19th Spotlight Festival: Young shine

The decision for the state capital was the right one - in year one after the Stuttgart premiere, this was once again demonstrated by the extremely positive outcome of the 19th Spotlight Festival for Moving Image Communication. With the Literaturhaus as host for the Spotlight Forum lecture program and the Staatsgalerie for the big audience vote and award show, the festival organizers had once again found two great locations. As in 2015, Lord Mayor Fritz Kuhn welcomed the Spotlight audience in person. The festival had arrived where it belonged - in Stuttgart. Now there is a media triad consisting of the International Festival of Animated Film, FMX and Spotlight. He was very pleased about this. Then the SWR3 cult presenters Zeus & Wirbitzky took over. The combination of the well-presented morning show duo and a very impressive 2015/16 competition made for a stimulating Saturday evening in the "appropriately" creative ambience of the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart.

Individual responses to social insecurity

The last year has changed us and our society dramatically. The advertising industry is confronting these political and social upheavals in the only appropriate way: with differentiated messages. There are the odd escapist ad, but the focus is predominantly on values, emphasizing empathy, humanity and cohesion within families and society. Beyond pure entertainment, there were a number of contributions that will resonate. This highest art of advertising left particularly clear traces in the 2016 Spotlight competition. Significantly, the expert jury and the audience were more in agreement than ever. The emotional impact of these commercials, which are now also highly successful in viral terms, resonates with amateurs and professionals alike. Representative of this line is "#heimkommen" for Edeka, in which a grandfather fakes his death in order to gather the family around the Christmas table (Werbewoche.ch reported), or the animated work "The Letter for Otto", in which the grandchild's wish list reaches grandpa late, but all the more effectively - both were rewarded with Gold Awards.

"Two student films are particularly noteworthy this year, which are so good that they would have won even if they had been submitted by professionals. The jury has therefore not only awarded them gold, but also a special prize," says Anne-Friederike Heinrich, editor-in-chief of Werbewoche and member of the expert jury. The two outstanding student commercials confidently evoke deep emotions. In the overwhelming landscape of the Scottish Highlands, a man bids farewell to his dead brother ("Dear Brother", Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Werbewoche.ch reported). "Moonjourney" by the Munich University of Television and Film transforms the flight of a Syrian father and his daughter to Europe into a gripping, energy-sapping journey to the moon. The jury honored this exceptional quality with gold and a spontaneously created special prize.

The competition - audience vs. professionals

The day before, the high-ranking jury of experts selected the winners of the 2015/2016 advertising year. On Saturday evening, it was the public's turn: the advertising enthusiasts in the packed Staatsgalerie event hall voted live and digitally for their favorites at the big award show. A unique constellation within the international creative competitions - because only Spotlight enables a direct comparison between the votes of the end consumers and the industry players.

The two sections Spotlight Professionals, the main competition for professional spots, and the young talent competition Spotlight Students are divided into the categories TV & Cinema, Trailer/Teaser/Trenner and Web & Mobile. Inspired by the partnership with the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, since last year there has also been an Animated Com category for commercials that focus on animation and animation techniques. This time, the cooperation has been intensified - and there are already new plans. Ulrich Wegenast, Artistic Director of the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, comments: "Next year, we want to interlink the areas of moving image communication and animation even more closely and create a unique event format for the creative scene." And Dittmar Lumpp, Commercial Director of the ITFS, adds: "In cooperation with the Spotlight Festival, we can also draw the advertising industry's attention to the potential of animation in communication".

The insider's perspective: Presentations in the Spotlight Forum

What motivates personalities in moving image communication? Top German creatives answered these questions in the well-attended Spotlight Forum lecture series. Under the motto Backstage - a look behind the scenes, they spoke about current topics and trends in the film and advertising industry. Viktor Vahl (Digital CD Heimat, Berlin), Andreas Pauli (CCO Leo Burnett, Frankfurt / Leo's Thjnk Tank, Munich), Holger Oehrlich (Head of Advertising Germany at Kaufland), Helmut Hartl (owner of Embassy of Dreams Filmproduktion, Munich) and Rafael Zabala (sculptor and animation artist, Psyop Animation, USA) provided information and took part in discussions.

You can find all the results of this year's Spotlight Awards here here.