The 13th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF)—Game-based Animated Films Exhibition, jointly guided by the BJIFF Organizing Committee, the Beijing State-owned Cultural Assets Management Center, and the Publicity Department of Beijing Huairou District Committee of the Communist Party of China, hosted by the Huairou District Cultural Industry Development Promotion Center and Beijing Chunjiangnuan Culture Communication Co., Ltd., and organized by the Beijing E-Sports Industry Development Association, will be held in Huairou District from April 25 to May 3, 2023.

　　Poster of the 2023 Game-based Animated Films Exhibition

Themed “Springtime, Game Time”, this year’s Game-based Animated Films Exhibition blends seamlessly with the new landscape of beautiful and bright spring days and the prosperity of both the film and gaming industries. Built upon the success of previous editions, it will offer more varieties of activities, with more emphasis on the long-term integration and development of the film and gaming industries. Apart from the invitation of representatives of the Tiantan Award jury to act as awards presenters, we will announce a strategic partnership between the BJIFF Game-based Animated Films Exhibition and the “Beijing E-sports”. The two sides will launch long-term cooperation and maximize the long-tail effect of the industry festival and exhibition to build an everlasting film festival.

We have an amazing portfolio of activities lined up for the Game-based Animated Films Exhibition section at the 13th BJIFF, composed of seven major sectors including the Animation Forum, E-sports Celebration for Filmmakers, Red Carpet, Closing Ceremony, Closing Reception, E-sports Carnival, and Screenings.

Schedule for Activities of the Game-based Animated Films Exhibition

Specifically, the Animation Forum will be held in at the Beijing Yanqi Lake International Convention & Exhibition Center (BYCC), Huairou District on April 25. Cai Bo, the producer of the animation work Goose Mountain, will moderate the forum, joined by several professionals and company leaders, including Chen Liaoyu, the director in chief of Yao-Chinese Folktales, Weng Ming, the production designer of Deep Sea, Hu Rui, the director of Goose Mountain, Yang Zhigang, the director of Dahufa, and Cheng Liang, the director in chief at Dangdang Animation. They will sit together to explore the aesthetic system of Chinese local animation works around the profound topic of “aesthetic exploration and innovation of Chinese animation”, and to find directions and paths suitable for the rise of home-grown cartoons, making them more competitive in the international market and step onto a broader stage.

On the morning of April 29, the E-Sports Celebration for Filmmakers will officially kick off. It comprises two parts: the Film Company Tournament, which anticipates a participation of several outstanding film company teams; and the Star Tournament, during which the Game-based Animated Films Exhibition Ambassador Lou Yixiao as well as a number of new generation artists such as Youth Ambassadors Yu Yan, Yao Bonan, Hu Chunyang, Zha Jie, and Jin Zihan will be invited to work with the four professional players of Team WE, an Honor of Kings team from Qujiang, Xi’an, on site to bring an appealing and fun e-sports feast.

The high-profile, star-studded red carpet will come hot on the heels of the intense competitions. The Game-based Animated Films Exhibition co-initiators Joe Chen, the section ambassador Lou Yixiao, as well as youth ambassadors Yu Yan and Yao Bonan and other artists and film company teams will hit the red carpet to communicate with the media and the audience in person.

You should never miss the closing ceremony, which is no less a priority of the section, on the evening of April 29. Four of the Tiantan Award jury members will appear as the representatives of the BJIFF jury to present awards to those teams notching up a strong performance in the E-Sports Celebration competition, together with stars including the co-initiators Qi Xi and Joe Chen and the ambassador Lou Yixiao. Singer Fan Qing and the up-and-coming boy group Project C will put on exciting performances at the scene of the event. On top of that, the BJIFF Organizing Committee will sign with the Beijing State-owned Cultural Assets Management Center on a strategic cooperation agreement between the BJIFF Game-based Animated Films Exhibition and the “Beijing E-Sports”. At the same time, two launching ceremonies will be held for the Beijing E-Sports 2023 City Challenge and the Beijing Colleges’ E-Sports Super League.

Following the exciting ceremony, the guests will be invited to attend a closing reception, where a grand palm print ceremony is going to run, and the guests press their hands to signify the fulfillment of their pact with the film event.

This year, the Game-based Animated Films Exhibition also features a popular Screenings section, selecting three anime movies Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Lupin the 3rd vs Cats Eye to form the screenings series. This is intended to create an atmosphere that films benefit people through the showings in cinemas.

There is also a galaxy of other entertaining activities waiting for you during the May Day holiday. Co-locating with the Film Carnival, the Game-based Animated Films Exhibition will host a 3-day “e-sports for all” activity, E-sports Carnival, at the Flower Sea of the Film Town, Yangsong Town, Huairou District, where the visitors can not only experience various arcades, consoles, and other e-sports games. In addition, they can register on site to participate in the Honor of Kings challenge to get meaningful derivatives of the BJIFF.

As the pioneering, diversified main sector of the BJIFF “Film+” and part and parcel of the in-depth integration with the BJIFF Film Carnival held in Huairou District, the Game-based Animated Films Exhibition seeks to be international, gathering high-quality animation resources and offering a platform for Chinese and foreign animation practitioners and the gaming, film and television industries for exchange, cooperation, innovation, and development. In the meantime, we encourage all people to partake in the Screenings, E-sports Carnival, and other activities, enriching their spiritual and cultural life, to fully experience the joy and emotions brought by e-sports games and animation works, and to share the pan-entertainment achievements thanks to the integration and development of games, animation, and movies.

Since it was newly added to the 10th BJIFF three years ago, the Game-based Animated Films Exhibition has been devoting itself to developing into a cultural feast with both professionalism and public interest that features the crossover integration between the cultural and entertainment industries. Look ahead, it will continue to play the role as a platform to fully demonstrate the unique charm emanated by the integration of games, animation, and movies, providing new possibilities to boost connected development between industries.

The 13th BJIFF—Game-based Animated Films Exhibition is, more than a fantastic linkage between animation, game, and film, a beautiful prelude to the integration, outside the charmed circle, and synergistic development of the cultural industry. Immersive in the rich and wonderful theme content, as well as in the misty flower sea in the Film Town, Huairou District, let’s look forward to this event together!