UNDERDOGS

Format: Proof of Concept for a 2D Animated Sitcom

Duration: 11 minutes

Troubled shelter dogs meet in the weekly support group Underdogs to try and find their place in the world. Pitbull Pia is left at the shelter. Bruno the leader shows her around and introduces her to group. Pia struggles with accepting her new place. During her first group session she harms Bruno and learns what’s at stake if she won’t work on her aggressive behavior. Bruno survives and at the end of the day Pia makes a first step towards accepting her new home. The short film is also a proof of concept for the TV show we want to produce after our studies. Each episode will portray a different dog with their unique struggle while also following Pia’s story line.

Underdogs Instagram

The Team

Meet the graduates behind UNDERDOGS!

Director

KARLA RIEBARTSCH

After completing an internship in motion design and a classical drawing course at the Animation Workshop in Denmark, Karla Riebartsch began studying animation with a focus on directing at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in 2019. During her mobility year, she completed an internship at the animation studio Fabian&Fred.

Producer

LIUBOV POPOVA

Liubov Popova is an animation and social media producer with a lot of energy, a deep curiosity about people, and a love for experiments in visual language and storytelling.

Creator, Screenwriter

LION DURST

Lion is born 1994 near Stuttgart. After an apprenticeship and following years of technical work in the film industry he starts studying screenwriting at Filmacademy in 2019. Short films written by him get multiple awards at international film festivals.

Animation Lead

GINA STEPHAN

Gina animates what's hard to put into words. The Berlin director and character animator – with a BA in Film & Motion Design and now finished studies at the FABW – works mainly frame-by-frame to bring characters and shapes to life with an eye for subtle and abstract storytelling.

Animation Lead

KATHARINA ERNERT

I am a passionate 2D Animator, born in 2000 in Halle, Germany. I’ve always loved to draw, so I attended an art-focused high school and subsequently studied Multimedia|VR-Design in Halle for two years. In 2021, I began my studies in Character Animation at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.

Art Director

ANNA BREITLING-STENNER

Anna Breitling-Stenner is an illustrator and concept artist. Before studying at the Film Academy, she studied illustration in Münster. In 2023, she published her first children's book for the ‘Ella & Ben’ series. Since childhood, she has had a deep love for visually told stories.

Compositing Lead

HAIYANG LIU

Haiyang Liu, born 1995 in Lübeck, specializes in 3D lighting and lookdev at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg’s Animationinstitut. With a background in graphic design and architectural visualization, she brings a strong visual foundation to her work in VFX and 3D, while also exploring 2D compositing.