West Lake International Animation Festival

Festival Description:
West Lake International Animation Festival is an animation art exchange platform integrating competitions, screenings, exhibitions and forums, which is held every two years.

IAF is the abbreviation of “I Animate Future”, which means “I use animation to record the future”. This is also the overall concept of the West Lake International Animation Festival – to create a pioneering camp for Chinese animation art and explore the possibility and extension of contemporary animation language.

Animation art is an art form that integrates painting, film, digital media, photography, music, literature and many other categories. The animation discipline has undergone a lot of changes since the new century, and it has tremendous development and extension in the fields of technology, concept and application. These changes affect both the way animators seeing the world and how to get along with it. Also, they are bringing animation to an important position in the broader contemporary visual culture and communication. Based on this background, IAF was founded to explore the contemporary expression of animation creation and research worldwide, and to pay attention to the interaction between innovation media and social life under the context of the times. At the same time, IAF , paying attention to the current status of animation education and discussing more possibilities, also has focused on the scene status and problem horizon of China's independent animation creation since the 21st century.

2023 Call for Research Proposals and Papers (Archive)

This year’s festival is themed “New Realities in Animation”.
Reality-based animations enjoy a solid foundation. A representative work from Japan is Isao Takahata’s animated movie 'Grave of the Fireflies', and since then, Japanese directors such as Satoshi Kon have pioneered a unique artistic style that blurs the line between reality and fantasy by integrating real-life experiences into surrealistic stories. In the West, reality-based animations represented by 'Persepolis' (2007), 'Waltz with Bashir' (2008), and 'Tehran Taboo' (2017) not only depict real-life scenarios but also reproduce historical events as animated documentaries. In China, 'My Life as McDull' (2001) stands as a representative work that faithfully recreates the Kowloon City District in Hong Kong.

Surely, more sparks will be created when “animation” meets “reality”. The physical world is an endless source of inspiration, spanning a variety of topics from identity and body to ethics and technology, which are all touched upon in animated works. It demonstrates animators’ critical sense and deep care for the world—animation is more than an entertainment; it also mirrors society.

This year’s theme “New Realities Realities in Animation” is just inspired by the above- mentioned animated works. The IAF is now open to submissions of research proposals and papers related to this topic until August 31, 2023, to co-explore the further possibilities of “reality” and “animation”. 

Call for Entries

Submission Requirements
Research Proposal
1. The research proposal submitted shall be completed by June 31, 2025.
2. All materials submitted shall be in English or Chinese. Other languages are not accepted.
3. The proposal’s leading researcher shall submit a paper that has already been published (with no limitation for the topic), which will be used as a review reference only.
4. The leading researcher of the proposal selected will be invited for a speech during the event.
5. The IAF’s academic committee will award ONE proposal the “IAF Animation Research Award” and a cash prize of 50,000 yuan.

Thesis / Paper
1. All papers are welcomed, regardless of publication status.
2. The paper submitted shall be in English or Chinese. Other languages are not accepted.
3. The author of the paper selected will be invited for a speech during the event. But papers are not included in the selection for the “IAF Animation Research Award”.

Other Important Rules

1. Research proposals and papers must be original. The IAF Organising Committee has no obligation to check for plagiarism. The IAF will not bear any responsibility if a third party files any infringement claims related to the papers.

2. The IAF owns the publishing and promotional rights to articles, research, photos, and video recordings related to the event.
3. The papers selected will be compiled into the event’s academic anthology and published. The IAF Organising Committee will not offer additional remuneration to the authors.
By submitting your work, you are indicating that you have read and will abide by all the submission rules.

• Paper submission form
• Research proposal submission form
• Deadline: August 31, 2023
• Questions:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

NB: 2025 Festival Dates are tentative