FAB 2025

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From September 26–28, 2025, Berlin once again became a center of international animation with the Festival of Animation Berlin (FAB 2025), held for the eighth time. This edition placed a special focus on Japanese animation. Under the guiding theme “Blurring the Line,” Japanese animated films demonstrated their ability to connect opposites and explore moral questions beyond simple answers, with great sensitivity to ambivalence and nuance. This focus was complemented by the Stop Motion Summit, which dedicated a full day to working with material, movement, and hands-on craft. In addition to the competitions, standout highlights included FAB Dimensional, the pitch formats of the Berlin Animation HUB, and the FAB Karaoke Night.

Impressions

Highlights

Full cinemas, late-night conversations, new projects, familiar faces, and many first encounters—between screenings, exhibitions, the HUB, and networking, the final weekend of September 2025 captured exactly the festival vibes FAB is known for.

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    Festival Trailer

    Fusion and separation. The official trailer of FAB 2025 was produced by animation artist Lina Machida.

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    Our guests

    The voices of Takeshi Yashiro, Maya Yonesho, Koji Yamamura, Anja Resman, and many other speakers and guests resonated long after the festival. They decisively shaped the Japan focus, the Stop Motion Summit, and the expert seminars of this edition.

  • Our team

    From film selection to stand support, our team continues to grow and is made up of both permanent and changing members.

    • Themes

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    Focus: Japan

    Hardly any animation style is as distinctive as anime. With its Japan focus, this edition of FAB celebrated Japanese animation through selected films, thematic activities, and special artist Lina Machida, who created the festival trailer.

  • Stop-Motion Summit

    A full day dedicated to stop motion: hands-on workshops, learning events, and participatory formats invited audiences to explore the craft. Talks and discussions encouraged questions, exchange, and shared experiences in an open, practice-oriented setting.

    • Competitions

  • Competitions

    Across 16 screenings, a strong desire for storytelling and attentive listening became evident. The competitions brought together many fresh stories that opened up new perspectives and made diverse ways of life visible.

  • Awards & Special Mentions

    Celebration, discussion, and applause marked the finale: the 2025 award winners represented the full breadth of the festival. Six competition awards, ten special mentions, and a public award for best pitch honored the most outstanding works of a strong festival edition.

  • Jury & Selection team

    The jury brought many perspectives together: 20 jury members accompanied the competitions, 9 members formed the children’s jury for Pink Panda, supported by 24 people in the selection committee. Together, they shaped the selections, discussions, and decisions of this edition.

    • Supporting Program

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    Berlin Animation HUB

    Workshops, eye-opening presentations, and networking shaped the Berlin Animation HUB 2025. Hands-on formats, the FAB Karaoke Night, and the second Elevator Pitch created a lively mix of practice and festival moments.

  • FAB Dimensional

    The 5th FAB Dimensional impressed with strong spatial works: installations exploring body dissolution, mechanical beings, and industrial motion met interactive formats for children and families.

  • FAB Pitch

    For the fourth time, FAB Pitch presented new animation projects—from a seagull’s coming-of-age story and insights into Berlin’s forensics to children with mental superpowers. The Audience Award went to Natalia Solis for her sci-fi horror short “Equina.”

  • FAB invited

    FAB Invited is our playdate with experimental animation formats. This edition brought together a hypnotic laser show, animated fulldome films, holo characters, praxinoscopes, and drawings brought to life.

    • Funding

    FAB 2025 was funded by
    Berlin Animation Hub 2025 was funded by