22nd Pictoplasma Festival: Open House – Character Market, Screenings, Exhibition & Workshop

To close its 22nd edition, Pictoplasma opens its doors on May 10 for the Sunday Open House. Under this year’s theme Character Stories, the focus is on characters as starting points for visual narratives – and on what they reveal about genres, media and possible futures. Since 1999, Pictoplasma has connected international positions across illustration, animation, art and design, shaping the discourse around contemporary characters.

Conference participants and local artists present their work at the lively Character Market – featuring original artworks, editions, toys, zines, merchandise and more. A parallel exhibition showcases works by this year’s featured artists. In the open workshop Faces Faces Faces, everyone is invited to collectively create new characters and modes of expression.

The animation programme is presented in full: 85 international short films across six curated programmes — ranging from narrative works and music videos to experimental and hybrid forms. The films reflect the breadth of contemporary animation: In Animation Is Not a Genre, characters subvert established genre conventions — from thriller and horror to science fiction and martial arts. Bonding & Coping centres on unconventional relationships and the dynamics that shape them. We Glitch So Easily brings together works exploring digital overload, queer narratives and absurd humour. The Meditation Hour moves between perception, memory and inner states. In Togetherness, poetic vignettes of longing for connection sit alongside sharp observations of fragile social dynamics. The famously and fabulously trippy Psychedelic Midnight Mix goes to the limits of narration and pushes expectations of form and storytelling.

Rated 16+, 12+ with parental guidance. A dedicated Kids screening is available without age restriction.

Sunday, May 10
Betonhalle, Kuppelhalle, Atelierhaus, Kino Arsenal
1–7 pm
Free entry, screenings 6 Euro / kids screening 3 Euro