Together for 10 years – the RAFA Board Members Congratulate the Association on its Anniversary

Members of the RAFA Board congratulate the association on its anniversary.

Ilya Popov, founder of Riki Group, President of the Russian Animated Film Association, producer:

The Association is, first of all, talented people who sincerely love their work, carefully preserve the best traditions of domestic animation, believe in its success and put a lot of effort into creating high-quality content. As a result, more and more Russian projects are gaining international recognition, and large foreign partners are involved in production and financing, which opens up new prospects for the development and promotion of bright content stories. Our projects are still kind and meaningful, based on common human values ​​and remain, as it were, out of time. And even in a decade, cartoons created in Russia will be relevant and useful. All this became possible thanks to the great work of the Association team and its members.

Yuliana Slashcheva, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Animated Film Association, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Soyuzmultfilm Film Studio, General Director of the Gorky Film Studio:

The emergence of the Russian Animated Films Association marked a new stage in the development of the industry. Rich in talents, unique creative experience, and cultural heritage, for many years it did not have the opportunity to realize its potential,” said Yuliana Slashcheva, chairman of the board of the Animation Film Association, “consolidation of the joint efforts of the professional community throughout Russia made it possible to develop a number of rational mechanisms that we addressed to state bodies and business structures in a constructive dialogue. And, as a result, in 10 years, animation, having significantly increased its status, has become not only a sphere of art, but also a driver of creative industries in the country. It is important that thanks to the RAFA platform we have a common position, the opportunity to exchange experiences, practices, and opinions. It is due to the timely pooling of efforts that the Russian animation industry has achieved the confident growth rates that we have today.

Vadim Sotskov, CEO and producer of the KinoAtis studio:

We are very pleased that ten years ago, a structure that unites the animation community and represents its interests finally appeared. The Russian Animated Film Association, in addition to lobbying the interests of the industry, actively working with government agencies, and making legislative initiatives, also promotes domestic animation projects abroad and acts as the operator of many events, for example, the film market in Annecy. The association consolidates the entire professional community and strengthens ties between studios. KinoAtis has been a member of the organization for a long time and maintains friendly relations with all companies included in the association. The animation industry in our country has grown strongly over the past decade, many animation studios, high-quality projects have appeared, and children’s television channels are more than half filled with Russian content, the share of watching domestic animated films has also increased. The peak of the industry is still far away, but with the help of the Animated Film Association, we are steadily moving towards the top. I am sure that in the coming years, domestic content will continue to push foreign content, and not only in Russia, but throughout the world.

Anton Smetankin, General Director of Parovoz Animation Studio:

Thanks to the great work of the RAFA and Irina Mastusova personally, the Association is today the main mouthpiece of the Russian animation industry. The voices of its participants are loud at all levels. This allows you to discuss and solve all problems promptly. I believe that the future of the industry lies in joint projects and inter-studio collaboration, and the RAFA is the main platform for building such a dialogue.

Oleg Roy, writer, founder and head of Toy Roy and Great Frame companies:

From the bottom of my heart I congratulate the Russian Animated Film Association on the first anniversary – on the tenth anniversary. 10 years! It would seem that this is so little, but how difficult, interesting and dynamic the path has been traveled during this time! During this period, AAK has opened its doors and embraces a huge number of companies and producers of animated content – from very young to venerable majors. So many grandiose plans and projects have been implemented. And now we can say with all confidence that AAK is today the face of all our Russian animation in the international arena.
I wish the Association to continue fulfilling this responsible mission with honor. I wish further development, prosperity, amazing new projects to all members of the AAC and, of course, all kinds of support for our, not always difficult, but very important activities from the state. Only forward! To new plans and new victories!

Dmitry Loveyko, producer of the animated series “Masha and the Bear”:

For 10 years the Animation Film Association has been representing the interests of animation in the broadest and most diverse sense of the word. Despite the fact that over the years Russian animation has grown quantitatively and qualitatively, it still needs help and promotion. Therefore, by supporting animation studios, AAC, among other things, inspires the industry to work together and from the heart, thereby making it truly competitive in the international market.

Alexander Sablukov, General Director of Zero Plus Media LLC:

The Russian Animated Film Association is not only an organization that defends the interests of the industry before the state, although the results of this activity over 10 years are quite noticeable. To a large extent, this is a platform for communication, frank discussions of problems and events, establishing professional ties and personal friendship between its participants. It is thanks to the informal atmosphere and openness present in the relations between the members of the Association that it is possible to jointly develop the animation industry in Russia and create conditions for the production of world-class content.

Alexander Gerasimov, General Director of Master-Film Studio LLC:

Since I am one of those who stood at the origins of the RAFA, and I have been working in animation for more than 30 years, I am extremely pleased to see that in just 10 years of its existence, the association has achieved such success. A friendly company of associates in the workshop and a powerful industry organization are a rarity in our area and, undoubtedly, a reason for pride. I want to emphasize that the management of this important link in the industry from the very beginning was in the hands of a talented captain. Irina Mastusova is confidently leading the ship of the organization in the right direction, and this is not an easy job. Now the association is working not only on the development of industrial animation, but also pays attention to author’s, festival animation: in particular, under the auspices of the RAFA, the MultAnima platform has been created, which, I hope, will develop.

Wizart Animation General Producer Vladimir Nikolaev:

The animation industry in Russia shows a positive development dynamics and interest from foreign partners, many new projects and studios appear, but despite the obvious growth and development of work in this area, there is also a lot to be done. Many important initiatives in the development of the industry come from the Russian Association of Animated Films, which is a great help for us, representatives of the industry. The Association has implemented many important events, panel discussions and round tables, which raise pressing issues and problems of the industry for us, such as the level of training of professional personnel, the formation and development of regional animation centers, the dissemination of educational practices in the field of animation and others. The consumption of multimedia content will continue to grow, the need for high-quality animation is high, so together we will have to look for ways to further stimulate the development of the industry.