China's booming animation industry inspires Russian filmmakers

Russian animators are drawing inspiration from the booming success of Chinese animated films, which have captivated both domestic and global audiences with their unique blend of cultural storytelling and cutting-edge production techniques.

In recent years, China's animation film industry has been producing a series of masterpieces, attracting a great number of domestic and international fans. The industry impressed the world again with the remarkable box office performance of the phenomenal work "Ne Zha 2", which has recently become the highest-grossing animated film of all time, globally.

Moscow's SMF Animation Studio has been closely tracking the groundbreaking accomplishments of its Chinese counterparts, seeking to learn from their innovative approaches and successes.

"China's animation industry posts significant growth annually, with about 10,000 minutes of animation being produced each month. For any developed market, this is a record number," said Yuliana Slashcheva, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Russian film studio.

According to Slashcheva, the phenomenal success of "Ne Zha 2", a film rooted in ancient Chinese mythology, demonstrates the vast market potential of content that draws upon traditional cultural heritage, which resonates with audiences worldwide.

"The animation movie has strong ethnic characteristics. It tells the story in an ethnic way and it also has strong ethnic style. You can tell it from both the appearances of the characters and the storytelling," she said.

The impressive box office performance of "Ne Zha 2", boosted in part by its stunning visual effects, has led Slashcheva to conclude that technological advancements will play a crucial role in the future of animation production.

"In terms of self-developed technology, Chinese animation industry goes further than us in the field of artificial intelligence," she said.

"It (Ne Zha 2) has enchanting storytelling, rich aesthetics, values that fit with most of the audience and high-quality visual effects. High-quality animation always needs high integration of art and technology, and this is what our Chinese colleagues showed to us," Slashcheva added.

With Chinese animation poised to make a significant impact on the global market, Slashcheva expressed optimism about its international prospects. The SMF Animation Studio has formed a partnership with Chinese filmmakers and a TV channel under the China Media Group (CMG) will broadcast its animated series "Umka", marking a key collaboration between the two nations.

"Animation has cultural influence. China's sport culture is as developed as that of Russia, and we attach great importance to this point. Of course, 'Umka' tells the story about remote northern minorities. They live in harsh natural conditions, overcome difficulties, and also hold kind nature," she said.

China's booming animation industry inspires Russian filmmakers

Crowds of Tehran residents have been rallying every night since the outbreak of the war with the United States and Israel to voice support and show solidarity with their country during the wartime.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that a second round of talks between the United States and Iran would be held. However, Iran's Tasnim news agency said Sunday that Iran currently has no decision to send a negotiating delegation for peace talks with the United States as long as the U.S. "anti-Iran" naval blockade remains in place.

In a community in western Tehran, local residents were seen gathering at a rally site to voice support for the country.

Volunteers also participated in the gathering to offer practical help for those in need, providing food and medical services for free.

"We have been here every night for the past 40 days. There are many different booths. My field is psychology, and I work with children, so I offer help within my expertise. Whenever other assistance is needed, we cooperate. We've here since the very first beginning when the war occurred some 40 days ago, and when people started to rally on streets. The gatherings were pretty small at first. Gradually, more and more people came, and the activities became more diverse," said an instructor in psychology.

Seyed Mohammad Dehghi Mousavizadeh, a medical student at the Shahid Beheshti University, said he and his classmates would come to those rallies to provide medical help after the war broke out.

"Students are part of the people. We are here providing medical assistance, serving tea, and distributing food, as students involve in events of various fields. People from all walks of life are participating. Every night, people come to the streets and pray. They pray for the negotiators and for those on the frontlines. But the legitimate demands we want the U.S. to respond to are the people's rights, [including] the right to freedom, the right to peace, the right for a cancer patient to get medicine, the right to be free from sanctions, to have a good economy, and to see inflation go down. It is for these rights that the people have stood up," said Seyed.

"Today is my first day here. We are just doing what we feel we should do. We don't care what others (the U.S.) do. We are just doing our own thing spontaneously," said a volunteer.

Tehran residents rally to show support, solidarity in wartime