While Ireland was the focus of this year’s International Trickfilm-Festival Stuttgart (ITFS), all eyes were on the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) as almost half of the animated films selected for the “Focus on Ireland” student film screening were from the university’s animation programmes.
Earlier this year, Irish third level animation programmes were invited to submit a film through Animation Ireland for consideration in the festival’s “Future Minds: A Selection of Short Films by the Brilliant and Brightest Graduates of Ireland” event, as part of Zeitgeist Irland 2024. Zeitgeist Irland 2024 is a €25 million joint investment in a season of Irish arts and culture in Germany, an initiative of Culture Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland in Germany.
The final 21 film selection made by Stuttgart International Film Festival judges for the prestigious event included nine entries from TUS – six from student on the Athlone Campus and three from the Digital Campus in Clonmel.
Dean of Limerick School of Art and Design and Director of Cultural Engagement, TUS Mike Fitzpatrick said the inclusion of such a high percentage of TUS students’ films in this international festival was an indication of the high quality of work among the TUS students and graduates, and the commitment of the staff that teach and encourage them every day.
“A renowned international festival like the Trickfilm-Festival in Stuttgart (ITFS) provides huge visibility for our three animation programmes in LSAD, TUS. For our students to not only be considered for the event, but to be in the majority in a group considered the “Brilliant and Brightest Graduates” in Ireland is testimony to the quality of their work. I would like to congratulate all the students and staff involved. We are very proud of what they have achieved,” he said.
The TUS student work featured in the ITFS Future Minds: A Selection of Short Films by the Brilliant and Brightest Graduates of Ireland included:
Contented Mediocracies by Niye Aihie (LSAD TUS Clonmel Campus)
The Frog & The Wolf by Emiliano Pineda Alvarado and Eva Dobuseva (LSAD TUS Clonmel Campus)
Breaking the Cycle by Aine Phelan (LSAD TUS Clonmel Campus)
Pinokidoki by Jack Casserly (LSAD TUS Athlone Campus)
Bonk by Jasmine Anderson (LSAD TUS Athlone Campus)
Play Truant by Shane McDermott (LSAD TUS Athlone Campus)
Eilid by Naomi Hanlon (LSAD TUS Athlone Campus)
The Castle of Baron Von Sukker by Derry Luttrell (LSAD TUS Athlone Campus)
Feel, Felt, Found by Jayme Murphy (LSAD TUS Athlone Campus)
Among the three Irish students selected to also take part in a live Q&A panel after the student films were screened was Jack Casserly from the TUS Athlone Campus.
As many as 30 delegates from Animation Ireland and the Irish studios it represents also attended the festival at the end of April, taking part in panel discussions on the future of the Irish industry and its global platform for animation production. TUS continues to provide highly skilled, work ready graduates to Irish and international studios, ensuring a strong talent pool for these studios into the future.