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{{code}}Animur Returns from China
"It was important for us not only to showcase Far Eastern animation, but also to see how the largest international industry events are organized. We held talks with representatives of Chinese TV channels and animation festivals, discussed opportunities for long-term cooperation, and invited our foreign colleagues to the anniversary 'Animur' festival in Khabarovsk," said Alexandra Dubovskaya.
The mission's main takeaway: the Chinese market is enormous but oversaturated. Content is abundant, there are plenty of domestic producers, and many of them are themselves looking to sell their products in Russia rather than buy.
Alexandra noted several key features of the market:
- buyers are only interested in finished products — not pilots or works in development, but series with a large volume of content (typically 26–52 episodes);
- short-form content is trending — episodes under 3 minutes for social media promotion;
- content itself is now secondary — the priority is characters and the ability to sell them as toys, accessories, and collectibles;
- the focus is on youth and teenagers;
- an ideal acquisition candidate is a project with an already-established fan base, including one outside the country.
Projects from Far Eastern studios drew particular interest from forum participants. Vladimir Tomin, creator of the animated series Trash Patrol, said the presentations helped establish new professional contacts and generated offers from foreign partners.
"At events like these, contracts are rarely signed at the first meeting. The main goal is to showcase your project and find interested partners. We came away with dozens of new contacts, and some companies have already requested additional materials. It's especially gratifying that our characters got such a warm response from our foreign colleagues. One of the most common comments was: 'We really like your animals.' That confirms Russian projects have their own recognizable style and potential for international promotion," said Vladimir Tomin.
There were concrete offers as well:
- some were so taken with the Trash Patrol animals — their style, aesthetic, and the stories themselves — that an offer came in to buy the rights to them (the Chinese side wants to produce the animation itself);
- a representative from the UAE proposed translating the series into several languages and handling its distribution;
- another partner, Xiao Ning (of the company Poigray), proposed manufacturing the "animals" at a factory following the Korean model: toys first, then the cartoon.
Delegation members noted that China's animation market is today one of the largest in the world and highly competitive. At the same time, foreign partners are showing interest in original auteur projects with their own visual aesthetic, strong characters, and potential for merchandise development. Following the forum, representatives of the Far Eastern animation industry agreed to continue negotiations with potential partners and to work out new formats for international cooperation.
As a reminder, the anniversary International Animation Film Festival Animur will take place in fall 2026 in Khabarovsk, once again bringing together leading representatives of the animation industry from Russia and the Asia-Pacific region.
13.08.2026
