In 2005, the 1st China International Cartoon & Animation Festival was held in Hangzhou.
That year, Borivoj Dovnikovic, Co-founder of International Animated Film Association (ASIFA) cited Hangzhou for being “the most beautiful city that harbors the most creative industry” during his participation.
Since then, the subsequent sessions of China International Cartoon & Animation Festival were all held in Hangzhou. On this basis, supported by the booming animation industry of China and this event as the platform, Hangzhou is striving to develop animation enterprises, hold animation events, and create the industrial environment, thus building itself into the “city of cartoon and animation”.
Where there is robust animation industry, there is Hangzhou
Hangzhou is honored as the cradle of Chinese animation. A group of well-known comic artists of the past generations, including Feng Zikai, Hua Junwu, Ye Qianyu, Zhang Leping, etc., has made their names nationwide with far-reaching influences from this city.
In 2003, some animation enterprises, represented by Zoland Animation, made establishments in Hangzhou, opening the new chapter of animation industry in this new era.
In 2005, 120,000 people had experienced the joyful atmosphere in the 1st China International Cartoon & Animation Festival. The numbers of participants have made breakthroughs year by year. The data shows that the fourteen sessions have attracted over 16.2 million people from more than 85 countries and regions around the world in total, which makes it a world-level animation event.
We hope that just like Nice to the Cannes Film Festival, people will think of the beautiful Hangzhou at the mere mention of China International Cartoon & Animation Festival.
Global reach of animation from Hangzhou
Over the past fifteen years, this Festival has organized enterprises in animation and game fields to involve in international exhibitions and global exchanges. They have presented MIPTV in Cannes (France), Annecy International Animation Film Festival (France), San Diego International Comic-Con (US), The Children's Media Conference (UK), Electronic Entertainment Expo/Exposition (US), Ottawa International Animation Festival (Canada), Kecskemet Animation Film Festival (Hungary) and other world-renown events in over 18 countries and regions in five Continents.
Represented by Zoland Animation, Electronic Soul Network, Versatile, Sparkly Key Animation Studio, TThunDer Animation, Fanfan Culture, Steam Works, and others, Hangzhou-originated enterprises are gradually tapping into the world markets. Their works have reached 93 countries and regions. Lots of enterprises have already set up branches abroad.
Not only the animation and works of Hangzhou, but also an increasing number of talents in this field are going global. The Hangzhou-made cartoons of Have a Nice Day and Valley of White Birds were nominated for the Academy Award. Besides, Liu Jian and Du Haibin, professors of China Academy of Art, have been accepted as the members of the Academy. Li Lian, Founder of Versatile, served as the Asian Animation Judge in the Mexico International Film Festival (FICG).
Impressive international atmosphere in Hangzhou
Enjoy the international animation in the beautiful Hangzhou.
China International Cartoon & Animation Festival has opened the door for Hangzhou to go global. Over the past fifteen years, the Walt Disney Company (US), British BBC, Média-Participations (France), and Shueisha (Japan) have all been exhibitors there.
The event has gathered luminaries in this industry, including Mark Randolph Osborne, Director of Kung Fu Panda, the creator team of Avatar, Weta Workshop from New Zealand, Angry Birds Studio from Finland, Yoshitaka Amano (Japanese cartoonist), Fujishima Kosuke (Japanese cartoonist), to share their insights.
According to statistics, since the 11th session held in 2015, Oscar-winning teams of the corresponding years have participated for five consecutive years.
Nelson Lowry from Laika Entertainment (US), a repeated winner of Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, Xu Chengyi, image designer of Shrek, another winner of this award, Andrew Millstein, producer of Zootopia (Oscar winner for Animated Feature Film), Lee Edward Unkrich, former Deputy Director of Pixar Animation Studios and Director of Coco (another Oscar winner for Animated Feature Film)
At this Festival, you will have face-to-face contacts with the top-end and cutting-edge animation from the world.
Bringing lusters to animation and gaining world reach
Animation is a world language beyond national boundaries.
Today, more and more fans around the world have the chances to participate in China International Cartoon & Animation Festival.
The International Animation & Game Business Conference attracts thousands of sellers and buyers around the world every year. Besides, Cannes TV Festival (China Station), held for two consecutive years, is another focus of the world attention.
China Cosplay Megatropolis and “Tian Yan” China International Youth and Children’s Cartoon Competition have already set up co-host areas abroad, and related works around the world can also involve themselves in the excellent work evaluation and analysis in this Festival.
The International Cartoon & Animation Festivals Hangzhou Summit has established contacts with more than 20 major exhibitions in the world, and they will gather in Hangzhou to discuss issues in this industry once every two years.
It is also noticeable that this Festival has been supported by more and more volunteers, which are believed to be the spontaneous promoters, including overseas students from Hangzhou, international friends in China, participants in this event, and even some Chinese supermarket owners in other countries.
Let’s bring lusters to this great event and enable China’s animation and cartoon to reach the world.
Wherever you are, please deliver your best wishes to the 15-year-old China International Cartoon & Animation Festival by clicking the following links and leaving your steps.
https://ssl.megamai.com/encicafh5/