For its 30th anniversary, FMX 2026 brought the global animation, VFX, and digital media community back to Stuttgart under the theme “The Road Ahead.” Between conversations around AI, packed technical presentations, and major production showcases, this milestone edition reflected an industry both questioning its future and actively shaping it.
This year, FMX celebrated thirty years of innovation, inspiration, and exchange within the creative industries. Since its launch by the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in 1994, the Stuttgart-based conference has become one of the leading international gatherings for animation, visual effects, and immersive media professionals.
Under the theme “The Road Ahead,” FMX 2026 invited artists, studios, technologists, and students to reflect on the future of storytelling and production in an industry undergoing profound transformation. Across three intense days onsite and a special day online and on campus, the event once again combined high-level conferences, technical workshops, networking opportunities, and creative discussions that extended far beyond the auditoriums.
Here are some highlights of the event :
An Industry Looking Forward
As highlighted by French industry media outlet 3DVF in its daily coverage of the event, this anniversary edition quickly established itself as a particularly symbolic and energetic FMX. From the opening day, conference rooms remained crowded as discussions focused heavily on the future of creative industries in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and technological disruption.
AI naturally became one of the dominant topics of the week. Across panels and presentations, artists and industry leaders explored how generative tools are already transforming workflows and production pipelines, while also raising important ethical and creative questions.
But FMX 2026 was not defined by technology alone. Many sessions also addressed broader changes impacting animation and VFX: evolving business models, international collaboration, education, and the need for studios to reposition themselves as long-term creative partners rather than purely service vendors.
Showcasing Craft and Collaboration
In their article dedicated to the second day of FMX, 3DVF highlighted that this year’s edition also gave even greater visibility to workshops and technical demonstrations. According to the media, SideFX emerged as one of the major drivers of the event with two entire days dedicated to Houdini presentations and FX workflows, reinforcing FMX’s role as both a creative and highly technical conference.
This year again, The Yard was very pleased to participate in these special Houdini sessions with Fabian Nowak, Head of FX and FX Supervision, offering a deep dive into the FX of three main sequences of Predator : Badlands. His presentation explored how atmospheric simulations and environmental effects helped shape the storytelling across key sequences from Yautja Prime to Genna.
We are also very proud that among the standout talks of the week, 3DVF picked The Predator from Yautja – Made in Europe, and mentioned it as one of the most attended presentations of the event. The session brought together Laurens Ehrmann, Founder and Creative Director at The Yard VFX, and Dominik Zimmerle, VFX Supervisor at TRIXTER, to discuss the studios’ collaboration on Predator: Badlands.
Together, both studios detailed the extensive asset sharing, look development, and artistic collaboration required to ensure visual continuity across the film’s ambitious sequences.
For The Yard, Predator: Badlands represented a particularly ambitious production. The studio delivered more than one hundred shots and developed thirty-four assets, including original creatures and environments created specifically for the project.
During the presentation, Laurens Ehrmann also emphasized the continued importance of human creativity during the concept art phase, noting how rapidly artists can understand and interpret a director’s creative intent—something that remains difficult to replicate with generative tools today.
Beyond the presentations themselves, FMX once again demonstrated why it remains one of the industry’s most valuable spaces for connection and exchange. Throughout the week, conversations continued between screenings, workshops, exhibition booths, and informal gatherings across Stuttgart, such as the great VES Germany luncheon that we were very happy to attend.
Thirty years after its creation, FMX continues to reflect the evolution of the creative industries while actively helping shape their future. This anniversary edition did not simply celebrate past achievements — it encouraged the industry to collectively imagine what comes next.
At The Yard VFX, we have left Stuttgart inspired by the conversations and proud of the projects we shared !