Puppet

What Puppet does

Fantoche is a Swiss non-profit association (Verein) that organizes an annual international animation film festival in Baden, Switzerland. Founded in 1995, the festival is now in its 24th edition, scheduled for September 1-6, 2026. The core product is a one-week program of curated short animated film screenings organized into three competitions — the International Competition, the Swiss Competition (launched 2009), and the Kids Film Competition (ages 4-7 and 8-12) — together with the Swiss Animation Industry Award (SAIA), an Industry Day for animation professionals, and a Game Pop-up for emerging game developers. In 2024 Fantoche secured Oscar® Qualifying Festival status, allowing Best Film winners in the International Competition to be eligible for Academy Award nomination.

The festival is operated by a core team of 1-10 staff based at Bruggerstrasse 37, 5400 Baden, supplemented by a substantial volunteer program covering cinema, communication, info desk, shop, workshops, and logistics. Film submissions are processed through FilmFreeway, and the organization distributes content via its website, native iOS and Android apps, an archive dating to 2003, social media (Instagram, Facebook, Vimeo, YouTube, Twitter), and the Kurzfilmnacht touring circuit run with Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur.

Fantoche is funded through a hybrid of public and private sources: ticket and festival pass sales to general audiences, annual membership fees and corporate sponsorships, and public cultural funding from Kanton Aargau, Stadt Baden, the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (BAK), and SRG SSR. The organization is governed by an executive board chaired by Alain Burger, with Ivana Kvesić as Festival Director and Mischa Haberthuer as Deputy Festival Director. It is recognized as one of 15 cultural landmarks (kulturelles Aushängeschilder) of Kanton Aargau under the Kulturkanton Aargau initiative.

Name

Puppet

Legal name

Verein Fantoche, Internationales Festival für Animationsfilm, Baden

Website

https://fantoche.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fantoche is a Swiss non-profit association running an annual international animation film festival in Baden, Switzerland, featuring three competitions, the SAIA industry award, and Industry Day for animation professionals, families, and filmmakers; it has held Oscar-qualifying status since 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Animation Film Festival

NAICS

Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries (713)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture, Entertainment & Fan Conventions Organizers (THAHABAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Local Community & Multi-Category Fairs (MPAGAFAO)

Keywords

• Animation film festival
• Short film competitions
• Cultural festival events
• Animation industry awards
• Film screening programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Baden

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Festival passes and individual screening tickets sold to general public attending the festival in Baden, Switzerland
2. Membership/Sponsor Fees: Annual membership fees from supporters and sponsor partnerships with cultural institutions, businesses, and public bodies
3. Public Funding: Government cultural funding from Kanton Aargau, Stadt Baden, and national cultural bodies including Swiss Federal Office of Culture (BAK) and SRG SSR

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Fantoche is an international animation film festival held annually in Baden, Switzerland, presenting curated competitions in animated short films across three categories (International, Swiss, and Kids), the Swiss Animation Industry Award (SAIA), and the Industry Day professional program. The festival also operates the Game Pop-up platform for emerging game developers and runs the supporting website, mobile applications, archive, and ticketing infrastructure that together deliver the festival experience.

Product overview

Fantoche is an International Animation Film Festival held annually in Baden, Switzerland. The offering consists of the core festival event featuring three main competitions (International Competition, Swiss Competition, and Kids Film Competition), the Swiss Animation Industry Award (SAIA), and Industry Day professional events. The festival also organizes a Game Pop-up for emerging developers, maintains an archive of past editions, and operates a volunteer program. The 24th edition is scheduled for September 1-6, 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fantoche International Animation Film Festival Annual international animation film festival held in Baden, Switzerland, presenting curated competitions for animated short films (International, Swiss, and Kids), award ceremonies, and public screenings for general audiences, filmmakers, and families.
• Industry Day Professional event featuring industry discussions, networking, and the SAIA award ceremony, serving commissioned animation producers, studios, advertising agencies, and animation industry stakeholders.
• Swiss Animation Industry Award (SAIA)

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Swiss Film AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 2018, Fantoche and the Swiss Film Association jointly present the Swiss Animation Industry Award (SAIA), showcasing the best commissioned animated works in Switzerland. The winning film receives nomination for the prestigious .Edi Award.
• Zauberlaterne (La Lanterne Magique)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose collaboration with the film club for children 'Zauberlaterne' (Magic Lantern) for the Kids Film Competition. Zauberlaterne members form the children's jury, supervised by Fantoche and Zauberlaterne staff.
• Flying Film FestivalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEvery two years, the Flying Film Festival curators award the Flying Anidoc Award to the best animated documentary from all three Fantoche competitions. The winning film is included in the Flying Film Festival selection, organized in collaboration with SWISS.
• SUISSIMAGE / SSAcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAward donors for the 'Best Swiss' prize in the Swiss Competition. SUISSIMAGE and SSA are Swiss collective copyright societies for audiovisual works.
• NIFFF (Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival) & XPPenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint award donors for 'Fantastic Swiss' prize, recognizing the best Swiss film representing fantastic worlds or shifting everyday perception.
• Grand Casino BadenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAward donor for 'High Risk' prize in the International Competition, recognizing visionary originality and uncompromising exploration of animation art.
• Kaufmann Turmkrane AGminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAward donor for the 'Young Audience Award' in the Kids Film Competition, given by young viewers to their favorite film.
• SRG SSRcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAward donor for the 'Swiss Audience Award' in the Swiss Competition. SRG SSR is the Swiss public broadcasting company.
• Kanton AargaucoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCantonal government partner and cultural funding body. Fantoche is recognized as one of the cultural landmarks ('kulturelles Aushängeschild') of Kanton Aargau, part of the 'Kulturkanton Aargau' initiative with 14 other cultural institutions.
• Swiss Federal Office of Culture (BAK)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerFederal government cultural funding body providing support for Fantoche as a national cultural event.
• Stadt BadencoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCity of Baden as the host city, providing local support and venue infrastructure for the festival.
• SWISS (Swiss International Air Lines)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAviation partner for the Flying Film Festival collaboration, supporting travel for the Flying Anidoc Award winners.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sundance Film Festival: Major US film festival with a small but distinct animation programming strand. Not a direct animation-focused competitor, but comparable as a high-prestige festival brand with industry programming, sponsorship ecosystems, and audience scale dwarfing Fantoche.

Direct peers

• Ottawa International Animation Festival: North America's leading animation film festival, held annually in Ottawa, Canada. Comparable to Fantoche in competition structure, industry programming, and Oscar-qualifying status, though serving a different regional market.
• Annecy International Animation Film Festival: The world's premier animation film festival, held annually in Annecy, France. Directly comparable to Fantoche as a competitive international animation film festival with industry programs, but with significantly greater scale, longer history (1960+), and broader global recognition.
• Animateka International Animated Film Festival: Annual international animation festival in Ljubljana, Slovenia, focused on short and student animation. Directly comparable to Fantoche as a curated European animation festival with education and industry programming, though smaller in scale.
• Hiroshima International Animation Festival: Biennial international animation festival in Hiroshima, Japan. Comparable to Fantoche as a curated international animation competition with curated retrospectives and industry events, though biennial cadence and Asian market focus differ.
• Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films (Animafest): Long-running (since 1972) international animation film festival in Croatia. Directly comparable to Fantoche as a curated international animation competition with student, short, and feature categories, and Oscar-qualifying status.
• Vienna Shorts International Short Film Festival: Austrian short film festival with international animation programming. Comparable to Fantoche as a curated short film festival in the DACH region with industry events and Oscar-qualifying status.
• Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur: Swiss short film festival in Winterthur that co-presents the Kurzfilmnacht Tour with Fantoche. Directly comparable as a domestic Swiss short film festival partner/competitor with overlapping audience and programming.
• London International Animation Festival (LIAF): Annual animation film festival in London showcasing international shorts, features, and retrospectives. Comparable to Fantoche in competition structure and target audience of animation enthusiasts and industry.
• Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (FMX / ITFS): Major German animation festival combining the International Trickfilm Festival Stuttgart (ITFS) with FMX (Film & Media Exchange). Comparable to Fantoche for industry networking, commissioned-content focus, and a strong Animation/Business overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fantoche_baden
• YouTubeyoutube.com/fantocheanimation
• Facebookfacebook.com/fantoche.ch
• Instagraminstagram.com/fantoche_festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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