11 university teams present their original IPs at Beijing Animation Week 2026

The Beijing Animation Week 2026 held a day dedicated to university creators on September 26 with the Investment Conference for the Film Adaptation of University IPs. The event brought together 11 teams from schools such as the Communication University of China, the Beijing Film Academy, and Peking University in Hall 7 of the Beijing Exhibition Center, as part of the festival's industrial investment block.

The event was organized behind closed doors and by direct invitation, with the goal of connecting students' original projects with animation studios, video platforms, designer toy companies, and investment funds. It wasn't just a showcase: each team had to deliver their pitch in front of a panel of experts, and once finished, a registry of cooperation intentions was opened.

During the morning, the autumn session for commercial animation projects had already presented another 11 proposals, ranging from children's films with AI to series for young audiences, national-style games, and micro-series. In the afternoon, the stage was exclusively for the students.

A presenter speaks in front of the audience during the IP creation event at Beijing Animation Week 2026.m.sohu.com

The three projects recommended by the jury

The jury evaluated each project based on criteria such as thematic creativity, technical application, visual expressiveness, emotional transmission, and cultural dissemination potential. They then ranked them by recommendation priority, and these were the names that rose to the top:

• Committee-recommended project: 绣 (Embroidery), from the Jilin Animation Institute, a hand-painted animated short using mineral pigments set in an embroidery town during the Tang Dynasty.
• Specially recommended project: 高山流水遇蒜鸟 (High Mountains, Flowing Water, Encounter with the Garlic Bird), from Peking University. A guofeng comedy built around the dialectal wordplay between "suàn le" (forget it) and "suàn niǎo" (garlic bird).
• Key recommended project: 毕方·焚罪录 (Bìfāng: The Record of Burned Crimes), from the Beijing Film Academy, a 90-minute 2D animated film that blends Eastern supernatural beings with criminal investigation.

The variety of proposals gives an idea of where young creators in China are heading right now. Some teams bet on reinterpreting traditional Chinese culture, others on emotionally healing stories centered on mental health and urban-rural development, and some dove into science fiction with virtual reality. There was also a more consumer-oriented line, with characters designed for collectible figures and light IP management.

A university team presents their original IP project at the investment conference of Beijing Animation Week.m.sohu.com

From university to the industry in a single afternoon

What makes these kinds of conferences interesting is that a single pitch can open several doors at the same time: development for film or series, designer toy derivatives, platform distribution, or direct investment. It's not a prize contest; it's a networking hub with the industry.

The September 26 event joins other Beijing Animation Week initiatives focused on emerging creators, such as the "New University Light: Future Frame" call for works or the roundtables on young creation in the academic section. With this, the festival completes a path that goes from student production to industrial negotiation.

For the recommended teams, the next step is to see if any of the parties registered during the event turns into a real agreement. For now, the only thing confirmed is the committee's interest in giving them priority in the event's recommendations.