Fantoche 2025: International Animation Film Festival Announces Lineup

In its 23rd edition, the International Animation Film Festival FANTOCHE in Baden presents current feature-length and short films for all ages, in addition to the themed focus programme "9 to 5" and the country focus Estonia. At the festival's core are nine competition programmes, divided into three categories: International, Swiss and Children’s Film Competition. The Fantoche selection team has chosen 89 animated short films from a total of 3,050 submissions. Of these, 66 films will compete for 11 prizes. Outside of the competition, a further 23 short films will be screened in the "Panorama" programme.

The full programme will be published on 12 August, when pre-sales will also begin.

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International Competition

32 films will compete for five prizes (Best Film, High Risk, Audience Award, Youth Award for Best New Talent, Flying Anidoc Award). This year, the winners of the "Best Film Award" can qualify for participation in the Academy Awards® and the BAFTA Awards for the first time – Fantoche has been both a BAFTA and an Oscar® qualifying festival since October 2024. With "Hunting", directed by Lea Favre, a Swiss film is also represented in the International Competition.

• Acid City Jack Wedge, Will Freudenheim, US 2025, 12'50"
• Because, I am a girl Sayazhan Ispolganova, Alisa Tyan, Rosita Keneshova, Fatima Chorobekova, Alina Alybekova, Dariya Murzulukova, KG 2025, 6'56"
• BEST He Chao Hong, CN 2024, 7'17"
• Boundaries Seun Yee, KR 2025, 11'33"
• Crow, Starfish and Unicorn Xiaoxuan Han, CN 2024, 16'27"
• Deluge Meejin Hong, US 2024, 12'05"
• Detlev Ferdinand Ehrhardt, DE 2024, 12'50"
• Dollhouse Elephant Jenny Jokela, FI 2025, 11'14"
• Fačuk Maida Srabovic, HR/SI 2025, 12'47"
• flè dè me Bathscheba Duronvil, US 2024, 8'02"
• HOMUNCULUS Bonheur Suprême, FR 2025, 17'35"
• Hunting Lea Favre, CH 2024, 10'50"
• It Mostly Feels Familiar Adheep Das, IN 2024, 3'21"
• LARVAL Alice Bloomfield, GB 2025, 12'10"
• Lights, Haze Tata Managadze, GE 2024, 8'04"
• Long Live Livia Zach Dorn, US 2025, 16'42"
• Me and You and Smoke Rachel Shiloach, GB 2025, 7'30"
• Mother's Child Naomi Noir, NL 2024, 9'06"
• My Good Boy Sara Priorelli, IT 2024, 5'56"
• Noon Lover Wanlin Xia, US 2024, 14'57"
• Ordinary Life Yoriko Mizushiri, FR/JP 2025, 9'48"
• Paradaïz Matea Radic, CA 2025, 9'28"
• Q Masataka Kihara, JP 2025, 7'33"
• Retirement Plan John Kelly, IE 2024, 7'17"
• S The Wolf Sameh Alaa, FR 2025, 10'24"
• Shadows Rand Beiruty, JO/FR 2024, 12'
• States of Matter Marvin Hauck, NL 2024, 7'
• The Diffusion Pilot Aurelijus Čiupas, EE 2024, 7'12"
• The Golden Donkey Anne Verbeure, BE 2024, 15'38"
• Une Fugue (To the woods) Agnès Patron, FR 2025, 15'
• Veils of Landscape Chihiro Yamanaka, JP 2025, 5'10"
• Winter in March Natalia Mirzoyan, EE/FR/BE 2025, 16'22"

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Swiss Competition

16 films will compete for six prizes (Best Swiss, Fantastic Swiss, High Swiss Risk, Youth Award for Best New Talent, Flying Anidoc Award and the Audience Award).

• Banana Soup Geena Gasser, CH 2025, 7'04"
• Bandwurm Alexis & die Operndiva Thaïs Odermatt, CH 2025, 11'22''
• Cottage Cheese Liina Luomajoki, Lena Metzger, Janina Müller, Alice Kunz, CH 2024, 5'16"
• Der Vegetarierkongress Noah Erni, CH 2025, 16'05"
• Double or Nothing Tokay, CH 2025, 9'40"
• Frames Theresa Sellmann, CH 2024, 3'30"
• Hunting Lea Favre, CH 2024, 10'50"
• Ich bin nicht sicher Luisa Zürcher, CH 2025, 10'09"
• In Tune Laura Kohler, CH 2024, 5'18"
• Karies Aline Höchli, CH 2025, 9'41"
• Ostrich Marie Kenov, CH 2025, 8'33"
• Ouais Della Miranda, CH 2025, 3'40"
• Progress Mining Gabriel Böhmer, GB 2024, 16'28"
• Storytelling Nils Hedinger, CH 2024, 7'42"
• TV oder Die Ruhestörung an der Waldbergstrasse Frederic Siegel, CH 2025, 14'09"
• Wacky Horses Touka Fatemi, Iara de Jong Gonçalves, Ysabel Steiner, Marija Simović, Anna Müller, CH 2025, 4'20"

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Children's Film Competition

18 films are in the running for four prizes in the Children’s Film Competition (the Best Kids Jury Award, the Children’s Audience Award, the Youth Award for Best New Talent and the Flying Anidoc Award).

• A Pain in the Butt Elena Walf, DE/ HR 2025, 5'40"
• Astral Judith Ordonneau, CH 2025, 4'
• Bobel's Kitchen Fiona Rolland, BE 2024, 10'25"
• I Love You, Elephant Antonie Zavadilová, CZ 2025, 3'32"
• Kaulquappe Julia Skala, DE 2024, 9'03"
• Mojappi -It’s mine!- Nijitaro, JP 2024, 3'12"
• Nutissimo Nicolas Bianco-Levrin, Julie Rembauville, Maxence Camelin, FR 2025, 2'48"
• Passing By Kang Hanna, KR 2025, 8'45"
• RoadKillJoy Paul Ng, SG 2024, 3'57"
• Slime Time - Episode 6: Lunch Time Stefan Max Goblirsch, Laura Fernández Garcia, SE 2024, 1'
• Thanks, You Too Marion Täschler, CH 2025, 9'48"
• The Night Tunnel Miguel Español Celiméndiz, BE 2024, 8'58"
• There once was a tiger Dmitry Mosyagin, Marina Verik, RU 2025, 12'24"
• Tsuru Pedro Anias, BR 2024, 6'13"
• Ursa Minor Sophie Schmid, US 2024, 4'14"
• When The Tide Comes Fêt-Nat Bailly, GB 2025, 10'18"
• Wolfie Philippe Kastner, CZ 2025, 13'12"
• Yarn Over Veronika Wielach, AT/ GB 2024, 4'10"

Panorama

The following 23 films will be screened in the three Panorama programmes:

• A Little More Action Alexis Beaumont, FR 2025, 1'10"
• All This Death Fadi Syriani, LB, 17'00"
• Better Man Eliška Jirásková, CZ 2024, 6'11"
• bonVoyage pour monVoyage Akshit Kumar, IN 2024, 5'
• Can you hear me? Anastazja Naumenko, PL 2025, 15'01"
• Challenges of a solitary mind Astrid Rothaug, AT, 3'
• Dull Spots of Greenish Colours Sasha Svirsky, DE 2024, 10'32"
• Force Times Displacement Angel Wu, TW, 11'51"
• How A River Is Born Luma Flôres, BR 2025, 8'33"
• I Found Myself Abdul Kadir, PT 2025, 4'24"
• Les belles cicatrices Raphaël Jouzeau, FR 2024, 15'00"
• Like Friend, Like Deer Malek Eghbali, IR 2025, 12'59"
• Little Saints Clémence Taveau, FR 2024, 4'07"
• Maybe Elephants Torill Kove, CA 2024, 16'43"
• Nocturnal Cacti Inbal Lavi, IL 2024, 2'18"
• Nuisibles Mélodie Charrier-Rangel, FR 2025, 3'47"
• Poppy Flowers Evridiki Papaiakovou, EE 2024, 4'24"
• Robert Yoghurt Sacha Beeley, GB 2024, 1'55"
• Sulaimani Vinnie Ann Bose, FR 2025, 20'
• The Last Drop Anna Tőkés, HU 2024, 10'43"
• This Is Not an Emergency Sydney Agans, US 2025, 6'36"
• Un Tilleul parmi les platanes Mariam Farota, FR 2025, 4'13"
• Whose Woods Are These Kate Nartker, US 2025, 6'32"

Preview: "9 to 5", Estonia, Industry Day on "Think Outside The Frame"

Inspired by Dolly Parton’s classic, Fantoche presents animated films on the theme of work in the festival’s focus programme "9 to 5". In shorts and feature films, a talk and an exhibition, the system of labour undergoes critical questioning and patriarchal and capitalist structures are put in the spotlight. Topics covered include unemployment, exploitation, trade union building, health at work and the role of women in the labour market.

The second focus is on animated filmmaking in Estonia. Like Switzerland, Estonia proves that artistic excellence and well-thought-out funding structures can enhance animation's global appeal. Filmmaker Helen Unt and art professor Lilli-Kroot Repna have curated three captivating programmes laden with symbolic power, surreal images, contemporary aesthetics and existential themes. A talk with the curators and Estonian filmmakers will also shed light on the animated film scene in Estonia. As part of Industry Day, award-winning filmmaker Sander Joon ("Sierra") will give an Artist Talk.

"Think Outside the Frame" – disrupting familiar formats and thinking bigger about animation – is the motto of the 11th Industry Day, which takes place this year on Thursday 4 September. One of the programme highlights will be the presentation of the successful series "Arcane" by the French studio Fortiche. And this year, the best animated commissioned film in Switzerland will once again take home the Swiss Animation Industry Award (SAIA) – which will be presented during Industry Day.

The full festival programme will be published on 12 August, when pre-sales will begin.

For queries regarding the press release: Christa Helbling, media@fantoche.ch, +41 78 857 44 75.