Speaking of “Cartoon & Animation”, what occurs to many people may be Tokyo in Japan. However, Hangzhou, an eastern Chinese city with a long history and beautiful scenery, is quietly emerging as another “capital of cartoon & animation”. From April 30 to May 5, the 15th China International Cartoon & Animation Festival will be held in Hangzhou, drawing the attention of the world’s Cartoon & Animation industry on Hangzhou, China, once again.
Within the 15 years after it was established in Hangzhou, the China International Cartoon & Animation Festival has developed into the largest and most popular and influential professional Cartoon & Animation event in the world. The last Cartoon & Animation Festival attracted a total of 1.4335 million participators to attend various activities.
This year, Disney from the US will take part in the China International Cartoon & Animation Festival with great works from the 80th anniversary of the world-famous Marvel and have a carnival with Chinese fans.
The international influence of the China International Cartoon & Animation Festival has been growing year by year. This year, Brazil has formed a team to participate in the exhibition for the first time, while Chile is also attracted to the event by its reputation. Including the famous Blizzard Entertainment and Sony Entertainment from the United States, Webtoon, South Korea’s largest comics platform, and cartoon and animation companies, organizations and guests from 86 countries and regions around the world are coming to Hangzhou to participate in the event, including exhibitions, conferences and contests.
Starting from the 11th China International Cartoon & Animation Festival in 2015, the team which has won that year’s Best Animated Feature Film of the Academy Awards would be invited to the Cartoon & Animation Summit Forum during the annual Festival. Pam MARSDEN, the Head of Production, Sony Pictures Animation that made “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, the Best Animated Feature Film of the 91th Academy Awards for this year, and Date Hayato, the director of the famous Japanese animation “Naruto”, will gather in Hangzhou and bring about new brainstorming.
The International Animation Game Business Conference at the Festival has attracted global leading toy manufacturers: the US toy company Mattel will bring famous toy brands, such as Barbie and the Fisher series; the Canadian toy giant Spin Master will bring children’s favorite “Paw Patrol” and other brands; famous IP’s home and abroad, such as “Peppa Pig”, will also be brought to the Conference. The International Animation Game Business Conference is becoming the best access for international buyers to enter China’s market.
Over the past 15 years, the China International Cartoon & Animation Festival has not only brought in excellent international cartoons & animations, but also organized and led animation game companies from Hangzhou to participate in international exhibitions and communications, implementing the export-oriented strategy for the Chinese culture.
Over the past 15 years, they have traveled to many world-renowned animation games exhibitions, such as TV Festival de Cannes and Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France, San Diego International Comic-Con in the United States and etc., leaving their footprints in more than 18 countries and regions in the world. Zoland Animation, one of the leading animation companies in Hangzhou, has exported their animation products to 93 countries and regions.
At this Cartoon & Animation Festival, the China Cosplay Super Show has set up 7 overseas divisions in France, Spain, Switzerland and other countries, while the competition rules have been unified for pairs for the first time to align with international rule. The Tianyan Cup International Children’s comics competition has attracted more than 43,000 works from over 40 countries and regions, and 6 overseas divisions have been set up in the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, etc.
“Nowadays, when speaking of international famous film festivals, what occurs to people is Cannes in France. We hope that one day, when people speak of international animation festivals, what occurs to them is the beautiful city of Hangzhou,” an official from the Organizing Committee of the China International Cartoon & Animation Festival said.
Source: The Organizing Committee of the China International Cartoon & Animation Festival
