Aria Wolf represents a new generation of artists who move effortlessly between animation, gaming, and immersive storytelling. Born in 1996, she studied Transmedia Games Directing at the Animation Institute of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, one of Europe’s leading schools for cinematic innovation, and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Audiovisual Media from Media University Stuttgart. Her work is characterized by a fluid interplay of narrative, interactivity, and atmosphere, often blurring the boundaries between cinema, games, and installation.
Wolf has already developed a diverse portfolio. In 2021 she directed YASEMIN, a short film created for a domestic violence prevention project in cooperation with the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. The same year, she completed ROSA, a documentary focusing on deeply human stories told with sensitivity and care. In 2022 she created Sanguine, an atmospheric game experience that demonstrated her ability to shape entire worlds rather than just stories, inviting audiences to step into spaces of mood and reflection.
Her award-winning project, Lichtung, takes this practice to new dimensions. Conceived as a VR animation, the work places the viewer at the center of an unfamiliar yet strangely peaceful world. At first, the environment lies dormant—silent, still, almost waiting. As the viewer begins to explore, the world responds: light flickers, textures shift, and hidden elements reveal themselves. The piece becomes a dialogue between environment and audience, a meditative exploration of perception itself.
Lichtung was recently selected for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, one of the most important platforms for animation worldwide, confirming Wolf’s place on the international stage. Its recognition with the Best Animation Film award at the festival underscores the growing role of VR and immersive technologies in reshaping the language of animation.
Through Lichtung, Wolf demonstrates that animation today is no longer bound to the flat screen. It is a space—alive, reactive, and transformative—where narrative and environment converge. The work challenges us to rethink animation not only as a storytelling tool but as an experiential landscape, one that exists in relation to the curiosity and presence of its audience.
