War and Peace

Armed conflicts and how people deal with them occupy many film-makers as subject matter for their independent films, as metaphors in promotional films or in propaganda films. This artistic examination has been evident right from the very beginning of animation film – see ‘Matches Appeal’ by Arthur Melbourne-Cooper from 1899 – right up to the present day, with ‘Gloria Victoria’ from Theodore Ushev, the winning film at Fantoche 2013.

The works in the five short film programmes, for example, range from the fiery anti-war film pamphlet to calls for entry into war or advertising films for war bonds, as well as countryspecific blocks like those on Switzerland or the conflict in the Balkans. In addition, we also present the very latest works addressing this theme with a selection from this year’s competition submissions. Furthermore, two exhibitions examine it more closely: one from a historical perspective, the other with an artistic approach. And the portrayal of war and peace will be discussed in the “Campaign of Animated Media” symposium, based on examples from the areas of game, cartoon and animation.