A Glimpse into Chinese Animation Today – Feinaki Beijing Animation Week Selection
Kratek vpogled v sodobno kitajsko animacijo - Izbor s Pekinškega tedna animacije Feinaki
Friday, 26. 9. 2025 at 10.30 / Vetrinj mansion, big hall
Petek, 26. 9. 2025 ob 10.30 / Vetrinjski dvor, velika dvorana
Programme curated by Zhu Yantong (Festival Director of Feinaki) and introduced by Chen Xi (Beijing Film Academy; Screening Programmer at Feinaki)
Program je kurirala Zhu Yantong (direktorica festivala Feinaki), predstavil pa ga bo Chen Xi (Pekinška filmska akademija; programski selektor festivala Feinaki)
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Chinese animation is known for its profound history and rich expressive techniques. In the last century, the renowned Shanghai Animation Film Studio has achieved remarkable achievements that have amazed the world. Today, a new generation of Chinese animation filmmakers has emerged on the world stage as new voices. While most have an international perspective and educational background, not only absorbing nutrients from traditional Chinese culture, they also acquire influences from different countries, and their works demonstrate a high degree of experimentation and artistry.
The Feinaki Beijing Animation Week is an international animation festival dedicated to encouraging animation creation. Founded in 2019 by a small group of Chinese animation filmmakers, including myself (Yantong ZHU), Shilei WEI, Xi CHEN, Chen CHEN and others, it has now reached its seventh edition as a window through which Chinese audiences explore cutting-edge global animation. Serving as a bridge between Chinese and international animation communities, Feinaki is also committed to promoting Chinese filmmakers' works worldwide.
For StopTrik IFF's audience, I curated this program featuring six works: Return by Chinese filmmaker Lindong CHEN, who innovatively employs crystal clay in stop-motion animation while fully utilizing the material's properties. Burger Order brings together six Chinese animators offering their humorous interpretations of the same absurd theme, reflecting contemporary lifestyle's various impacts on people. Both Braided and Sliver Cave are award-winning films from Feinaki Beijing Animation Week. Chenxi ZHANG's Braided uses mixed materials to show her emotions towards her mother and her complex thoughts about female identity, while Silver Cave represents Caibei CAI's highly experimental inquiry into relationships between viewer/viewed and observer/creator, created through frame-by-frame engravings on tin foil. Ship Down the Well is a collaborative work by Feinaki curatorial team members Xi CHEN and Xiaolin ZHOU, also part of Shanghai Animation Film Studio's recent short film series Yao-Chinese Folktales. This masterpiece employs handmade paper-cutting techniques to narrate a mysterious legend through a child's perspective. Lastly, My Milk Cup Cow is my own film created during my study in Japan, adapted from childhood memories with my father. These works range from experimental exploration to strong narrative focus. I hope audiences will enjoy them and gain insight into current concerns and contemplations of Chinese animation filmmakers.
Yantong Zhu (Co-founder and Festival Director of Feinaki Beijing Animation Week)
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Chen Xi is an animation filmmaker and comics writer. He currently lectures at the Beijing Film Academy. His animation works have been selected by renowned animation festivals and won numerous awards; he has been invited to France, Japan and Canada for art residency programs; his animation films retrospective were held in Japan, France and Russia. His films include the series of animated short films Solar Terms, Yao: Ship down the well, etc. He is one of the founders of Feinaki Animation Week.
Yantong Zhu, b. 1988, China. Co-founder & Festival Director of Feinaki Beijing Animation Week (since 2019). She studied animation and got a master's degree at Tokyo University of the Arts. Her film My Milk Cup Cow (2014) received numerous prizes worldwide, including the Grand Prix at KROK and the Young Animation Award at Stuttgart. She also served as the executive producer of the film To the Bright Side (2021), which received the Grand Prize for feature films at the New York International Children's Film Festival. She has been serving as a visiting lecturer for the Experimental Animation Course at the Communication University of China since 2020.
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Feinaki, Beijing, China
14. – 17. 11. 2025
2.
Burger Order / Dian yige hanbao (点一个汉堡) / Naročilo burgerja
Yiyang Sun, Haomin Peng, Sijia Luo, Zhengqiang Pan, Zhiheng Wang, Water
2024, Japan, Estonia, China, 21'19''
3.
My Milk Cup Cow / Beizili de xiao niu (杯子里的小牛) / Moja kravica iz skodelice za mleko
Yantong Zhu (Tokyo University of the Arts)
2014, Japan, 11'03''
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Silver Cave / Yin mu (银幕) / Votlina
Caibei Cai (Dongyu Culture Media)
2022, China, 14'24''
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Ship Down the Well / Xiaoman (小满) / Ladja na dnu vodnjaka
Xi Chen, Xiaolin Zhou (Congrong Film, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Shanghai Kuanyu Digital Technology)
2023, China, 14'29''
