🎬 THE ROAD AHEAD:

AI: Artist Intelligence
Kimball Thurston (CTO, Wētā FX) will explore some of the issues around AI, and how we are attempting to provide artist-centric tools that improve the ability to deliver movies. Beyond image generation, Kimball will also touch on how Wētā FX is attempting to solve pipeline issues appearing around provenance and version management to get precise artist control of images with the quality demanded by cinema.

📌 10:00 | ON CAMPUS: Animationsinstitut 💬 Exhibition

🎬 Diploma Showroom

You are cordially invited to visit us on the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg campus in Ludwigsburg for this year’s Diploma Showroom. At Animationsinstitut you will have the chance to meet the creators behind the diploma projects of 2026, learn first-hand how they’ve been made and, of course, watch all the films and trailers and play through the games of the Interactive Media department.

📌 10:00 | ONLINE 4 💬 Doug Trumbull

🎬 THEN & NOW:
Cinema of the Future

At FMX's 25th edition in 2021, the late VFX legend Doug Trumbull delivered a video presentation that perfectly summed up his historic contributions with his latest research in immersive film production and cinema exhibition. For FMX's 30th edition this year, we are bringing back this presentation for the ages by one of the true visionaries of the art and craft of visual effects and immersive filmmaking.

📌 11:15 | ON CAMPUS: Cinema Caligari 💬 Jacob Frey & Tyler McKim

🎬 INPUT TALKS:

Navigating Your Next Steps: Career Pathways in Animation
Looking to expand your understanding of career pathways and possibilities in the animation industry? Join Animator Jacob Frey as he shares his journey, animation insights, and the filmmaking process at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Talent Development Manager Tyler McKim will speak to early career opportunities and answer your questions about kick-starting your career through internships, trainee and apprenticeship programs.

📌 12:30 | ONLINE 1 💬 Olivier Emery & Quentin Martin

🎬 VFX FOR EPISODIC:

CG & VFX for Historical Episodics
Olivier Emery (Founder, CEO & VFX Producer, TRIMARAN VFX) and Quentin Martin (Executive Producer, TRIMARAN VFX) are experts in realistically reconstructing cities and villages of ancient civilizations: Giza, Karnak, and Pi Ramses in Egypt during the reign of the Pharaohs; Viking villages in Denmark; the Mayan cities of Mayapan and Tikal; the Inca cities of Cusco and Machu Picchu; the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan; and the Roman camp at the foot of the village of Alesia.

📌 12:30 | ON CAMPUS: Albrecht Ade Studio 💬 Panel Discussion

🎬 FRESH VISIONS:
Can animated content reach beyond the tween audience? Can talent earn a living from it?

For a long time, preschool and children's TV seemed to open career doors for animation talent and IP development. Considering budgetary restrictions, technical evolution and the growing demand for adult animation, this round sheds light on the rapidly changing market and the opportunities it presents to talent. With Eliza Plocieniak-Alvarez (Creative Producer & Director, Blaue Pampelmuse), Kai Schöttle (bigchild Entertainment), Mark Taynton (Founder and Chief Adult Animation Adventurer, Marky Sparky Media Ltd), & Simon Thummet (Scriptwriter).

📌 12:30 | ONLINE 2 💬 Ron Frankel

🎬 THE ROAD AHEAD:
Reimagining Visualization with Gaussian Splats

Proof CEO and founder Ron Frankel presents a detailed examination of the evolving role of Gaussian Splats in contemporary film production. Drawing on recent work from "Jurassic World: Rebirth", "The Lost Bus", and "Stranger Things Season 5", the session explores how this emerging technology is reshaping visualization, collaboration, and creative decision-making across the production lifecycle.

📌 15:45 | ONLINE 1 💬 Mathieu Dupuis

🎬 VFX FOR EPISODIC:
The Art of Absence: Crafting Invisible Worlds in Pluribus

In Vince Gilligan’s latest creation, Pluribus, atmosphere is everything, and much of it was built by removing the world itself. Mathieu Dupuis, DFX Supervisor at Rodeo FX on the series, explores how invisible VFX shaped the show’s haunting tone. Through detailed breakdowns, this talk explores how restraint, technical precision, and obsessive attention to detail can heighten realism and deepen narrative immersion.

📌 17:00 | ONLINE 2 💬 Cristos Obretenov & Erst Janssen Groesbeek

🎬 CINEMATOGRAPHY:
When Physics Paints: Cinematography of Stylized Film

What happens when illustrative watercolor hits an ocean surface? How do you mix stylized painterly reflections, inside a physically based scene? When you have physically based glass, how does it refract stylized linework? Cristos Obretenov (Owner / Shading Architect, Lollipop Shaders) and Ernst Janssen Groesbeek (Owner, 9to3 Animation) dive deeper with stylization integration inside a physically based path tracer, to give artists the creative freedom to deeply integrate stylization with physically based rendering. Tools used: Pixar's RenderMan Stylized Looks, Foundry Katana, Lollipop Shaders custom tools.

📌 17:00 | ONLINE 1 💬 Dave Cook

🎬 VFX FOR EPISODIC:
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

Creating 1930s VFX splendour for "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale" - from Piccadilly Circus to Ascot! Join CG Supervisor Dave Cook to explore how the BlueBolt team built and recreated the bustling environments for the film's iconic Piccadilly Circus opening sequence and the elegant crowds of Ascot, to help transport audiences into the world of Julian Fellowes' Downton Abbey for one last time!