BEST OF CICAF 2012

The 7th China International Cartoon and Animation Festival was held successfully in Hangzhou from April 28 to May 3rd, 2010. The six-day event, staged at the Leisure Expo Garden, the main venue of the 7th CICAF, and eight side venues, came in four major categories – exhibitions, forums, competitions and side activities – and incorporated over 40 programs. The festival was attended by 365 enterprises from 47 countries and regions. Preliminary statistics show a total of 1,610,000 people participated in various kinds of activities during the festival. Participating companies signed contracts for about 200 projects that involved a total of 8.3 billion yuan. The festival achieved a total transaction value of 2.3 billion yuan. The total capital value involved topped 10.6 billion yuan.

To achieve the goal of making CICAF “an cartoon and animation festival and a carnival for all people” and further upgrade the level of ‘specialization, globalization, industrialization and branding’, the 2010 CICAF focused on innovation, efficiency, service quality and building a truly international reputation, and proved itself a great success in accomplishing these goals.

The total exhibition area for this year’s cartoon and animation industrial expo reached about 70,000 sq.m. The total number of exhibition booths was 1,491. The expo saw participation from the cartoon channel of CCTV, the most influential satellite cartoon channel in China, Guangdong Alpha Animation and Culture Co., Ltd., the country’s first cartoon and animation company listed in the stock market and the country’s largest toy manufacturer, DREAMWORKS ANIMATION, the world’s most powerful animation producer, SHUEISHA, the world’s largest cartoon publisher, and the team behind AVATAR, the highest grossing movie of all time at the worldwide box office last year. The AVATAR team brought over 300 derivative products from America. All the items were sold out within the first three days of the festival. One of the buyers at the venue placed an order for a sculpture worth RMB 49,000 on the first day of the exhibition.

The year of 2010 was the first time prerequisites were set for the submission of animations for participation in the festival’s animation fair. A total of 150 animations, including new works submitted by Chinese companies and their international counterparts and some works recommended by the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV were singled out for consideration by participating buyers which included over 80% of the children’s TV channels in China, all major film companies in China and 12 foreign purchasers. A total of 10,062 episodes of animations, with the total running time reaching 132,745 minutes, were included in preliminary purchasing negotiations, accounting for 77.3% of the total cartoon and animation output in 2009. About 40.7% of the 150 works were purchased by foreign buyers, which indicates a major breakthrough has been achieved by the fair and that CICAF has successfully built itself a platform for all cartoon and animation companies in China to compete in the international market.

A total of 243 projects participated in this year’s ‘project cooperation symposium’ which saw the contract-signing of 134 projects. The total contracted capital value involved reached about seven billion yuan, up 91% from last year. Major projects involved include China Aerospace Animation Museum, a project involving 0.6 billion yuan in capital investment by Pro&High, Anren Cartoon Amusement Park in Chengdu involving 0.3 billion yuan in capital investment, and a cartoon and animation industrial innovation base co-invested by Zhongnan Cartoon and an American company.

Two days were devoted to the 2010 Cartoon and Animation Recruitment Fair. The fair was attended by 120 companies, up 150% from 2009. Over 1,000 openings were preliminarily offered to job-seekers, up 43% from last year.

‘Theme Day’ activities featured corporations. The four highlights were DREAMWORKS Animation Day, Zhongnan Cartoon Day, Pro&High Day and Fangkuai Animation Day. CICAF is also an ideal platform for cartoon and animation companies and organizations to promote themselves. News briefing of over 20 companies, including CCTV Animation, Beijing Glorious Animation, Zhejiang TV, Fanfannet, and Dongfang Guolong, a Hangzhou-based animation company were held during the festival to release the latest news, promote company image and seek opportunities of idea exchange and cooperation with partners.

This year’s Originality Bazaar sessions drew famous artists representing about 100 teams from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen and Chengdu, and accomplished a total transaction value topping one million yuan. Over 210,000 people visited the venues.

The 7th CICAF also witnessed the debut of the Hand-shaking Wine Party designed specially for cartoon and animation companies from all over the world to get to know with each other and cultivate friendship and cooperation opportunities. The party was attended by 262 entrepreneurs from 237 prestigious companies from China and other countries.

To provide more conveniences for the public to participate in the activities, free bus service from 21 bus routes was open in downtown Hangzhou and Xiaoshan, offering 8,693 runs in total and handling 436,800 passengers during the festival

Over 600 professional performers and about 400 policemen contributed to the grandeur of the opening ceremony of the 7th CICAF. The extravaganza was viewed by about 40,000 people who shared the night with about 20 stars coming from all over the world to perform on the stage. All these numbers set new records in the history of CICAF. The 7th CICAF kicked off in the sumptuous grandeur of the party.

The 13 sessions of this year’s Summit Forum brought a galaxy of masters together. All tickets for AVATAR Master’s Session, sold at RMB 500 for each, were sold out. Many fans had to stand outside of the venue throughout the session. The International Animated Film Summit Forum, held in Yuhang, even drew such prestigious movie directors as Hark Tsui (Xu Ke, from Hong Kong), Huang Jianxin and Gao Xixi. Dialogue and Cultural Interview, two hallmark CCTV programs, came to Hangzhou to make their 6th CICAF special features. The representatives also joined others at the forum to discuss the current development of the cartoon and animation industry of China and its future trends.

This year’s Hangzhou Summit was attended by representatives from 16 prestigious cartoon and animation festivals representing 15 countries. The representatives unveiled the International Cartoon and Animation Festival Club in Hangzhou, marking an international cartoon and animation league is in the making to further integrate all resources in the industry of cartoon and animation.

‘Monkey King Award’ drew submission of about 1,000 works from 10 countries and regions. This year was also the first time people could vote online for their favorites. The click rate of the voting topped 350,000 people/times.

About 10,000 performers representing over 1,000 professional troupes from China’s mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, America, Italy, Japan, South Korea participated in this year’s COSPLAY Super Show which was held in 13 cities (four more than last year) across the country and drew a turnout of at least 10,000 visitors. The contestants showed a higher professional level than previous years. The performances went beyond costumes show to incorporate more theatrical elements.

Over 800,000 people visited this year’s float parades. The 13 elaborately decorated floats performed twice a day and finished 20 sessions in total during the festival.

About 5,000 people participated in the 11 autographing sessions during this year’s festival. The organizer had to arrange an encore for the ‘Xia Da session’, designed specially for Xia Da, the ambassador of the 7th CICAF, to satisfy the needs of her fans. The autograph signing session of Cai Zhizhong, a famous cartoonist from Taiwan, lasted for more than four hours.

Te Wei Animations in Retrospect & The Best Animations Screening was held at Lumiere Cinema, Leisure Expo Garden, Phoenix International and Zhejiang Art Gallery. The 40 sessions drew a total of 50,000 visitors. Entry was free.

‘Heaven Eyes’ Children’s Drawing Competition saw submission of about 30,000 works from 35 countries and regions. A total of 28,349 works representing 243 schools were sent to the ‘Future Stars of Animation’, sponsored by WASU. During the public voting session, at least 250,000 households in Hangzhou submitted 1,353,200 votes via Hangzhou Digital TV for their favorites.

The 13 ‘Water Stage’ shows held at the Leisure Expo Garden attracted 95,000 people/times. One of the highlights was the performances from Taiwan puppet show artists, leaving no standing room each time.

Magic Wonderland, the country’s first animation theatrical drama, was staged five times at Hangzhou Grand Theatre, drawing over 7,000 viewers and receiving overwhelming recognition from experts from all over the world.

The year of 2010 was the first time eight side venues were added to offer unique features to the festival. Leisure Expo Garden remained the main venue of the 7th CICAF. A total of 830,000 people visited these venues for the activities held there.

The foundation-laying ceremony of the China Cartoon and Animation Museum was held at White Horse Lake, located in Binjiang District, offering visitors a chance to get a feel of the scale and structure of cartoon and animation industry. One of the highlights was the ‘Company Sessions’ which showcased the strengths of several key enterprises specializing in cartoon and animation. Other activities held at White Horse Lake included a children’s cartoon graffiti campaign, Interstellar Car-racing Competition and Zhejiang Car Model Invitation Competition.

North Zhongshan Road was the most visited side venue during the festival, drawing a total of 600,000 people participating in all kinds of activities such as the cartoon float parade, artists and cartoonists’ autographing sessions, body painting shows, street fashion shows, COSPLAY shows and Innovation in Trunks. Located in downtown Hangzhou, the street was turned to a Chinese version of Akihabara and a window for the whole world to see the city’s reputation as a ‘capital of cartoon and animation’.

Targeting professionals, Yuhang Liangzhu featured major art exhibitions and forums such as a caricature show by Hua Junwu, one of the most prominent cartoonists from Zhejiang Province, and an international animated film summit forum that was attended by Greg Broadmore, the art director of District 9 and King Kong. The forum was also attended by such prominent movie directors as Hark Tsui (Xu Ke), Huang Jianxin and Gao Xixi. The total intentioned contracted value reached at the events held at the venue reached 50 million yuan.

Featuring a combination of specialization and popularity, activities at Phoenix International included a series of events targeting professionals such as the 2010 CICAF Hangzhou Summit, the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Cartoon and Animation Club, and various others such as a Boston Ivy Ornaments Exhibition and a Taiwan Paper-cutting, Porcelain Wares and Locomotives Exhibition.

This year saw the first time an international college students animation SEIYU Competition was held at Zhejiang University of Media and Communications, one of the side venues of the festival. The goal was to promote the dubbing industry in cartoon and animation production. The competition was attended by about 800 contestants from 189 teams representing over 50 schools across the country. The number of spectators topped 2,000.

“Fantasy World”, visited by about 6,000 people, featured 3D technologies that made world-famous paintings come to life. The exhibitions were not only a feast to the eye but also a showcase of ‘high-tech animation’.

The highlight of Polar Marine Park was a variety of activities designed for both parents and children to take part in, including cartoon fairytale dramas and body animation shows, all creating a homey and romantic atmosphere for the 21,000 participants. Ticket sale at the venue topped 4.8 million yuan.

The main feature of Huanglong Sports Center as a side venue of the festival is the fusion of ‘the speed of cars’ with the fast-growing cartoon and animation industry of China. The outdoor performances at the venue drew a turnout of 50,000 people.

The 7th CICAF proved itself a prominent state-level platform for holding exhibitions, conducting idea exchanges and transactions of the cartoon and animation industry of China. The festival effectively integrated the information resource, capital resource and human resource of the cartoon and animation industry, and made substantial progress in realizing the goals of more ‘globalization, specialization, industrialization and branding’. CICAF is becoming a significant brand name in the cultural exhibition industries of China and is regarded by all people, especially youngsters an important cultural event. CICAF has become a driving force behind the development of the cartoon and animation industry of China.