Bats & Bugs

Nachtschwärmer

Generation Kplus 2026

Deep in the jungle, life is following its usual course. But then a streetlamp is lit in the night and the insects go crazy. Countless numbers of them are magically drawn to the light and fall into a strange trance. Their activity awakens a family of bats. While the adult bats use the bright spectacle for hunting, a little bat pup rescues a firefly, a fly and a moth. The next evening, the streetlamp lights up again and the little bat does everything it can to protect the insects from the spell of the dangerous light. When it injures itself in the process, the insects are immediately at its side to help. What luck!

Trailer/Film Excerpt

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by Lena von Döhren (Director, Screenplay) Switzerland 2026 Without dialogue 11' Colour World premiere | Animation recommendation: 5 years and up

Crew

Director	Lena von Döhren
Screenplay	Lena von Döhren
Editing	Fee Liechti
Music	Martin Waespe
Sound Design	Thomas Gassmann
Production Design	Eva Rust
Animation	Lena von Döhren, Nils Hedinger, Simon Eltz
Character Design	Lena von Döhren
Producers	Sarah Born, Rajko Jazbec
Co-Producer	Lena von Döhren

Produced by

Catpics AG

Zürich, Switzerland

World Sales

MAGNETFILM

Berlin, Germany

Photos

Lena von Döhren

Born in 1981 in Berlin, Germany. After finishing school, she spent two years travelling the world before studying audiovisual communication in Amsterdam and animation at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Her graduation film, Der kleine Vogel und das Blatt, premiered in the 2012 Berlinale Generation section, as did her three following films about the little bird and, most recently, Tümpel (co-directed with Eva Rust). Her imaginative, poetic films for children also delight adults and have won over 30 international awards including the Goldener Spatz from the eponymous children’s media festival in Germany.

Filmography

2012 Der kleine Vogel und das Blatt (The Little Bird and the Leaf); short animation, Berlinale 2012 2014 Der kleine Vogel und das Eichhörnchen (The Little Bird and the Squirrel); short animation, Berlinale 2015 2017 Der kleine Vogel und die Raupe (The Little Bird and the Caterpillar); short animation, Berlinale 2017 2020 Der kleine Vogel und die Bienen (The Little Bird and the Bees); short animation, Berlinale 2020 2023 Tümpel (Pond); short animation, co-directed by Eva Rust, Berlinale 2023 2026 Nachtschwärmer (Bats & Bugs); short animation, Berlinale 2026

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026