Recently, the official website of the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) released a list of nominees, in which two works from the Class of 2018 majoring in Animation at Communication University of China (CUC) are nominated for the 2023 Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) in Germany.

‍

Yulong Dong and Tianjiao Lu's short film "Life is a Marathon" (马拉松) is nominated for the Young Animation Competition, while Sijie Lu, Jinze Li, Yuqi She, Xinyue Ma, Congyue Zhang, and Xiong Wei's graduation project "Elegy of Elephant" (象群挽歌) is nominated for the Tricks for Kids Competition. This marks the fourth consecutive year that works from CUC have been nominated for competition sections at ITFS.

‍

Life is a Marathon" has been nominated for the Young Animation Competition unit. "Elegy of Elephant" has been nominated for the Tricks for Kids Competition unit.‍

‍

"Life is a Marathon," directed by Yulong Dong and Tianjiao Lu and tutored by Professor Yu Haiyan, is a biographical short film about a horse's legendary story of perseverance and striving towards achieving its dreams. It is one of only two Chinese entries in the Young Animation Competition at the festival.

‍

Poster for the animated short film "Life is a Marathon." Animated short film "Life is a Marathon."

"Elegy of Elephant," directed by Sijie Lu and others and created under the guidance of Professor Duan Wenkai, tells the touching story of a small elephant that escaped from poachers and gradually overcomes its fear of humans while being cared for by an elderly Dai (Tai) person, forging a deep emotional connection with the old man. It is the only Chinese entry in the Tricks for Kids Competition.

‍

Poster for the animated short film "Elegy of Elephant." Animated short film "Elegy of Elephant." The Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) was founded in 1982 and is one of the world's most renowned animation festivals. It is also a top-tier event recognized by the Oscars. The 2023 festival will be held from April 25th to 30th, and "Life is a Marathon" and "Elegy of Elephant" will be screened and compete against other works for the final awards.

‍

Editor| Zhang Ruoqi

Art Editor| Ye Hanling

Responsible Editor| Wu Yanan, Wang Yuntao, Zhang Yirong