Apr 19, 2022

Russian Animation in the Fog: How Studios Are Adapting to an Uncertain Future

On April 11, Yuliana Slashcheva, chairman of the board of directors of Moscow-based animation studio Soyuzmultfilm, spoke carefully about the current state of the Russian animation industry in a column for Russian media outlet Snob.

In it, she discusses the inner workings of Soyuzmultfilm (one of the oldest and largest studios in Russia). Soyuzmultfilm's mission, its position as a holding company, her own favorite animated films, and whether she considers her role as the first female chairman of the board of directors to be important.

For many readers outside of Russia, however, her comments about the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine (she only refers to the "situation" in her piece and never mentions Ukraine) are worth noting. (Snob was recently red-flagged by the pro-Kremlin political news site politonline.ru as one of the most anti-Russian media outlets in Russia. As a result, Russian sites like Snob have been forced to limit their vocabulary when referring to the war in Ukraine.)

At the beginning of the decade, Russian animation producers made plans to expand the country's global footprint in terms of animation production and export. That strategy now needs a complete overhaul, as many Western countries have imposed cultural sanctions against Russia and other past and potential partners have informally refused to do business with Russian companies for the time being. Slashcheva says:

In 2020, we have developed a strategy that the industry should be among the top 10 animation powers in the world within five to seven years: ...... At the moment, Russia is near the bottom of the top 20 in terms of animation market volume.

Initially, the plan called for the largest Russian animation production companies to double their exports. The leading candidates to purchase these films were based in North America, Europe, and Asia, and Soyuzmultfilm already had several deals in place.

Earlier this year, the studio had some very good deals to sell content abroad and was able to gain the support of a large European production and distribution company. Expanding international sales was Soyuzmultfilm's main goal for the next five years. The current situation has completely changed the whole situation, including our plans. American, European, and Australian companies have stopped buying Russian children's content, although interest remains.

Soyuzmultfilm, in need of a new strategy, is looking elsewhere for potential partners. Slashcheva suggests that other Russian studios do the same.

Now we have to reorient ourselves to other markets, places where they are waiting for us, where they are ready to see us. These are the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. I think this is where the international focus of Russian studios will be for the next couple of years. And I am convinced that our animation will be competitive in terms of quality and cost."

Exactly how the shift in target markets will change the ambitions of the top 10 Russian industry is not mentioned in the piece, and it may be too early to speculate.

Image at top: Yuri Norshtein's "The Hedgehog in the Mist" (1975). All quotes used in this article were translated using Google Translate. The full interview (in Russian) can be found on Snob.ru.