The 9th International Bitfilm Festival will start today with a kick-off event in Stuttgart (Southern Germany). It is embedded into the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film, one of the most important festivals of its kind, and the fmx conference.

You may watch all films of the six competition programmes on the big screen of the beautiful Metropol cinema, right in the heart of Stuttgart. An additional highlight, which will only be screened in Stuttgart, is the full-length feature film “We are the Strange”. Mixing various kinds of animation techniques, enigmatic director M Dot Strange produced this truly weird creation all on its own. The director will be present in Stuttgart; he might even be willing to give a talk on his film if you treat him nicely.

You are likely to meet many more directors and animators in Stuttgart. The best meeting place for film makers and film lovers will be the Café Schlossblick at Stuttgart’s central square, the Schlossplatz. Every night free open air screenings of animated blockbusters like “The Simpsons” or “Ratatouille” are meant to draw in big crowds of Stuttgarters to their main square.

If you happen to be in Stuttgart from May 1 to May 8 and you want to share your impressions with everyone, please feel free to use this modest magazine to do so! If you can’t make it to our live kick-off, you may still watch all films on the festival site and vote for the winners.