International Animation Competitions 2025 – Fantoche
Fantoche 2025 Celebrates Animation, Work, and Estonian Creativity
International animation competitions 2025 take center stage at this year’s Fantoche International Animation Film Festival, running September 2–7 in Baden, Switzerland, with Oscar-qualifying shorts, feature premieres, and a celebration of animation from around the world.
Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes, Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, FR 2025
Baden, Switzerland – The 23rd Fantoche International Animation Film Festival returns September 2–7, 2025, with a rich blend of feature films, short films, exhibitions, and interactive events. This year’s festival puts a spotlight on two main themes — Work and Estonian Animation — alongside screenings of the latest animated features and shorts from around the globe.
For the first time in its history, the Best Film in the International Competition will qualify for consideration at the Academy Awards®. A total of 66 short films will compete across the International Competition, Swiss Competition, and Kids Film Competition, with an additional 23 shorts featured in the Panorama section.
Opening Night: Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Kicking off the festival is the Swiss premiere of Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, fresh from its world premiere at Cannes. Directed by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han Jin Kuang, the film adapts Amélie Nothomb’s autobiographical novel into a visually stunning meditation on childhood and self-discovery. The screening will be attended by the director and Swiss Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider. The international animation competitions 2025 will showcase incredible talent.
International Animation Competitions 2025 Highlights
Feature Film Highlights
Fantoche 2025 will screen 16 current animated features, including:
- Mary Anning – A Swiss co-production from Ticino director Marcel Barelli, exploring the early life of the pioneering paleontologist.
- Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake – A moving story of a young girl whose life is upended overnight.
- Le Parfum d’Irak – An animated documentary explored in a “Making-of” session with director Léonard Cohen.
- Lesbian Space Princess – The colorful and comedic debut feature from Australian directors Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese.
Themes for 2025: “9 to 5” and Estonian Animation
The 9 to 5 theme explores work in all its forms:
- Chun Tae-Il – A powerful portrait of a South Korean labor activist.
- Piercing I – A Beijing-set story of unemployment, friendship, and crime.
- Two curated short film programs addressing the modern workplace.
- Urban Sketchers @ Work – An exhibition at the Gluri Suter Huus documenting the evolution of Wettingen as a place of labor.
The Estonian spotlight features a range of short films and an Industry Day talk with Oscar-nominated director Sander Joon (Sierra).
Special Programs and Exhibitions
- Midnight Snack – A new late-night program offering delightfully odd short films, from feline escapades to eerie puppet performances.
- Animation Artefacts – An exhibition of sketches, puppets, and objects from the competition programs at Kunstraum Baden.
- One Minute Movies – All 26 episodes from Austrian artist Nicolas Mahler and Swiss co-director Stefan Holaus shown together for the first time.
- Kihachirō Kawamoto Retrospective – Honoring the 100th anniversary of the Japanese puppet animation master with a screening of The Book of the Dead.
Beyond the Screen
Fantoche continues to bridge animation and gaming with Game Pop-up and the joint exhibition REFRESH x Fantoche #4 with Zurich University of the Arts.
For more festival coverage beyond the international animation competitions 2025, explore our animation festival archive.
Don’t miss the international animation competitions 2025 at Fantoche — a showcase of the year’s most innovative animated shorts.
Fantoche 2025 runs from September 2–7, 2025 in Baden, Switzerland.
The full program and tickets are available now at fantoche.ch.
