“A Flowing Feast”: A Sneak Peek at the Animated Films Section of the15th Beijing International Film Festival

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The Animated Films Section of the 15th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) will grandly open on April 19 at the Wukesong Wanda Plaza in Beijing! Anchored in innovation and heritage, this section convenes leading figures and esteemed experts from the domestic animation, film and television, cultural tourism, and technology sectors. It will focus on cutting-edge industry trends, deepen industrial integration, and infuse the animation, film and television, and cultural tourism industries with new vitality.

This animated films section initiates a series of discussions, titled “A Flowing Feast”, spanning film and television, animation, games, and cultural tourism. Through these discussions, we will delve into the animated films section of the BJIFF and trace the “Beijing on Screen” Top Ten Check-in Routes, observing the festival's animated and cinematic highlights from various perspectives. This echoes the themes of two featured events: “Fantasy Anime in Spring” and “Across Mountains and Seas with Cinema”. Following these routes, we will visit filming locations throughout Beijing, allowing audiences to experience a seamless transition between the physical space of the city and the cinematic realms depicted on screen, achieving a sense of being “in Beijing, yet within the film”.

From Ne Zha 2 topping the global box office charts for a single market, ranking fifth globally with over 15.4 billion yuan in revenue, to the domestic AAA game Black Myth: Wukong surpassing 30 million copies in global sales, the synergy between traditional Chinese culture and modern technology is unleashing unprecedented potential. These phenomenal works not only showcase the rise of domestic animation and games, but also reveal that the essence of Chinese traditional culture is constantly undergoing creative transformation, displaying the profound cultural heritage and Eastern aesthetics of Chinese civilization.

A still from the animated film Ne Zha 2

With policy support, exceptional animation works are emerging in abundance. The Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau is promoting the creation of premium content under the “Grand Audiovisual Beijing” initiative. This endeavor will showcase the interim achievements of the Several Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Beijing's Animation Industry (“Thirty Articles” on Animation). Furthermore, it will launch the “Seed” program for young animation talent incubation, gather the innovative strengths of multiple universities in Beijing, and release a series of IP creation calls, focusing on building a collaborative innovation system integrating industry, academia, and research. These initiatives will center on empowering the industry through industrial standard construction and youth talent cultivation. Additionally, the Animated Films Section will feature animation film releases and other captivating content, soon to be unveiled.

The “Beijing on Screen” Top Ten Check-in Routes are released. The Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau grandly launches a “Beijing on Screen” check-in route map, covering over 40 popular films and television dramas such as The Age of Awakening, The Pioneer, The Rose's Tale, The Hutong Cowboy, and Where Dreams Begin. This route map connects dozens of film and television IP landmarks, including Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, Peking University Red Building, Sanlitun, Liangma River, and the Bird's Nest, fully demonstrating the diversity and richness of Beijing's film and television industry. It invites people to tour Beijing's film and television shooting locations, promoting the deep integration of film and television IP transformation with cultural tourism.

Keynote speeches by seasoned industry leaders share cutting-edge achievements and explore industry trends. This themed session on animated films will bring together prominent figures from the China Animation Association, Beijing Film Academy, China Film AI Research Institute, Beijing ShengShu Technology, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, and iQIYI, among other organizations, to deliver keynote speeches. They will collectively discuss the integration and transformation of animation and film & television, technological empowerment, and the revitalization of traditional aesthetics.

　Ne Zha 2 poster

A still from Black Myth: Wukong

The burgeoning success of domestic animation and games in recent years owes much to the deep integration of technological breakthroughs and artistic expression, particularly the swift iteration and innovation of artificial intelligence. Relying on high-end technology and AI motion capture technology, Ne Zha 2 masterfully recreates the classic “uproar in the sea” scene from traditional mythology with cutting-edge technology and AI motion capture, depicting majestic, historically rich underwater architectural complexes that offer a unique visual experience. The film, with its increasing proportion of special effects shots, delicately presents iconic elements such as the dragon-locking ring, the Tianyuan cauldron, the underwater Dragon Palace, and the coiled dragon ice hammer, constructing a visual spectacle that blends Eastern aesthetics with futuristic sensibilities. The domestic game Black Myth: Wukong, leveraging Unreal Engine technology, meticulously recreates scenes like the Flower-Fruit Mountain and Leiyin Temple from the Journey to the West with high-precision modeling, incorporating the digital application of traditional Chinese architectural mortise-and-tenon structures to create an immersive Eastern fantasy world that has captivated global audiences. Beyond significant box office and sales figures, both Ne Zha 2 and Black Myth: Wukong have demonstrated substantial transformative and driving capabilities, with Ne Zha 2 revitalizing cinemas, co-branded products, and Black Myth: Wukong spurring cultural tourism in regions such as Shanxi and Chongqing.

Film-Game Convergence Studies Series

Peking University unveils significant achievements, exploring the integration of industry, academia, and research to foster brand transformation. Chen Xuguang, Professor at the Peking University School of Arts and a Distinguished Professor of the “Chang Jiang Scholars Program” of the Ministry of Education, presides over the release of key accomplishments, including the outstanding research findings of the 2024 National Social Science Fund of Art Major Project, the Film-Game Convergence Studies supported by the 2024 National Publication Fund, and the 2024-2025 China Film and Tourism Industry Research Report. This series of studies pioneers a systematic construction of a “Film + Animation + Game + Cultural Tourism” four-in-one cross-media narrative theoretical framework. Through a digital humanities perspective, it deconstructs the diverse transformative pathways of cultural IP, providing scholarly support and developmental insights for the convergence of animation, film, and the cultural tourism industry.

The creative transformation of outstanding traditional Chinese culture in film, animation, and games promotes mutual understanding between Chinese and Western civilizations. The rise of domestic animation and games is essentially a manifestation of cultural confidence and a practical endeavor in telling the “China Story” effectively. The global box office success of Ne Zha 2 and the enthusiastic reception of Black Myth: Wukong in Western markets further corroborate the notion that “the more national, the more global”. Behind this resonance lies the creative teams' profound exploration of traditional culture and its international expression. Ne Zha 2 incorporates elements of the Sanxingdui culture and ancient Chinese architecture into its scene design, while the Sichuan dialect used by the character Taiyi Zhenren adds humor and relatability. Black Myth: Wukong, on the other hand, constructs a unique Eastern aesthetic by drawing upon the classic architectural styles of ancient buildings in Shanxi and Chongqing, along with Taoist philosophical connotations. These details not only strengthen cultural identity, but also allow overseas audiences to appreciate the profundity and dynamism, the breadth and inclusiveness of Chinese civilization, leaving them deeply impressed.

Poster of the animated film Ne Zha 2

Construct a cultural ecosystem via industry synergy and cross-border collaboration. The success of domestic cultural products is also inseparable from the collaborative innovation of the industrial chain. The Animation and Film Session of the 15th Beijing International Film Festival, with “Fantasy Anime in Spring” and “Across Mountains and Seas with Cinema” as its two featured themed events, gathers leading figures in the industry to share cutting-edge achievements in animation and film. With unique insights and observations, they discuss relevant topics in industry, academia, and research, and deeply explores the human proposition of “technology and art”.