Michael Frei

Film Awards

2025	Best Animated Film Nomination - Swiss Film Award, Switzerland
2024	Jury Special Mention - Animateka International Animated Film Festival, Slovenia
2024	Hokkaido Airport Terminal Award - New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival, Japan
2020	Best Animated Film Nomination - Swiss Film Award, Switzerland
2019	Camira Award - FIC Vià XIV, Verín, Spain
2019	Special Mention - Animateka, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2019	Prix du Jeune Public - Festival du Film Français de Jeju, South Korea
2019	Prix du Jury des jeunes - Festival Cinéma Jeune Public, Lausanne, Switzerland
2019	Best Professional Film - ReAnima Festival, Bergen, Norway
2019	Best Animation - interfilm Berlin 2019, Germany
2019	Best Animated Film - 14th Tacoma Film Festival, United States
2019	Best of Show - SIGGRAPH Asia 2019, Australia
2019	Best First Professional Film - KROK, Russia
2019	Corti in Cortile - Best Animated Short, Italy
2019	High Swiss Risk - Fantoche, Switzerland
2019	Special Distinction - ANIMANIMA, Čačak, Serbia
2019	Special Jury Prize - SESIFF, Seoul, South Korea
2019	Honorable Mention - 27th Curtas Vila do Conde IFF, Spain
2019	World Festival of Animated Film in Varna - Special Mention, Bulgaria
2019	Honorary Mention - Computer Animation, Prix Ars Electronica, Austria
2019	Honorable Mention - Florida Animation Festival, United States
2019	Golden Zagreb Award - Animafest Zagreb, Croatia
2019	Egyptian Animation Society's Award - 21st Ismailia International Film Festival, Egypt
2019	Best Animated Short - 21st Ismailia International Film Festival, Egypt
2015	Anima+ Award - FILE São Paulo, Brazil
2015	2nd Place Experimental Short Film - Chilemonos, Chile
2014	Grand Prix - PPAFF, Estonia
2014	Special Mention - Student Competition - Animafest Zagreb, Croatia
2014	Best Student Film - AniFilm, Czech Republic
2014	Golden Horseman Animated Film - Filmfest Dresden, Germany
2014	3ème prix - Silence, On Court !, France
2013	Best European Student Film - Animateka, Slovenia
2013	Best Student Film - Sommets du cinéma d’animation, China
2013	Special Mention - Animated Dreams, Estonia
2013	Best School Film - International Cinema Week Madrid, Spain
2013	Jury Special Prize - PISAF, South Korea
2013	Grand Prize - Cinanima, Portugal
2013	Grand Prize - Best International Award - 2Annas, Latvia
2013	Jury's Special Mention - Animatou, Switzerland
2013	Animage Best Direction Award - Animage, Brazil
2013	New Talent Award - Encounters, United Kingdom
2013	Best Swiss Award - Fantoche, Switzerland
2013	Anča Student Award - Fest Anča, Slovakia
2013	Judges' Choice - Melbourne International Animation Festival, Australia
2012	Jury's Special Mention - Animated Dreams Festival, Estonia
2012	Special Mention - AniFest, Czech Republic

Exhibitions

2025	13/02 - 08/06	Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2025	26/12 - 30/06	Changan Cloud-Future City Art Center, Xi'an, China
2024	16/03 - 17/03	Geidai Games, Tokyo, Japan
2023	17/02 - 23/07	Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich, Switzerland
2022	27/10 - 30/10	KIKK Festival, Galerie du Beffroi, Namur, Belgium
2022	21/09 - 26/09	Seoul Indie Ani-Fest, South Korea
2021	16/07 - 17/10	Macao International Art Biennale, Main Exhibition, Macau
2020	25/12 - 27/01	Shenzhen Bay STArts Festival, China
2020	02/10 - 11/10	Festival Maintenant, Electroni[k], Rennes, France
2020	23/01 - 29/01	Solothurner Filmtage, Futurelab, Switzerland
2019	22/11 - 30/11	Game On! 2019, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2019	26/09 - 28/09	Refresh, Digital Festival, Zürich, Switzerland
2019	14/09 - 19/12	21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
2019	17/08 - 18/08	Bit Bash at The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, United States
2019	05/09 - 15/09	Ars Electronica, Cyberarts, Linz, Austria
2019	23/05 - 25/05	3daysofdesign, Copenhagen, Denmark
2019	30/04 - 05/05	Flatpack Festival, Birmingham, United Kingdom
2019	01/03 - 04/04	Shed im Eisenwerk, Frauenfeld, Switzerland
2019	15/12 - 10/03	NTT InterCommunication Center ICC, Tokyo, Japan
2018	24/11 - 09/12	Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2018	05/09 - 09/09	Fantoche, Baden, Switzerland
2018	03/02 - 04/03	Museum of Digital Art, Zurich, Switzerland
2016	19/11 - 11/12	Kunstraum Kreuzlingen, Switzerland

Talks

2025	Pictoplasma Conference, Berlin, Germany
2025	ITFS Stuttgart, Germany
2024	Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland
2024	Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan
2024	Tokyo Polytechnic University, Japan
2022	ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2022	Slovenian Film Festival, Slovenia
2022	Seoul Indie Ani-Fest, South Korea
2022	ITFS, Germany
2022	NY Comics & Picture-story Symposium, United States
2021	Mecal, International Short Film Festival of Barcelona, Spain
2021	Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Switzerland
2020	School of the Art Institute of Chicago, United States
2020	Animatou Geneva, Switzerland
2020	Indie-AniFest Korea, South Korea
2019	Ars Electronica, Expanded Animation Symposium, Austria
2019	Animafest Zagreb, Croatia
2019	Game Days Trnava, Slovakia
2019	Vienna Independent Shorts, Austria
2019	FMX Stuttgart, Germany
2018	NTT InterCommunication Center Tokyo, Japan
2018	Animateka, Slovenia
2018	GLAS Animation Festival, United States
2018	Museum for Digital Art, Switzerland
2018	Ludicious, Switzerland
2017	Anifilm, Czech Republic
2017	New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival, Japan
2017	Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland
2017	The Animation Workshop Denmark, Denmark
2016	Fest Anca, Slovakia
2016	Art Academy of Latvia Riga, Latvia
2015	Tous Ecrans Geneva, Switzerland
2015	DOK-Leipzig Neuland, Germany
2015	Sense of Wonder Night at Tokyo Game Show, Japan
2015	Filmfestival Cannes, France
2014	Animatou Geneva, Switzerland
2014	Fantoche Baden, Switzerland

Film Screenings

2025	International Fantastic Short Film Festival, Court Métrange, Rennes, France
2025	Toshima Summer Art Festival, Tokyo, Japan
2025	International Animated Film Festival Animator, Poznan, Poland
2025	Fest Anča International Animation Festival, Slovakia
2025	Short Shorts Filmfestival & Asia, Japan
2025	Go Short International Short Film Festival Nijmegen, Netherlands
2025	37 Filmfest Dresden, Germany
2025	Kaboom Animation Festival, Netherlands
2025	Monstra Lisbon Animation Festival, Portugal
2025	Glasgow Short Film Festival, United Kingdom
2025	Vilnius International Film Festival, Kino Pavasaris, Lithuania
2025	Animac Lleida, Estonia
2025	60th Solothurn Film Festival, Switzerland
2024	Animateka International Animated Film Festival, Slovenia
2024	Black Nights Film Festival, PÖFF Shorts, Estonia
2024	Interfilm International Short Film Festival Berlin, Germany
2024	Piccolo Festival Dell'Animazione International Animated Film Festival, Italy
2024	Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Switzerland
2024	New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival, Japan
2024	Bitbang International Animation Film Festival, Argentina
2024	Uppsala Short Film Festival, Finland
2024	Bucheon International Animation Festival, South Korea
2024	Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada
2024	Fantoche International Animation Film Festival, Baden, Switzerland
2019	Corti in Cortile International Short Film Festival, Italy
2020	17th London Short Film Festival, United Kingdom
2019	69th Berlinale, Germany
2019	GLAS Animation Festival, United States
2019	Go Short Nijmegen, Netherlands
2019	31 Filmfest Dresden, Germany
2019	21st Ismailia Film Festival 2019, Egypt
2019	Hallucinations Collectives Festival, France
2019	Flatpack Festival Birmingham, United Kingdom
2019	Anifilm Třeboň, Czech Republic
2019	59th Krakow Film Festival, Poland
2019	Vienna Independent Shorts, Austria
2019	Cinema In Sneakers - International Film Festival for Children and Youth, Poland
2019	Kloosterkino, Netherlands
2019	Mo&Friese KinderKurzFilmFestival, Germany
2019	Animafest Zagreb, Croatia
2019	47th Huesca International Film Festival, Spain
2019	Oltre Lo Specchio Festival, Italy
2019	Olhar de Cinema – Curitiba Int’l Film Festival, Brazil
2019	Annecy International Animation Film Festival, France
2019	Florida Animation Festival, United States
2019	34th Valencia International Film Festival Cinema Jove - Short Film Competition, Spain
2019	Animator Poznan, Poland
2019	27th Curtas Vila do Conde IFF, Portugal
2019	31st Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland
2019	INSOMNIA Festival, Moscow, Russia
2019	15th Lago Film Fest, Italy
2019	Anima Mundi, Brazil
2019	DokuFest International Documentary and Short Film Festival, Kosovo, Kosovo
2019	Lviv International Short Film Festival Wiz-Art, Ukraine
2019	Turku Animated Film Festival, Finland
2019	Odense International Film Festival, Denmark
2019	SESIFF, Seoul international Extreme-Short Image & Film Festival, South Korea
2019	Fantoche International Animation Film Festival, Baden, Switzerland
2019	ANIMANIMA, Čačak, Serbia
2019	Ars Eletronica, Linz, Austria
2019	15th World Festival of Animated Film, Varna, Bulgaria
2019	CineFest Miskolc International Film Festival, Hungary
2019	IFF Message to Man, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
2019	Paris International Animation Film Festival, France
2019	DC Shorts International Film Festival, United States
2019	The International Animated Film Festival KROK, Russia
2019	Tirana International Film Festival, Albania
2019	Buster, Denmark
2019	13th Bali International Film Festival, Indonesia
2019	25th Encounters Film Festival, Bristol, United Kingdom
2019	Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada
2019	Festival Animario, Madrid, Spain
2019	Edmonton International Film Festival , Canada
2019	Balkanima, Belgrade, Serbia
2019	Orvieto Cinema Fest , Italy
2019	63rd BFI London Film Festival, United Kingdom
2019	Tacoma Film Festival, United States
2019	52nd SITGES IFFFC, Anima't Section, Spain
2019	Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival, Baltimore, United States
2019	Animest, Bucharest, Romania
2019	Animatou, Geneva, Switzerland
2019	16th Sedicicorto International Film Festival, Italy
2019	12th Heart of Gold International Film Festival, Gympie, Australia
2019	International Short Film Festival Brno 16, Czech Republic
2019	5th Thessaloniki Animation Festival, Greece
2019	Taichung International Animation Festival, Taiwan
2019	The International Short Film Festival of Cyprus, Limassol, Cyprus
2019	dokumentART, Neubrandenburg, Germany
2019	TOFUZI International Animated Film Festival, Georgia
2019	21st Wiesbaden International Festival of Animation, Germany
2019	Animaevka, Mogilev, Belarus
2019	Banjaluka 2019, Bosnia and Herzegovina
2019	38rd Uppsala International Short Film Festival, Serbia
2019	FILEM'ON, Brussels, Belgium
2019	Big Cartoon Festival, Moscow, Russia
2019	Cartoons Underground, Singapore, Singapore
2019	Primanima, Budapest, Hungary
2019	REX Animation Film Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
2019	New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival, Japan
2019	interfilm - 35th International Short Film Festival, Germany
2019	23rd Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Switzerland
2019	Aesthetica Short Film Festival, York, United Kingdom
2019	43rd Cinanima, Espinho, Portugal
2019	KABOOM Animation Festival, Netherlands
2019	ReAnima, Bergen, Norway
2019	Les Rencontres Cinessonne, France
2019	SIGGRAPH Asia, Brisbane, Australia
2019	PÖFF Shorts, Tallinn, Estonia
2019	Festival Cinéma Jeune Public, Lausanne, Switzerland
2019	9th edition of the Eindhoven Film Festival, Netherlands
2019	London International Animation Festival, United Kingdom
2019	Animateka, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2019	XIV ZUBROFFKA, Bialystok, Poland
2015	Cellu l’art Festival, Germany
2015	3rd Porny Days Film Art Festival, Switzerland
2015	24e Festival International Séquence Court-Métrage, Toulouse, France
2015	9th Digital Art Festival Taipei, Taiwan
2015	No Budget Film Fest, Los Angeles, United States
2015	La Nuit du Court, Lausanne, Switzerland
2015	Prix Ars Electronica, Austria
2015	International Tour Film Fest Rome, Italy
2015	Last Friday Shorts London, United Kingdom
2015	FILE São Paulo, Electronic Language International Festival, Brazil
2015	15th Korea Queer Film Festival, South Korea
2015	17th backup_Festival Weimar, Germany
2015	ANIMASIVO 8, Mexico
2015	22th Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film, Germany
2015	International Animation Festival Chilemonos, Chile
2015	25th Mediawave, Hungary
2015	Skepto International Film Festival, Italy
2015	25th European Beauvais Film Festival, France
2015	33rd International Film Festival of Uruguay, Uruguay
2015	10th Athens Animfest, Greece
2015	3rd International Motion Festival, Cyprus
2015	West Side Cinema, United Kingdom
2015	16. Landshuter Kurzfilmfestival, Germany
2015	Byron Bay International Film Festival, Australia
2015	Watersprite, Cambridge International Student Film Festival, United Kingdom
2015	FLEXfest Florida, United States
2015	Film Festival Cine Prive in Gent, Belgium
2014	16th Madurai International Documentary and Short Film Festival, India
2014	9th International Streaming Festival, Netherlands
2014	Couch Fest Films, United States
2014	The 24 hours of Nuremberg, Germany
2014	SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival, China
2014	18th International Student Film Festival CineMAiubit, Romania
2014	23th Euroshorts Film Festival, Poland
2014	Bienal de la Imagen en Movimiento, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2014	Sotto18 Film Festival Turin, Italy
2014	Breaking Ground EU Showcase Amsterdam, Netherlands
2014	16. Internationalen Jugend Medien Festival YOUKI, Austria
2014	14. Flensburger Kurzfilmtage, Germany
2014	27th New York Queer Experimental Film Festival, United States
2014	28th Braunschweig International Film Festival, Germany
2014	3rd Family Fiction Film Project, Italy
2014	18th Festival Ecran Libre, France
2014	12th The International Festival of Animated Arts "Multivision", Russia
2014	Animpact Korea, China, Japan, South Korea
2014	New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival, Japan
2014	Animae Caribe Animation and New Media Festival, Trinidad and Tobago
2014	6th Re Animania int'l Animation FF of Yerevan, Armenia
2014	BANJALUKA 2014 International Animated Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina
2014	33rd Uppsala International Short Film Festival, Serbia
2014	10th Festival de Animation Fida Chile, Chile
2014	Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival, Switzerland
2014	Priit Pärn Animated Film Festival, Estonia
2014	MIX Copenhagen | LGBT Film Festival, Denmark
2014	The International Animated Film Festival KROK, Russia
2014	Best Of Short Films Festival, France
2014	BUT Film Festival, Netherlands
2014	Hiroshima International Animation Festival, Japan
2014	10th InDPanda International Film Festival, China
2014	Shortorama, France
2014	Insomnia Film Festival, Russia
2014	KloosterKino, Netherlands
2014	9th Valencia International Film Festival Cinema Jove, Spain
2014	MIAF 4, Melbourne, Australia
2014	Isola Cinema Film Festival, Slovenia
2014	Animafest Zagreb, Croatia
2014	NW Animation Fest, United States
2014	AniFilm 05, Czech Republic
2014	29° TGLFF, Italy
2014	Les Rendez Vous du Hublot, Cinema Experimental Arts Numeriques, Nice, France
2014	Darklight Festival, Ireland
2014	Filmfest Dresden, Germany
2014	Silence, On Court !, France
2014	Festival cinéma du monde de Sherbrooke, China
2014	Go Short Nijmegen, Netherlands
2014	Fête de l'anim', France
2014	Monstra, Lisbon Animated Film Festival, Portugal
2014	16th Mecal International Short Film Festival, Barcelona, Spain
2014	ANIMA Brussels, Animated Night Competition, Belgium
2014	ANIMAC, Spain
2014	7th Glasgow Short Film Festival, United Kingdom
2014	49th Solothurn Film Festival, Switzerland
2013	Animazione Piccolo Festival dell'Animazione, Roggiuzzole, Italy
2013	18th Brazilian Student Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2013	Curtocircuito International Short Film Festival, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
2013	Animateka Ljubljana, Slovenia
2013	19th Leuven Kort, Belgium
2013	Animated Dreams, Estonia
2013	Sommets du cinéma d'animation, China
2013	14th ‘du grain à démoudre’ Film Festival, France
2013	AnimA 2013, Taipei, Taiwan
2013	Expotoons, Buenos Aires, Brazil
2013	KLIK Amsterdam Animation Festival, Netherlands
2013	Interfilm Festival Berlin, Germany
2013	Bradford Animation Festival, United Kingdom
2013	Cinanima International Animated Film Festival, Espinho, Portugal
2013	Puchon International Student Animation Festival PISAF, South Korea
2013	17th Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Switzerland
2013	Extreme Cinema Festival, Toulouse, France
2013	Big Cartoon Festival Moscow, Russia
2013	Curta Cinema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2013	2nd Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational, United States
2013	Les Utopiales, Nantes, France
2013	DOK Leipzig, Germany
2013	32nd Festival Cinéma Rouyn–Noranda, Canada
2013	London Int. Animation Festival, United Kingdom
2013	2nd PRIMANIMA World Festival of First Animations, Budapest, Hungary
2013	Chitrakatha’13, India
2013	Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS, Latvia
2013	Kaohsiung Film Festival, Taiwan
2013	15th International Weekend of Animation Wiesbaden, Germany
2013	Un Festival C'est Trop Court, Nice, France
2013	57th BFI London Film Festival, United Kingdom
2013	Animatou, Geneva, Switzerland
2013	8th Anim’est Bucharest, Romania
2013	Festival Balkanima, Belgrade, Serbia
2013	10th China International Animation Festival, Changzhou, China
2013	Queer Lisboa 17, Portugal
2013	Animage Festival, Pernambuco, Brazil
2013	Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada
2013	Encounters International Short Film Festival, United Kingdom
2013	9th Varna Festival of Animated Film, Sofia, Bulgaria
2013	L'Étrange Festival, Paris, France
2013	Milano Film Festival, Italy
2013	Fantoche, 11th International Animation Festival, Switzerland
2013	Illustrative Berlin, Germany
2013	Anibar International Animation Festival, Kosovo
2013	7ème Festival Cinéfil, Région Rhône Alpes, France
2013	Lago Film Fest, Italy
2013	PHI Centre Montreal, Prends ça court!, China
2013	6th Fest Anča, Slovakia
2013	Annecy International Animation Film Festival, France
2013	15th Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia Tokyo, Japan
2013	10th Vienna Independent Shorts, Animation Avantgarde, Austria
2013	53rd Krakow Film Festival, Poland
2013	Rooftop Films NY, United States
2013	12th Festival of Animated Films AniFest Teplice, Czech Republic
2013	16e Festival du court métrage de Bruxelles, Nuit du court, Belgium
2013	20th Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film, Germany
2013	Hallucinations Collectives Lyon, France
2013	Flatpack Festival Birmingham, United Kingdom
2013	Tabakalera San Sebastian, Spain
2013	Clermont–Ferrand Short Film Fest, France
2013	Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation, United States
2013	London Int. Animation Festival, United Kingdom
2013	Fabulous Fringe Film Festival, Canada
2013	Melbourne International Animation Festival, Australia
2013	Formentera Film Festival, Spain
2013	Roanne, 4e Festival international du court métrage d'animation, France
2013	Monstra Festival, Portugal
2013	33rd Fantasporto Oporto International Film Festival, Portugal
2012	Animateka Ljubljana, Slovenia
2012	Animpact Animation Festival Max, South Korea
2012	Animated Dreams Festival, Estonia
2012	interfilm Berlin, Germany
2012	Bradford Animation Festival, United Kingdom
2012	CoutOut Fest Mexico, Mexico
2012	DOK–Leipzig, Germany
2012	10th International Animated Film Festival Tindirindis, Lithuania
2012	Animatou, Switzerland
2012	Anim'est, Romania
2012	10th Fantoche, Switzerland
2012	International Animation Festival Hiroshima, Japan
2012	Lago Film Fest, Italy
2012	Annecy International Animation Film Festival, France
2012	52nd Krakow Film Festival, Poland
2012	AniFest, Czech Republic
2012	36 Schweizer Jugendfilmtage, Switzerland
2012	47th Solothurn Film Festival, Switzerland