Cartoon and animation festival celebrates success in Hangzhou

The 20th China International Cartoon and Animation Festival concluded in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Sunday. This year's event drew 2,156 enterprises and organizations from 52 countries and regions, along with 3,072 professional attendees.

The festival showcased over 147,000 domestic and international animation works, captivating more than 9 million participants both online and offline. A total of 233,000 visitors participated in activities at the main and secondary venues, resulting in on-site transactions and intended contracts valued at 1.28 billion yuan ($177 million).

Themed around "The Golden Age of Chinese Animation", the festival exuded cultural confidence with a range of exhibitions, including showcases on the 20 years of Chinese animation and integrity culture animation. The Golden Monkey King Awards honored 34 exceptional original animation works from 88 finalists, with standout pieces like Chang An and The Story of Dunhuang clinching various accolades.

This year's festival actively promoted industrial integration and cultural consumption, fostering high-quality development in the animation industry. The main venue welcomed prominent animation and gaming enterprises like CCTV Animation, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Bilibili, Youku Animation, Zoland, and Xuanji Technology.

At the International Animation and Gaming Business Conference, key works and IPs were highlighted through 1,649 one-on-one meetings, leading to cooperation agreements with 135 enterprises and organizations, with anticipated deals totaling 1 billion yuan. The Golden Monkey King Awards' cross-industry cooperation matchmaking event attracted 30 finalists and 28 potential partners, resulting in the initiation of 15 collaborative projects.

Leveraging Hangzhou's pioneering role in the digital economy, the festival showcased cutting-edge advancements and innovative explorations in AI-powered animation industry development. Notable highlights included a cyber pet mechanical dog, a holographic cabin animation photo studio, AI image recognition and cloud computing art, and an immersive dimension transformation live broadcast room.

Through forums like the International Animation and Gaming Business Conference and the China Youth Animation Film Week, representatives from leading internet companies and industry experts delved into the vast potential of AI-generated content for advancing the animation industry.

Emphasizing talent cultivation, the festival's various branded competitions attracted 160,300 participants. The China Youth Animator Growth Program identified promising young talents across the animation industry chain. Furthermore, an animation talent recruitment fair targeted at university students and other groups offered over 200 high-quality positions, nurturing talent incubation and development within the animation sector.

This year's festival made significant advancements in international exchange and cooperation, solidifying its reputation as a global event. Various competitions received over 20,000 original animation works from 28 countries and regions, expanding their global outreach. Concurrently, the Zagreb World Festival of Animated Film Poster Exhibition was held at the China Animation Museum in Hangzhou, further enriching the festival's international connections.