Chinese Animation's "Trip to France"
The Shanghai Animation Film Studio ("SAFS") was founded in April 1957 and was later renamed the Shanghai Animation Film Studio Co., Ltd. It was the first studio in China to specialize in the creation and production of animated films after the founding of the PRC. To date, SAFS has produced over 400 animated films, including many classic IP titles, which together constitute a pool of film resources that add up to over 40,000 minutes. These animations have also gradually helped to forge the unique style of Chinese animated films, making SAFS the most valuable animated film collection in China.
Today, China's animation industry has entered a period of rapid development. Against this backdrop, SAFS has been making full use of its own advantages to expand the market and develop the brand, growing gradually from a simple animation film studio to a comprehensive player in the film and TV industry, that runs an integrated business for animated film production and publishing, as well as copyright operations and marketing.
The Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France is the world's largest and most prestigious international animation festival. In 1985, China attended as a guest country for the first time, and four of its animations were screened, including China's first animated feature film Princess Iron Fan, its first animated colour widescreen film Nezha Stirs Up the Sea, and the Legend of the Sealed Book, adapted from the classic literary work Suppression of the Demons (or Ping Yao Zhuan). The debut of China at Annecy introduced the work of Chinese animators to their peers across the world.
2017 marked the 60th anniversary of SAFS, and China was once again invited to attend the festival as a guest country. This year, a special section was set aside for a retrospective showing the course of China's animated film development to the world. The section included 16 classics of various styles and forms produced by SAFS, such as A Deer of Nine Colours, The Cowboy's Flute, and Crossing Monkey Mountain. These are all masterpieces of aesthetics by the "Chinese school", which represent the remarkable achievements of the Chinese animated film industry over the past nine decades.
Picture: Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2017
Over the last 30 years, SAFS films have continued to be screened in France and other French-speaking regions, due to the indispensable efforts of one woman - Ms. Marie-Claire Kuo Quiquemelle. She first went to China in 1964 to learn Chinese. After watching Monkey Wreaks Havoc in Heaven, she became obsessed with Chinese animated films, and strongly believed that they could offer a pathway for outsiders to get to know Chinese culture, and understand the way of thinking and the aesthetic interests of the Chinese people. For many years, she worked tirelessly to introduce and promote Chinese films in France and other regions, especially the animated films produced by SAFS. It was with her help that SAFS was able to build ties with a number of overseas publishers, cinemas and producers, and develop their interest in Chinese animated films. Later, many brilliant animated short films were screened in French cinemas, including Fight of the Snipe and the Clam, Mantis Stalks the Cicada, The Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate, Monkey Fishing the Moon, The Straw Man, Feeling from Mountain and Water, The Deer's Bell, etc.
In today's world, cultural influence is an increasingly important symbol of a nation's soft power and overall strength. SAFS will continue to bring animated films with Chinese cultural characteristics to a global audience, turning film into a bridge for heart-to-heart communication with international friends.