A screenshot of A Gwei. [Photo/WeChat account: gh_c6c65e34a7ec]

At the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, the Hangzhou-produced animated feature A Gwei completed its Work-in-Progress (WIP) presentation, drawing a full house and strong interest from global industry professionals.

After the screening, overseas audiences described the visual approach as “something they had never seen before”, reflecting the film’s distinctive aesthetic and storytelling style.

Produced by Hangzhou-based Dangdang Film in collaboration with China Film Group, the film is rooted in the folk culture of Northwest China. It integrates the landscapes and traditions of the Loess Plateau into an Eastern fantasy narrative, giving the story a strong regional and cultural texture.

Director Yi Hui, who grew up in Northwest China, draws heavily on his lived experience, allowing the region's landscapes, rituals, and atmosphere to naturally permeate the film's visual language.

A key highlight is its use of a "3D-to-2D" (3D render with 2D stylization) pipeline, combining 3D spatial construction with hand-drawn-like rendering to create a hybrid visual style tailored to Eastern fantasy storytelling.

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival, founded in 1960, is the world's leading animation event and the only A-category film festival dedicated exclusively to animation, serving as a key global industry platform.

As the only Chinese original theatrical animation selected for this year's WIP section, A Gwei marks a notable step in international recognition and serves as an entry point into global distribution discussions.

The screening draws a full house. [Photo/WeChat account: gh_c6c65e34a7ec]