting dates for our current TV series:

“Fritzi and Sophie - A boundless Friendship”

03/10/2024 - 3 p.m. on KiKA - episodes 1-4
04/10/2024 - 3 p.m. on KiKA - episodes 5-8
09/11/2024 - 6:45 a.m. on ARD - episodes 1-4
10/11/2024 - 6:35 a.m. on ARD - episodes 5-8

“In Fritzi's footsteps - What was it like in the GDR?”

09/11/2024/ 08:15 a.m. on ARD/ ARD/ episode 1
09/11/2024/ 08:30 a.m. on ARD/ ARD/ episode 2
10/11/2024/ 08:05 a.m. on ARD/ ARD/ episode 3
10/11/2024/ 08:20 a.m. on ARD/ ARD/ episode 4

09/11/2024 - 11:45 a.m. on MDR - episodes 1-3
10/11/2024 - 11:50 a.m. on MDR - episodes 4-6

All episodes are also available to watch in the media library.

Film still from “On Fritzi's trace - What was it like in the GDR” with Anna Shirin Habedank and Julian Janssen (alias Checker Julian)
(c) Balance Film, MDR, WDR

"Fritzi and Sophie" Dresden premiere

On Sunday, September 15, 2024, we held our Dresden premiere of “Fritzi und Sophie - A boundless Friedship” of Programmkino Ost. In the film talk with Andreas Körner, director and producer Ralf Kukula talked about the background to the three-year production, the motion capture filming and the animation. All 8 episodes of the TV series were shown from 2 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.. Interrupted by a short break during which the audience could ask the team and actors present questions. Even the young viewers of primary school age were able to sit through the almost 3-hour runtime.

News archive

Open Memorial Day

Sunday, 08.09.2024 is OPEN MEMORIAL DAY. Treasures and cinematic rarities from Dresden's film archives will be shown in the Clubkino in the LIngner Schloss Dresden from 11 am to 6 pm.
From 4 p.m., the documentaries “Confession to History - The Reconstruction of Dresden Castle” (1999, 25min), “The Expansion of the Kupferstichkabinett” (2004, 12min) and “Best of Schloss 2016” (6min) by Ralf Kukula/ Balance Film will be shown.

The film documentation of the reconstruction of Dresden Castle was made from 1986-2016. Initially commissioned by the Dresden District Council by the DEFA studio for animated films, and later, from 1991, by the company Balance Film. In 40 years, the stock of archive material has grown to a total of over 200 hours with around 340 cassettes of raw video material and 19,000m of raw 35mm film material. In terms of duration and volume, this documentation is unique in Germany. The archive holdings on the reconstruction of the palace include footage of rare trades (e.g. sgraffito, copper plumbers, tower clock builders, plasterers and photographers taking measurements), highlights of the construction work (topping-out ceremony at the Hausmannsturm, archaeological excavations, reconstruction of the Green Vault, helicopter flights, crane rides), interim uses (e.g. exhibitions, concerts, palace theaters, etc.), and the use of the palace as a museum. exhibitions, concerts, palace theater, state press ball, artists' and restorers' workshops) or interviews (e.g. with the painters Immendorff and Baselitz, star architect Peter Kulka, state archaeologist Hans Nadler). As a special feature, a permanently installed time-lapse camera records the reconstruction of the Pretiosa Hall (the heart of the Treasury) over a period of around three years.

Dresden premiere of "Fritzi and Sophie"

On sunday, September 15, the premiere of our TV series "Fritzi and Sophie - A borderless friedship" will take place at Programmkino Ost (Schandauer Str. 73, 01277 Dresden) in the presence of the production team.

The program

Our premiere is open to the public and we are delighted to be able to show what is probably the most profound event in recent German history to a young and adult audience.

Based on the animated film “Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale”, the animated series tells the moving story of twelve-year-old Fritzi during the Peaceful Revolution in Leipzig in the fall of 1989 and that of her best friend Sophie, who dares to flee to the West via Hungary with her mother.

In two film blocks of 90 minutes, we show all eight episodes of 22 minutes each. The premiere starts at 2 pm and the second film block starts at around 4:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased either for the entire event or just for one block. The FSK 6 applies.

During the break, we will be giving you a little insight into the making of our series. We look forward to a great afternoon!

 

Award for "Fritzi and Sophie" at Goldener Spatz Festival

Last week at the German Children's Media Festival “Goldener Spatz” in Gera and Erfurt was exciting, thrilling and inspiring. Not only for us, but also for many children who were able to see an episode from our animation series “Fritzi and Sophie - A boundless Friendship” at the festival. The discussions after the screening with the author Beate Völcker, our storyboard artist Alex Tiedtke and director Ralf Kukula showed the children's huge interest in the story of the two friends and the GDR.

The episode “A journey that changes everything” also convinced the jury and won the GOLDEN SPARROW in the series/animation category on Friday evening. Many thanks for that!

Main awards of the Festival

F.l.t.r.: Alex Tiedtke (storyboard artist), Richard Lutterbeck (producer), Berenike Fröb (dubbing voice Sophie), Kirah Filter (dubbing voice Fritzi), Sabine Scheuring (editor MDR), Ralf Kukula (director and producer)

F.l.t.r.: Richard Lutterbeck (TrickStudio Lutterbeck), Ralf Kukula (Balance Film)

World Premiere "Fritzi and Sophie"

On April 26, 2024, our TV series “Fritzi and Sophie - A boundless Friendship” celebrated its world premiere at the International Film Festival in Stuttgart. In the morning, school classes had the opportunity to watch the first two episodes and ask their curious questions to the directors Ralf Kukula, Matthias Bruhn and Thomas Meyer-Hermann. In the afternoon, the first four episodes were shown in the cinema, followed by episodes 5-8 in an open-air screening on Schlossplatz. Team members, funding partners and TV partners came from different parts of Germany and even France to experience the world premiere together.

Photos: Balance Film

Open Air Screening

Teamphoto

Directors Thomas Meyer-Hermann (Studio FILM BILDER), Ralf Kukula and Matthias Bruhn (TrickStudio Lutterbeck) with editor Anke Lindemann from MDR.

TV Premiere THE CROSSING

The TV PREMIERE of our co-production THE CROSSING will take place on Thursday, 25 April 2024 at 00:50 on ARTE.
THE CROSSING is the world's first feature-length oil-on-glass animated film. The film premiered at the Annecy Film Festival on June 17th 2021 and was shown in German cinemas from April 2022.

"When thirteen-year-old Kyona goes for a walk in the forest with her little brother Adriel, she sees her village go up in flames from afar. Her people, the Jorids, are being attacked by a militia. Kyona's family flees ... - Children's book author Marie Desplechin and animation artist Florence Miailhe tell a fairy tale about displacement and flight."

Balance Film at "Kurzsüchtig" Film Festival

Balance Film supported this year's 21st Central German Short Film Festival Kurzsuechtig. Ralf Kukula was there as a jury member. With the animated short film "Catch Up!" Justus and Anton Krämer from Dresden won the jury prize of the animation film category. Congratulations!

Photo: Kurzsuechtig/A. Dollmeyer

Photo: Kurzsuechtig/A. Dollmeyer

Photo: Kurzsuechtig/A. Dollmeyer

World Premiere "Fritzi and Sophie - A Borderless Friendship"

After almost three years of work, the time has come: our animated TV series "Fritzi and Sophie - A Borderless Friendship" celebrates its world premiere at the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film. In 8 episodes of 22 minutes each, the series tells the moving story of twelve-year-old Fritzi during the Peaceful Revolution in Leipzig in autumn 1989 and that of her best friend Sophie, who dares to flee the GDR via Hungary with her mother.
Friday 26 April 2024 is all about Fritzi and Sophie. After the school cinema screening in the morning, children can ask the directors questions. At lunchtime, the making of the series gives an insight into the pipeline to production in 3D and shows clips of the motion capture filming. In the afternoon episodes 1-4 can be watched in the cinema followed by a screening of episodes 5-8 open air at the Schlossplatz. We look forward to meeting our colleagues from TrickStudio Lutterbeck from Cologne and Studio FILM BILDER from Stuttgart.

Balance Film Cultural event

Due to lack of time, our Balance Film internal Christmas party was turned into a New Year's hike first and  then turned into a cultural event due to the bad weather forecast. So instead of hiking through forests and hills we walked through Dresden Castle last friday.  First museum was the Historic Green Vault  - of course not without insider stories from Ralf Kukula, who has been documenting the reconstruction of the castle and the Green Vault for many years. (https://www.balancefilm.de/en/documentary/the-green-vault.html)
Round two of our cultural tour filled the afternoon with further exhibition rooms. The New Green Vault, Armoury, Turkish Chamber, Parade Rooms, Coin Cabinet - the full programme. And for some, here and there  was something new to explore about our beautiful city and its history - for example, where to find the thumbprint of Elector Augustus the Strong in Dresden.

Photos: Ralf Kukula

 

 

 

 

Short Film Day with "Mister Paper"

Yesterday, "Mister Paper´s birthday" from our 26-part TV series MISTER PAPER was screened in a short film program at Kulturpalast Dresden. With a wonderful view on the Dresden Striezelmarkt kids and families enjoyed the program with afterwards talks. At the same time "Wichtel-Kino" presented "Mister Paper" at their little cinema at the Striezelmarkt.

If you want to see more of Mister Paper, it's best to switch on Sesame Street. On December 28 it gets stormy for Mister Paper. The wind is so strong that it almost blows the house off its hinges. A case for a real cowboy. Mister Paper pulls his house straight
And on December 29 the delicious pancakes are left over because Mister Paper falls ill. A doctor is needed because he wants to get well again quickly. Mister Paper is ill
 

Photo: Ralf Kukula

Testshooting with Checker Julian and Anna Shirin Habedank

Sometimes we have to keep news behind the curtain, that we can show not only the shooting, but also the final result of the animation scene. This post actually belongs to June this year.
Because that's when we did a little test shoot for a web series with Julian Janssen aka Checker Julian and Anna Shirin Habedank. Our test episode is about the illegal printing and distribution of flyers, which the Stasi didn't like at all. Julian and Anna had contemporary witness Roland Brauckmann explain to them what it was like back then. Then they slipped into their MoCap suits and landed as animated characters in the cartoon world of "Fritzi and Sophie" in 1989.

Shooting at the museum of printed art in Leipzig

Ralf Kukula (director) with Julian and anna

Julian and Anna at Fritzi´s cartoon world

Voice Recordings "Fritzi & Sophie"

The voice recordings for our TV series "Fritzi & Sophie - Boundless Friedshiop" are currently done at Metrix in Halle. Kirah Filter and Berenike Fröb are lending their voices to our film heroines Fritzi and Sophie. And as if the directors Ralf Kukula, Matthias Bruhn and Thomas Meyer-Hermann had not casted by voice but by photo, the girls even match our animated characters perfectly visually. The dubbing recordings will take place until the end of October.

At the same time, the score is being completed by André Dziezuk, who also composed the film music for the animation feature "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale". Our foley artist Peter Sandmann has also been hard at work in the sound studio of Klangfee (alias Florian Marquardt) in Halle. We are looking forward the sound mix and the final result!

Berenike Fröb (Sophie) and Kirah Filter (Fritzi)

Lao Luno Wolter (Hanno)

Max Gösche (Dialogue director), Kirah Filter (Fritzi) and Sebastian Heyser (Sound engineer/ Edit)

Jane in the world of souls & Jane´s journey

We are very happy that the project development of our animation feature project "Jane in the world of souls" as well as the accompanying game "Jane´s journey" will be funded by the MDM. At yesterday's summer party and the 25th anniversary of the "Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung" in Leipzig, a part of the future team already met.

(from left to right: Julien Schillinger (PandaBees), Ralf Kukula, Nicole Kellerhals (Dramaturgy), Nadja Frank (Consulting), Sabine Kraft, Francie Liebschner)

30th anniversary of Balance Film

Congratulations on the 30th anniversary! On 1 July 1993 Ralf Kukula founded Balance Film GmbH in Dresden. Last week we celebrated this by going down the Elbe in sun, rain and headwind, but always in a good mood. We remembered our projects and companions of the last decades and say "Thank you for 30 years of Balance Film"!

 

Miss Paper discovers the world

As part of the 35th Filmfest Dresden, the animation school Fantasia has launched the cutout workshop "Miss Paper discovers the world". From April 17 to 19, our animators Mandy Müller and Francie Liebschner will accompany school classes in their first steps as animators.

Mister Paper, known from "Sesame Street", is a rather stubborn man who lives in a world of paper and cardboard. With his scissors, he can create anything he needs. So he cuts himself an apple out of paper when he is hungry, or a cow when he needs milk for his cat. But sometimes his creations develop some waywardness, so Mister Paper has to get creative again to make sure everything turns out okay in the end. Is Mister Paper alone in his abilities? Unfortunately, yes. But not for long. Because soon there will be Miss Paper! In the workshop, we will accompany her with scissors and camera on her voyage of discovery around the world.

The results will be presented on Sunday, April 23, 2023 at 10:30 am at movie theater Schauburg Dresden. The animation filmmakers as well as the directors of the TV series "Mister Paper", Ben Tesseur and Steven de Beul from Belgium, will attend.

Mister Paper visiting Flensburg

Up in the north of Germany, in Flensburg, our episode "Mister Paper´s birthday" (Meener Papier is jarig) will be screened in the animated film competition TRICKY on November 17th and 19th. The series MISTER PAPER is a co-production with Mockingbird Productions (BE), Viking Film (NL), Ketnet, Avrotros and NDR. The series currently runs on Mondays and Fridays on Sesame Street.

Awards for THE CROSSING

Three awards were given to THE CROSSING at the 27th International Film Festival SCHLINGEL at Chemnitz/ Germany. On Saturday evening, our animator Urte Zintler accepted the Defa Foundation Award on behalf of director Florence Miailhe. Furthermore, our co-production was awarded the award of the Ecumenical Jury and the award of the European Children's Film Association ECFA. We are very happy and thank you very much for these great awards.

Mister Paper on TV

Since October 3rd 2022, the 5-minute stories of our Mister Paper series can be seen weekly on Sesame Street. Always on Mondays 7.45 on KiKA and Fridays 6.00 on NDR. Until the end of December, you can experience 26 episodes in Mister Paper's world. Whether Mister Paper learns to fly or braves a thunderstorm as a fireman, celebrates his birthday with guests he invented himself or creates a double - these stories and more are now available to discover.

"Fritzi and Sophie" in production

In mid-September, we shot the final motion capture scenes of our series "Fritzi & Sophie - Boundless Friendship" at the "Gare de la Lune" in Dresden. The series is scheduled to air on TV in fall 2024. So there is still some time to finish the 8 episodes á 22 minutes.

A production of Balance Film, TrickStudio Lutterbeck GmbH , Studio FILM BILDER in co-production with ARD, MDR, WDR, SWR.
Direction: Ralf Kukula, Matthias Bruhn, Thomas Meyer-Hermann
Supported by: BKM, MDM, Film- & Medienstiftung NRW, MFG Baden-Württemberg.

THE CROSSING at Schlingel Festival

THE CROSSING will be screened at the 27th Schlingel International Film Festival on October 11, 2022. As part of the "Blickpunkt Deutschland" competition, our international co-production will be presented to school classes.

MISTER PAPER at International Filmfestival Schlingel

Next Saturday, October 8 2022, the episode "Mister Paper´s birthday" will be screened at the SCHLINGEL International Film Festival in the National Animation Shortfilm Competition. The program "Of monsters, courage and beastly good" is aimed at children aged 4 and up. In this cut-out episode, our hero celebrates his birthday. From the decorations to the presents, he creates everything himself with scissors and paper. All that's missing are the guests...

"Fritzi & Sophie" in production

MoCap news

Together with TrickStudio Lutterbeck from Cologne and Studio FILM BILDER from Stuttgart we are currently producing the series "Fritzi & Sophie - Foundless Friendship" (WT). Based on our animation feature "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" the series tells in 8 episodes of 22 minutes each the life in the GDR, the escape of Sophie and her mother to the West and the beginning of a new life in the Federal Republic of Germany.

For the production in 3D, our artists slip into Xsens suits and we record their movements using motion capture. Three of four shooting blocks are done and the first scenes are already in animation cleanup.

Photos: Ina Rossow (Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung)

Produced by Balance Film, TrickStudio Lutterbeck, Studio FILM BILDER in co-production with ARD, MDR, WDR, SWR.
Directors: Ralf Kukula, Matthias Bruhn, Thomas Meyer-Hermann
Funded by:
BKM, MDM, Film- & Medienstiftung NRW, MFG Baden-Württemberg
World Sales: Global Screen

Festival "Goldener Spatz"

programming Mister Paper & The Crossing

At this year's German Children's Media Festival "Goldener Spatz", two of our productions ran from May 29 to June 4, 2022.
Our animated series MISTER PAPER ran in competition in the Animation series category and celebrated its German premiere.
The oil-on-glass animated feature film THE CROSSING was presented in the youth film category.

Photo: Philipp E. Kümpel (Composer Film Score THE CROSSING)

THE CROSSING premieres and release

There are evenings that remain memory and are still worth telling about months later. So it is with the premieres of our animated film THE CROSSING. Regarding to the upcoming theatrical release on April 28th, 2022, we invited the Leipzig team to a preview.

In Dresden, we presented the oil-on-glass masterpiece during a premiere evening at Zentralkino.
During the film talk Ralf Kukula (co-producer), Philipp E. Kümpel (composer), Jan Mildner (compositing) and Thabet Azzawi (oud player) answered many questions, the evening was moderated by Andreas Körner (in the photo from left to right). Many thanks to Bernhard Reuther for the organization.

Fotos: Balance Film

Awards for THE CROSSING

We are happy about two awards DIE CROSSING has received in the past days.
On the one hand, there is the ICS Award. The International Cinephile Society is an online organization of film critics and journalists worldwide. Each year, it honors the best American and international films.
And most recently, THE CROSSING was awarded the Jury Special Prize at the MONSTRA - Lisbon Animated Film Festival.

Mister Paper at De Ensors

On March 12, 2022 the Flemish Film and Television Award "De Ensors" went to the directors Ben Tesseur and Steven De Beul of Beast Animation. The award for Best Animation was given to our co-production MISTER PAPER. the cut-out-series will be broadcast on NDR from fall 2022.

THE CROSSING at ITFS

The 29th Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film has selected our animated feature film THE CROSSING for the feature film competition AniMovie. From May 3-9 2022, the festival will take place hybrid for the first time. There are 2 screenings planned and we are happy to be part of it.

César Awards - THE CROSSING

On January 26 2022, THE CROSSING was nominated for the César Award as Best Animated Feature Film. The César is the national film award of France, which was created in 1976. Since 2011, the prize has also been awarded in the category Best Animated Film.

Second Prize for THE CROSSING

Future Film Festival of Bologna awarded THE CROSSING with the Second Feature Film Award. The festival took place at the beginning of December.

Award ceremony of DOK Leipzig

At the awards ceremony of the 64th DOK fest Leipzig, our oil-on-glass animated film THE CROSSING was awarded the "Gedanken-Aufschluss" price by a jury made up of prisoners from the Regis-Breitingen juvenile detention centre. The French director Florence Miailhe was a guest at DOK fest at the weekend and accepted the price.

Excerpt from the jury statement:
"Choosing the winner was very easy for us. In our opinion, the film was by far the most interesting and gripping... What we found particularly interesting about this film is that it can be very well associated with the current refugee situation, which prevails in many parts of the world and thus affects us all. With the help of the film you can put yourself in such a situation very well... We also liked the structure and style, as it is very artistic. The painting style is captivating and contributes to the tension of the film. In general, we can say that the theme of the story is exciting, believable and realistic... The film is insightful and thought-provoking..."

Photos: DOKfest Leipzig

German premiere of THE CROSSING

On October 26th 2021 the German premiere of our animated film THE CROSSING took place at Leipzig Central Station. 1.5 years after completion, the film is now running in competition for the audience award at DOKfest Leipzig. As a special screening THE CROSSING will be screened at the juvenile detention center in Regis-Breitingen. The film will be released in German cinemas on February 3, 2022.

 
Photos: Balance Film GmbH
Team pictures: Thérèse Antony und Anke Leweke (DOK Leipzig), Ralf Kukula (Produzent Balance Film) Florian Marquardt alias "Klangfee", Nele Sandner (Animation),Tobias Lindemann (Grandfilm Verleih), Anne King, Karsten Matern, Jan Mildner, Sabine Kraft und Francie Liebschner (Balance Film), Aline Helmcke und Urte Zintler (Animation), Meike Götz, Nicole Zscherny und Daniela Mussgiller (MDR), Ulf Lepelmeier (MDM)

Special Jury Prize for THE CROSSING

Our co-production THE ODYSSEE started its festival tour with the world premiere in Annecy. At the "International Film Festival Zlín", the oil-on-glass animated film won the "Special Jury Prize - Feature Films" in the category Children and Youth on Sept 15th 2021. The film will be released in French cinemas at the end of September, in the Czech Republic at the end of November and in Germany on January 20th 2022.

(c)ZLIN IFF, MAUR film 2021
Martin Vandas - producer at MAUR Film recieving the award

FRITZI wins main award in Norway

On Sunday, September 5th 2021, our animated feature film "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" was awarded Best Feature Film at the International Junior Film Festival in Tromso, Norway. The feature film premiered in Leipzig almost 2 years ago and it's great that FRITZI continues to travel the world.

TIFF Junior Award winners

Press exuberance for THE CROSSING

We are thrilled by the voices of the French press after the world premiere of "La Traversée"/ THE CROSSING in Annecy:

LE FIGARO: La Traversée has inflamed the audience in Annecy" "An exceptional animated film".
LA CROIX "A great film in animated color".
LE PARISIEN "Sumptuous! A work worthy of a Chagall, of incredible artistic power".
TÉLÉRAMA "a magnificent cloak of humanism and poetry for all those displaced by history".

LE FIGARO "la Traversée a enflammé le public à Annecy" "un exceptionnel long-métrage animé"
LA CROIX "Un magnifique film en peinture animée"
LE PARISIEN "somptueux! Une œuvre digne de Chagall, d'une incroyable puissance artistique"
TÉLÉRAMA "un splendide manteau d'humanisme et de poésie pour tous les déplacés de l'Histoire"
 

CONTACT Pitch Award for "Heimatfilm" (WT)

On July 16, 2021, the 17th Young Talent Day CONTACT of the "Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung" took place at the Bilderberg Bellevue Hotel Dresden. Our author Anita Müller presented her short film project "Heimatfilm" (AT) in front of about 100 filmmakers, producers and editors and promptly won the pitching award of 3,000 euros. Until the end of the year we are developing the project together with Anita and a grant from the FFA.

Anita is a freelance audiovisual artist and film author. In her half-hour animadocumentary, she recounts seven decades of contemporary German history through the memories of her family. A visit to her relatives evolves into a time travel through the family history and reveals previously unspoken conflicts - be it with her violent father who returned home from the war, with the limited freedom in East Germany or with the changes of the post-reunification period.

The jury for the pitching award included Aude Benhaïm (director), Katrin Küchler (MDR Unicato - Das Kurzfilmmagazin), Thomas Beyer (MDR Redaktion Geschichte und Dokumentationen), Dr. Regina Bouchehri (LOOKSfilm) and Jörg Schneider (ZDF - Das kleine Fernsehspiel).

Congratulations dear Anita!

Photo: Ralf Kukula, Anita Müller, Sabine Kraft ((c) MDM)

Motion Capturing technical tests

In preparation for the series production "Fritzi & Sophie - Friendship without boarders" we test the motion capturing suits of the company Xsens together with the Dresden colleagues from Knitterfisch GbR. In the brand new studio near the Dresden fair we were able to tinker and measure and calibrate the whole day. In the meantime, we are evaluating the data and optimizing the technology in order to be best prepared for the start of production.

Pictured:
Francie Liebschner - Compositing Supervisor Balance Film
Jan Mildner - Compositing Supervisor Balance Film
Anselm Mende - Intern BF
Edgar Plonski - Intern BF
Tess Tischer - Intern BF
Tobias Kramer - Postproduction Supervisor
Jens Fehrmann - GF Knitterfisch

Photos by Ralf Kukula

Worldpremiere of "The Crossing

After a long wait, on June 17, 2021 the time had finally come. Our co-produced animation film "The Crossing" (La Traversée) celebrated its world premiere at the probably biggest and most important animation film festival in Annecy (FRA). The audience honored the director, producers and team with standing ovations and great emotions. A perfect start for the upcoming festival tour and theatrical release.

At the award ceremony on Saturday, June 19, 2021 "The Crossing" was awarded with the "Jury Mention" in the category Feature Film.

"The Crossing" wins German Hearing Film Award 2021

The internationally co-produced animated film "The Crossing" is the world's first feature-length animated film using the technique of oil painting on glass. Already completed since early 2020, the film, like so many others, has been put on a long hold by the Covid19 pandemic before its theatrical release.

Artist and director Florence Miailhe and writer Marie Desplechin, both from France, tell the dramatic as well as adventurous journey of siblings Kyona and Adriel. When their village is devastated and set on fire by paramilitary gangs one summer day, the children have to flee with their parents. But they are separated from their parents. What they don't know at the time - a separation forever. Haunted by hatred, 13-year-old Kyona and her 12-year-old brother start for an odyssey through a fictional Europe. Their escape lasts a whole year and means the end of their childhood.

"The Crossing" wins the 2021 German Hearing Film Award in the category Children and Youth as its first prize. The slogan "To love films, you don't have to see them!" could hardly fit this previously unreleased film better.

Since 2002, the German Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired has been awarding the "ADele" to outstanding versions of hearing films. In the meantime, the award ceremony has developed into an event with high media attention. Under the patronage of Mario Adorf and from 2009 Christine Neubauer, numerous prominent guests from politics, film and business have been welcomed in recent years. This year's award ceremony took place digitally and was moderated by Steven Gätjen.

The award - the "ADele" - is a bronze sculpture by the blind artist Dario Malkowski (1926-2017) called "The Listener". The relief, weighing about 3 kilograms, shows a woman's face. "One hand is behind the ear to make listening clear, the other hand thoughtfully covers the eyes" the artist himself described the representation. It symbolizes how blind and highly visually impaired people "see" a hearing film.

"The Crossing" selected for Official Competition at Annecy Film Festival

After a year in the pandemic queue, our co-produced oil-on-glass animation film "The Crossing" is now seeing the light of day. As one of 11 films, "The Crossing" ("La Traversée") will be screened in June 2021 during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in the Feature Film Official Competition. This will also be the world premiere of the film. The theatrical release in France is scheduled for the end of September, and the film will be released in the Czech Republic in November. No release date has been set for Germany yet, but we are looking forward to the festival tour.

75 years DEFA studio

DEFA turns 75 today. A reason to celebrate! Not only because DEFA film has significantly shaped our film culture, but also because the roots of Balance Film GmbH are deeply anchored with the DEFA. Ralf Kukula, who founded the company together with Thomas Claus in 1993, worked at the DEFA animation studio for several years after completing his studies in Babelsberg. During this time, he worked on animated films such as "Sitis", "Mausi und Kilo", "Der Kreis" and "Metamorphosen".

Even though Balance Film now works almost entirely digitally, traditionally analog-produced animated films are part of the portfolio, such as in the current project "Mr. Paper" - a classic cut-out animation series. But first, it's time to reminisce and raise a glass to this very special and formative time at DEFA! Happy birthday!

Schoolaward "Best Film" for FRITZI

Our animation feature film "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" was one of the most viewed films of the School Cinema Weeks in Germany in 2020. Under the current conditions, school cinema unfortunately cannot take place as usual at the moment.
Therefore, we are even more pleased by some news that reached us this week: our film was awarded the School Award of the IndieJúnior Alliance IFF as Best Film in Portugal.

Jury´s statement:
When it comes to dealing with a theme like the one Fritzi centers, there are numerous risks. When we talk about politics, we step on a terrain that easily divides opinions and hurts susceptibilities. What happens is that this film seeks to remain well on the surface of any political position. The narrative is limited to contextualizing the scenario in which the characters are inserted, pointing out countless facts, these being: the degrading state of a post-World War II Germany and the territorial separation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. These facts obviously had a great negative influence, at various levels, in the lives of those who lived there. And that is why, despite choosing to glide on the surface of an extremely deep and dense subject, the narrative of this feature film is by no means superficial. The depth in which it chooses to get involved lies in the way in which several families, friends and fellow citizens, find themselves separated due to the interests of those who have nothing to do with them.

We are then confronted with the story of a child who is forced, along with her mother, to flee the socialist side of Germany, immigrating to the capitalist half. In this process, her pet, a small puppy, is left behind, and remains at the care of a friend, Fritzi. Throughout the rest of the feature, we follow Fritzi's attempt to return the animal to the company of its first owner. The childlike and emotional atmosphere created softens the coldest heart and even threatens to cause one or two tears to fall at the end of the film, when the main character's goal is finally achieved. For these reasons, together with a technical excellence in animation, drawing, editing, script and so on, we chose this film to be the winner of the IndieJunior festival.

IndieJúnior Allianz – International Children’s and Youth Film Festival of Porto May 2021

"Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" nominated for 57th Grimme Award

Out of more than 850 submissions our animated feature film "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" has been chosen to be nominated for this year´s 57th Grimme Award.
Films were nominated in the categories Information & Culture, Fiction, Entertainment and Children & Youth. The respective juries will now decide on the 16 Grimme Awards which will be announced on May 11, 2021. The awards ceremony is scheduled for August 27, 2021.

FRITZI Grimme Award

FRITZI nomination for "Best European Feature Film for Children and Youth in 2020"

After "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" received the ECFA Feature Award at the Kids Film Festival in Warsaw, FRITZI is now nominated for the "Best European Feature Film for Children and Youth in 2020". 10 films that have received an ECFA Feature Film Award at different festivals around the world in 2020 are now in the running for the overall award. Normally the award ceremony takes place during the Berlinale, but due to the pandemic this year the ceremony will take place at the end of May during the International Zlin Film Festival. The decision on the award will be made by the 140 members of the ECFA (European Children's Film Association).

Awards for FRITZI in Mexico and at the "Kindertiger"

When events and good news come thick and fast, sometimes it's hard to spread the word. So here's a little update on how FRITZI surprise everyone again at the end of the year.
At the end of November, it rained two more great prizes for "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale". First, FRITZI was awarded for the best feature film by the children's jury of the Mexican festival "La Matatena" in Mexico City!
A few days later, the screenplay of "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" by Beate Völcker and Péter Palátsik received the Kindertiger Screenplay Award, probably the most important children's film screenplay award in Germany. The KiKA children's jury explained its decision as follows: "We were most impressed by the story of a self-confident girl who risks a lot for her friendship. The script of "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" made us think about the fact that we don't live in a divided country, nor are we separated from our friends and family." "For us, the award is a blast!" said the winning duo. "We are happy for all of the team who worked so many years on FRITZI. Especially with an animated film, teamwork is very important. A lot of heart and love went into this film. The fact that our script wins this screenplay award, which is only given by children, is a very special recognition."

Photo: KiKA

Awards for "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale"

Over the summer it has been quiet here on the Balance Film website, but we have not been idle and there is a lot of good news to announce. "Fritzi - Eine Wendewundergeschichte" continues to have a good festival run and has received several awards.

NOMINATION BEST SCRIPT - Kindertiger 2020
FERN FLOWER AWARD - kids kino international film festival 2020
SPECIAL AWARD "FINDING MYSELF FEATURE" - 15th BIKY, Busan International Kids and Youth Film Festival
Award of the MDR-Rundfunkrat for Best Screenplay - Goldener Spatz Gera 2020
Young Jury Award - 33 ICFFF Tehran 2020
CIFEJ AWARD - 33 ICFF Tehran 202

German Cancer Aid and ABNR award FRITZI

The German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe) and the Nonsmoking Action Alliance (ABNR) have awarded "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" the Smoke-free Seal 2020.

Extract from press release:
Smoke scenes are omnipresent in German film and television productions. In many cases this also applies to children's and youth productions, i.e. films without age limitations. The fact that it is also possible without smoke is proven by the multiple award-winning film "Fritzi - A revovulutionary Tale, which was also nominated for this year's German Film Award in the category "best children's film". The film deliberately refrains from using smoking characters and thus serves as a role model - especially for young people. "Smoke scenes in films signal to children and young people something completely wrong, namely that smoking is "cool" and part of everyday life (Dr. Martina Pötschke-Langer, Chairwoman of the ABNR). Together with the WHO, the ABNR is calling for an increase in the age rating for films in which actors smoke. However, this requires a change in the FSK criteria for voluntary self-control of the film industry, which are used to evaluate films. So far, smoking in films has not been a fixed criterion for FSK ratings in Germany.

FRITZI nominated for GERMAN FILM AWARD 2020

We are completely overwhelmed! During yesterday's Facebook livestream, "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" was nominated for the German Film Award 2020 in the category Best Children's Film. The German Film Award will be awarded for the 70th time on 24 April at the "Palais am Funkturm" in Berlin. The gala, presented by Edin Hasanovic, will be broadcast on the same evening at 22.15 hrs on the ARD. The German Film Award is the most highly endowed and renowned award for German films.

Picture by Deutsche Filmakademie

Award of German Film Critics 2019 for FRITZI

"Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" wins the Award of German Film Critics 2019 for the Best Childrens´Movie during the Berlinale 2020.
 
Jury statement: Ralf Kukula and Matthias Bruhn have brilliantly succeeded in filming a political topic, namely the fall of the Berlin Wall, in an exciting and entertaining way that is also suitable for children. At the same time, "Fritzi" is once again a creatively animated cartoon film with an extremely coherent script (Beate Völcker, Péter Palátsik), which doesn't want to be faster, louder and more colourful, but instead trenchantly portrays characters without betraying them and condenses events without distorting reality. And in addition, it tells a historical story that moves and carries away the audience and teaches children without a pedagogical index finger to see the world with their own eyes.
 
The German Film Critics' Prize is awarded to German films that were shown in cinemas in the previous calendar year. It is the only German film prize that is awarded exclusively by critics and is not based on economic, country-specific or political criteria, but exclusively on artistic ones. The awarding of the prize is decided by juries made up of members of the Association of German Film Critics.
 
 
 Photo left to right: Ralf Kukula (director/ producer), Beate Völcker (author), Richard Lutterbeck (producer) and Christel Strobel (Laudator; artechock)

FRITZI continues on tour

While working diligently on our new projects, FRITZI is now making its way around the world. At the Berlinale in February, FRITZI has two appearances. Starting with the award ceremony for the Prize of the German Film Criticism and followed by a FRITZI screening as part of the LOLA pre-selection. Afterwards in march, the directors Ralf Kukula and Matthias Bruhn will fly to Tokyo to attend the award ceremony for the Best Animated Film. We keep our fingers crossed that FRITZI wins the race. At the same time FRITZI will be travelling to New York, where there will be 3 screenings at the Children's Film Festival. The next festival screenings are planned for Mexico, Santiago de Chile and Korea.

FRITZI goes LOLA

We are very happy! Fritzi - Eine Wendewundergeschichte has made it into the pre-selection for the German Film Award. Now it will be exciting to see how the nominations in March will turn out. We can already look forward to a screening at the Berlinale!

Audience Award for "Hurry up, Herold!"

At the ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival in Berlin, the short film "Hurry up, Herold" received the Zebrino Audience Award from a children´s jury of 8-13 year old kids. Francie Liebschner, the director, took part in the award ceremony.

IKTAMULI wins ARTE-Prize

IKTAMULI may soon be shown in ARTE's short film programme, because the short film by Anne-Christin-Plate has won the "Grenzenlos-competition" of ARTE GEIE. Films of all possible genres were uploaded online to https://grenzenlos.arte.tv/. From November 1st to November 90th 2019, a nationwide vote was held on which film would win the ARTE Prize.

 

Jury Award for IKTAMULI

IKTAMULI wins the Jury Award for Animation at 19th Shortfilmdays in Flensburg/ Germany.

Filem´On animation award for FRITZI

"Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" was won the Filem'On Award for the best animated film. The award ceremony took place on November 2nd 2019 in Brussels in the presence of our Belgian co-producer Stéphane Quinet and film music composer André Dziezuk.

Awards for FRITZI and IKTAMULI

We received 2 prizes this week.
At the Kinolino Kinderfilmfestival Dresden "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" was awarded with the Held*innen Hecht (Hero-Pike) by a jury of 11 children. And our short film IKTAMULI received the award for most moving film at the Szczecin Film Festival.

(c) Szczecin Film Festival

Foto: Kinolino Filmfestival Dresden

FRITZI premiere at Leipzig Nicolai Church

On Monday, October 7th 2019, numerous guests from politics and the media joined us and our co-producers for the German premiere of "Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" at the Leipzig Nicolai Curch. Two screenings at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m with 700 seats each where sold out and the feedback from visitors and press was great. Now we are looking forward to a wonderful cinema tour, the school cinema weeks and other special events.

Foto: Anja Langnickel © Weltkino Filmverleih

Foto: Ralf Kukula

"Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" Release

"Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" is coming to German cinemas on time for the 30th anniversary of the day of the Peaceful Revolution - October 9th 2019! We are also looking forward to the premieres in Leipzig, Dresden, Berlin, Cologne and Stuttgart. Here is the trailer of FRITZI made by Weltkino:

"Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale" - FBW Valuation

We are very pleased that the German "FBW" (Film- and Media Rating Agency) has awarded "Fritzi - A revolutionary Alte" the title of "particularly valuable".

Jury evaluation:
The FBW jury awarded the film the title "particularly valuable".
The film Fritzi -  A revolutionaly tale" is based on the children's book "Fritzi war dabei" by Hanna Schott and Gerda Raidt. Ralf Kukula and Matthias Bruhn have developed a more contemporary animation concept for the film, which at the same time is based on the classics of the ligne claire.
The story begins at the beginning of school in Summer 1989 in Leipzig: Fritzi's best friend Sophie went on holiday with her mother in Hungary, but did not return. Slowly Fritzi begins to understand that her best friend has fled to West Germany and only left the dog behind. For the first time she asks herself essential questions, which can also concern her: But why do we have to flee from our own country?
The search for her friend leads Fritzi rather coincidentally into the Monday demonstrations protesting against the wall, to the militarily secured border and brings her into conflicts in her school and with the state security. Fritzi experiences the city of Leipzig at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, always hoping and trying to finally embrace her friend Sophie again - until the girls face each other at the border.
The film Fritzi - A revolutionary Tale is an attempt to make the GDR theme clear in its differentiation. Some stereotypical representations accommodate the fairytale style of the film, but may also be due to the childlike perspective. Many aspects of ideology are gradually clarified through dialogue and presented in a way that is comprehensible to a child audience.
A great love for details is noticeable in the depiction of the milieu: Shop windows, classrooms, cityscapes, border fortifications - all this has been carefully reconstructed from historical documents and contemporary witness experiences. A differentiated figure drawing of parents and children accommodates this.
Classical cartoon technique proves to be an interesting artistic decision, especially since the simplicity of the figure design is in tension with the detail of the backgrounds, resulting in unusual effects, even though the narration is in some places a little kitschy and fairy-tale. The theme is illuminated from the point of view of children, who are initially involved naively and then more and more consciously. Politically, the film may raise questions in relation to today's developments that it is not necessarily able to answer satisfactorily. However, this cannot be blamed on the artistically, aesthetically and dramaturgically successful concept. The jury therefore honours the film not only as a children's and youth film, but also as a historical film for the whole family with the title "particularly valuable".

©Weltkino Filmverleih

British Pathé Archive Award for WHEN THE FOG LIFTS

The British Pathé Archive Award 2019 of the DOK.fest Munich goes to the project WHEN THE FOG LIFTS by Nancy Brandt and Ralf Kukula.

Jury statement:
"What can each of us do to counter the threat to democracy in Europe? How can we take a clear stance against the strengthening of politically right-wing currents? This phenomenon evokes unpleasant memories of a time in which Europe, in which Germany, found itself in a similar situation, can be described as a "threatened order". With their film project WHEN THE FOR LIFTS, Nancy Brandt and Ralf Kukula take up a theme that is highly relevant, both historically and today, which they want to present as an Animadoc by using an unusual narrative approach and rotoscopy technique. Martin Gauger, a young man from the late Weimar period and the author herself meet at different time levels. Using photographs as well as historical and contemporary archive films, the past and present are ingeniously interwoven. And there can't be enough archive material with everyday scenes for this. The jury believes in this very personal and committed film which Nancy Brandt presented convincingly."

Munich, 9th of May 2019
Jury: Andrea Bräu, Claudia Engelhardt, Dr. Kay Hoffmann, Simon Witter
The British Pathé Archive Award is an award for archive and compilation films worth 14,000 euros.

Photo: DOK.fest

MDM-Funding for Mr. Paper

We are pleased that we were finally successful and we are very grateful for the MDM-Funding for this great children's series "Mr. Paper", which we are going to co-produce in summer 2019. Produced by A Private View and co-produced by Beast Animation, Viking Film and Balance Film.

Mister Paper cuts and stics together the world that he wants. He lives in a paper house surrounded by paper nature. His sole companion is a cat. But thanks to his scissors and his childlike imagination, he is never alone. For every situation, Mister Paper creates a solution by cutting or pasting something new. He cuts a bottle when he´s thirsty and an apple when he´s hungry. Or he cuts a cow, so as to have some milk for the cat. And when the cat doesn´t feel like playing, he cuts a dog or a girl to take a walk with. Through his adventures, the world of children is brought to life in a playful, imaginative manner. A world, rooted in reality, where anything is possible.

IKTAMULI wins Golden Horseman at 31st Filmfest Dresden

We are very glad to announce that IKTAMULI won the GOLDEN HORSEMAN for the best Animated Film in the National Competition at 31st Filmfest Dresden. What a great start for the festivaltour. Congratulations to director Anne-Christin Plate!!!

Photo: Oliver Killig

IKTAMULI at the Filmfest Dresden

On 10th of April 2019 our shortfilm IKTAMULI celebrates it´s worldpremiere at the 31st Dresden Filmfest. Director: Anne-Christin Plate.

"Raven the little Rascal - Hunt for the lost Treasure"

On June 6, the movie "Raven the little Rascal - Hunt for the lost Treasure" will be released in german film theaters. We are very pleased to have accompanied this production as a service provider.

Little Raven and his friends embark on a big treasure hunt. Competing against the beavers they have to solve riddles and navigate great dangers in order to finally find the most surprising of all treasures.
Based on the books by Nele Moost and Annet Rudolph.

A production Akkord Film production in co-production with Tatami Films and Universe Film. Directed by Verena Fels and Sandor Jesse.

"Chris the Swiss" wins Swiss Film Award

Swiss Film Award in Geneva

We are really happy to announce, that "Chris the Swiss" won the Swiss Film Award in Geneva von 22nd of march 2019. Nominated in 3 categories, it went home with 3 prizes: Best Documentary Film, Best Cut, Best Music! Contratulations to Dschoint Ventschr and ma.ja.de filmproduktions GmbH! Director: Anja Kofmel, Producers: Anja Kofmel, Producers Sereina Gabathuler and Samir, Editor: Stefan Kälin, Music: Marcel Vaid.

Chris the Swiss - cinema release

"Chris the Swiss" cinema release

Our movie advice today: Chris the Swiss. Director Anja Kofmel goes in search of the circumstances of the death of her cousin, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances at the beginning of the Yugoslav wars.

Premiered at the Festival de Cannes and showing in cinemas now.

"Iktamuli" celebrates it´s World Premiere at 31st Filmfest Dresden

Out of almost 400 submissions for the National Competition of the 31st FILMFEST DRESDEN, 29 animated and feature films were selected. Also nominated is the short film "Iktamuli" (WT: Tony and I) by Anna-Christin Plate. We congratulate and look forward to many visitors at the presentation of the film from April 9 to 14, 2019. Produced by Balance Film.

"Iktamuli" is a drawn animation short film.
The film depicts thoughts and feelings of a mother with her so called mentally disabled son. While she moves with him through everyday life, her ambivalent feelings, her struggles to accept him as he is, get into her way. She can only change herself, her attitude towards the child.

Filmstill

The Newspaper „Leipziger Volkszeitung“ about the development of „The Odyssey“

Painting learns to walk: Oil-on-glass cinema animation "The Odyssey" is created in Leipzig – This article appeared on January 1, 2019 in the daily newspaper „Leipziger Volkszeitung“. A nice portrait about the ongoing animation at our studio in Leipzig.

Photo: André Kemper

"Fritzi" at the Vision Cinema '18

From 21st-23rd of November 2018, the 7th nationwide Congress of Vision Cinema took place. In the traditional final round "Film ab!", numerous filmmakers presented their upcoming film projects for educational work. Among others, Ralf Kukula presented our movie "Fritzi – A Revolutionary Tale" to those interested in education, culture, science, politics, and film industry. The talks were moderated by Matthias Elwardt.

Photo: Konrad Behr

"Chris the Swiss"

On Tuesday, October 30th, 2018, "Chris the Swiss" celebrates its German premiere at the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film.

Hurry up, Herold!

Herold in the competition of the International Chicago Children's Film Festival

In the presence of director Francie Liebschner, "Hurry up, Herold!" travels to the 35th International Chicago Children's Film Festival. There it competes for the prize for best animated short film.

FRITZI - A Revolutionary Tale

FRITZI-Pressemitteilung erschienen

After nearly 10 years of work, now the post-production of FRITZI starts. Voice castings and recordings will take place in spring 2019. The movie, which is equally suited for young and old viewers, will premiere  on October 7, 2019 in Leipzig. Official theatrical release is on October 9, 2019.

Wider horizons

"Wider horizons" receives Film Prize from the Saxon Minister of Arts

Falk Schuster erhält in diesem Jahr den Filmförderpreis der Staatsministerin für Wissenschaft und Kunst. Kunststaatssekretär Uwe Gaul hat am 16.04.2016 während der Preisverleihung beim 28. Filmfest Dresden den Goldenen Reiter in dieser Kategorie überreicht. Die Auszeichnung ist mit einem Preisgeld von 20 000 Euro verbunden.
Regisseur und Drehbuchautor Falk Schuster zeigt mit einem aufwendig im Rotoskopieverfahren hergestellten Animationsfilm, wo die Sachsen am liebsten Urlaub machten, als die Mauer noch stand. „Durch seine virtuose graphische Präzision und Reduzierung auf das Wesentliche gelingt dem jungen Filmemacher ein kleines aber feines ästhetisches Meisterwerk, das gleichzeitig den Zuschauer in seiner 4motorigen Zeitmaschine bald 30 Jahre zurückversetzt“, heißt es in der Begründung der Jury.
„Ich gratuliere Falk Schuster zu dieser Ehrung. Der Filmförderpreis hat den Zweck - auch mit der stolzen Fördersumme von 20 000 Euro – bisher unbekannte nationale Regisseure und Produzenten von Animations- und Kurzspielfilmen für ihr künstlerisch herausragendes Werk auszuzeichnen und zugleich zu fördern. Das trifft auf den jungen Filmemacher Falk Schuster hervorragend zu. Das Preisgeld soll ihm helfen, eine neue Produktion anzuschließen und sich künstlerisch weiterzuentwickeln“, erklärt Kunstministerin Dr. Eva-Maria Stange.
(Auszug aus der PM des SMWK)

Half the Town

Kinostart am 05.11.2015

From November 4 to 10,2015, Director Pawel Siczek will be a guest in film discussions in the following cities: Augsburg, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Leipzig and Munich.

Fred & Anabel

Audience Award for "Fred & Anabel"

"Fred & Anabel" was awarded the Audience Award "Eco Bambin" in Paris last February. The young visitors of the 32nd International Environmental Festival FIFE chose Ralf Kukula's adaptation of the book with the same name by Lena Hesse as their favorite.

In April, "Fred & Anabel" will be part of the international competition of the TIFF International Kids Film Festival in Toronto. The Canadian festival is one of the largest children's film festivals worldwide and awards several prizes. In the short film category, there is both a children's and an adult jury as well as the Audience Award. We stay curious and keep our fingers crossed ...