A one million yuan (US$128,000) reward will be given to the best
domestic cartoon at the third China International Cartoon and
Animation Festival in Hangzhou from April 28 to May 5 this
year.
"The best domestic cartoon award is up 380,000 yuan from last
year and 13 other awards will be granted to works from both home
and abroad." the event's organizing committee announced on
Thursday.
The festival will also feature an international cartoon and
animation industry exposition, a forum on the cartoon and animation
industry and a cartoon character parade. The week-long festival has
been lumbered with the slogan "colorful cartoon, harmonious
life".
World famous cartoon producers from France, Japan, the United
States, Hong Kong and Croatia were invited to join the second China
International Cartoon and Animation Festival in Hangzhou last
year.
In 2006, China's cartoon industry produced more than 81,000
minutes of animation 2006, almost double that of 2005, the State
Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) statistics
showed.
But foreign cartoons, especially from Japan, are popular with
China's 250 million children, and domestic animation studios are
struggling to compete with a flood of imports.
Analysts say that Chinese cartoons need to be more original with
better story lines.
(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2007)
2005 International Animation Festival in
Hangzhou