Sophisticated topics impressively packaged

Domestic violence, war, fears and depression - these are not easy topics that Studio Fabian&Fred tackles and tells in many of its animated short films. But they are so visually impressive and to the point that the viewer is literally sucked in - even after the credits have flickered across the screen. Since 2015, the Hamburg studio has produced twelve animated films that have been shown at around 800 festivals - including the Berlinale, the Hiroshima Animation Festival, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and, most recently, Locarno.

With over 30 awards, "Carlotta's Face" from 2018 is the most successful production to date. The film has been screened at 230 festivals to date and shows audiences what it is like to be "face-blind" in an impressive mix of animation and documentary. "Our protagonist and narrator Carlotta can't recognise people's faces. So our challenge was to develop a character design without a face that is still likeable," reveals Fabian Driehorst, who acted as Executive Producer on the film. Based on drawings of the real Carlotta, the small team worked their way forward piece by piece - and in this way created an impressive five-minute film. "Carlotta herself was also totally thrilled at the end. Because she could see the film in exactly the same way as everyone else watching," reveals Driehorst. The film was animated by Frédéric Schuld, who also co-directed the film with Valentin Riedl. Fabian Driehorst produced, Frédéric Schuld directed - a combination that has proven its worth since Fabian&Fred was founded in 2012.

The two studied "Directors" together at the art academy in Cologne and worked together for the first time during their studies on the film "Der Schrottmann". "Up until then, I had tried out a lot, from art installations to documentaries. My university project "Der Schrottmann" was a mix of live action and animated film. I got Fred on board for the animation part - and somehow it worked very well," says Driehorst and laughs. Over the years, he had to acquire his knowledge in the field of production as an autodidact, as there was no corresponding programme on offer at the Cologne University of the Arts.

The two founded their company in Düsseldorf in 2012. However, it wasn't until two years later that they decided that animated film would become their hobbyhorse with the film "Däwit", which the still young company realised with Director and former fellow student David Jansen. The 2D film about a boy who grows up among wolves was painstakingly animated by Jansen and his wife for around a year - and ended up in the Berlinale programme. "That was of course a great success for us. Maike Mia Höhne from the Hamburg Short Film Festival, who was the artistic director of Berlinale Shorts at the time and viewed the film, was a great help. After the film, I knew that I wanted to stay in animation," says Driehorst.

In 2015, "Däwit" screened at festivals around the world and laid the foundation for Fabian&Fred. In the same year, the company relocated to Hamburg and directly dedicated itself to a major co-production between Germany, France and Spain with "À La Dérive". Around 40 people worked on the short film, much of the post production of which took place in Hamburg. The animation studio went through a steep learning curve and was rewarded with numerous festival participations in the end. The team in Hamburg now consists of five employees and can realise everything from the story of a film to the design and animation in its studio on Elbstrasse.

What can animated film actually do that a live-action film can't? "I think animated films can make topics more accessible and convey them across generations. You can see that very well in the big cinema productions like 'Alles steht Kopf' or 'Oben'. Or with smaller films like our 'À La Dérive'," says Driehorst. The short film tells the story of a father who suffers from depression and literally disappears further and further. It is told from the perspective of his son. An animated work that has been shown at many children's and youth festivals. Even though the majority of Fabian&Fred's films are aimed at an adult audience, there are currently more productions planned for a younger audience. Together with Hamburg-based Script Writer Esther Kaufmann, Frédéric Schuld is currently working on his animated feature film debut "Alias Geheimnis", which the team plans to submit to the "Der Besondere Kinderfilm" initiative next year.

With "Vanja's World", a children's series by Director Marita Mayer is also in development, which deals with the topic of non-binary gender identity in a creative way. Not necessarily for children, but already in production is the film "Nissan Micra K11" by Rebecca Blöcher, which, with a mix of documentary and animated film, is somewhat reminiscent of Carlotta's Face on the technical side, but takes a completely different approach in terms of content. In this very personal film, Blöcher follows her mother, who lived in her small car for over ten years. So there's a lot going on at Fabian&Fred at the moment. "We produce a wide range of animated films and are not committed to any particular animation technique. In the end, it all comes down to a well-told story," reveals Driehorst.

Most recently, this spectrum could be admired on the big screen at the Locarno Film Festival, where the two short films "Steakhouse" and "Night" celebrated their premiere in the "Pardi di Domani" competition. Steakhouse by Špela Čadež was created using analogue claymation techniques at the animation table, just like in the good old Disney days, and deals with the topic of domestic violence. It received an honourable mention from the independent jury at the festival. The film "Night" by filmmaker Ahmed Saleh was elaborately produced by him and his two brothers using puppets and stop motion and follows a mother searching for her child in an undefined war zone. Both films resonate for a long time. Both films show what animated short films can do.