When Fantoche first launched back in 1995, it announced itself as the “new arrival in the Swiss festival landscape, a sapling in the shadow of Zurich’s cultural hothouse.” The founders of Fantoche, Otto Alder, Frank Braun, Suzanne Buchan and Peter Hossli, were inspired by a sense of idealism, by an absolute love of animation, as well as by the desire to open up this “realm of boundless opportunities” to Switzerland.
Its in-depth exploration of individual themes, aspects or styles in classical animation are just as much part of Fantoche as insights into the animated film production process and the desire to cross borders into related areas, such as games, art, media, industry and entertainment.