The memory of "nodes": animation festival as structure and method

• Published in: International communication of Chinese culture Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. 313 - 334
• Main Authors: Chunning, Guo, Zhuofan, Yang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2025
• Subjects: Communication Studies; Social Sciences; Heterogeneity; Film festivals; Animation festivals; Rhizome theory; Nodes; Animated documentary
• DOI: 10.1007/s40636-025-00329-y
• ISSN: 2197-4233

After the turning of the millennium, film festival studies began to flourish. International scholars regarded film festivals as “nodes,” emphasizing their networked relationship with the film industry. Building on this scholarship, animation festival research emerged more recently, yet it offers deeper insights into media structures and discursive systems. Against the backdrop of the centenary of Chinese animation, this paper reflects the history of Chinese Animation Festivals and compare them to other international animation festivals that pursue heterogeneity (encompassing regional cultures and artistic value), outlines three types of domestic animation festivals: professional academic platforms, comprehensive animation expos, and independent animation weeks. Viewing the four major international animation festivals as strategic “nodes” established by the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA) during the Cold War, this paper re-examines the evolution of Chinese animation festivals with the aim of revitalizing the animation ecosystem. Taking the “Looking China·Youth Film Project” as a case study, it sheds light on cross-cultural communication and demonstrates the vitality and potential of short films in cross-media contexts. Through the re-archiving of “Looking China·Youth Film Project” which established since 2011, this paper hopes to explore the pioneering nature of European artistic experiments found in short films, re-examining animation festivals as a structure that forges new networks within the media environment and incubates creative works of “self-expression.” Furthermore, animation festivals can serve as methods: breaking through the barriers of visual mechanisms and uncovering animation capacity to “give life.” Especially within dynamic experimental spaces, festivals as experimental spaces expand the heterogeneity of images to inscribe memory and convey the anthropological significance of “writing culture.”