ESRAhad the honor of welcomingProfessor Sun Lijun, dean of theSchool of Animation at the Beijing Film Academy (BFA)and one of the most influential figures in animation education in China, during his official visit to France aimed at developing international cooperation among leading film schools.
Following several meetings held during theAnnecy International Animation Film Festival,MIFA, and atGobelins Paris—a long-standing partner of the Beijing Film Academy—Professor Sun Lijun visited ESRA to further strengthen ties between the two institutions and explore new avenues for academic cooperation.
A global leader in animation education
Professor Sun Lijunis one of the most renowned figures in animation education in China. As dean of theSchool of Animation at the Beijing Film Academyand director ofthe China Animation Institute, he has played a major role for more than twenty years in the development of education, research, and creative work in animation at Asia’s most prestigious film school.
A director, artist, researcher, and author of numerous reference works on Chinese animation, he has helped train several generations of directors and animators. His work and films have been screened at numerous international festivals, making him one of the leading ambassadors of Chinese animation on the world stage.
ESRA Presents Its Educational Model and International Ambitions
During his visit, Professor Sun Lijun toured ESRA’s facilities, including its film sets, post-production studios, Dolby Atmos theater, and state-of-the-art professional equipment.
The ESRA teams presented him with an educational model based on learning by doing, the completion of numerous projects throughout the program, and ongoing collaboration with professionals in the audiovisual industry. The discussions also focused on changes in film industry careers, the integration of new technologies, and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence in audiovisual production.
This meeting also provided an opportunity to present ESRA’s international strategy, as the organization is currently developing academic partnerships across several continents with the sector’s leading institutions.
A rapidly expanding partnership between ESRA and the Beijing Film Academy
Professor Sun Lijun’s visit is part of an effort to strengthen ties betweenESRAand theBeijing Film Academy, two institutions that are developing increasingly close cooperation in the areas of education, research, and international exchanges.
Among the projects already underway is theteacher-training program at the Beijing Film Academy, which will host a delegation of BFA professors in Paris in the fall of 2026 for a course focused on new teaching approaches, cutting-edge audiovisual technologies, and artificial intelligence applied to film.
This visit also comes just a few days after the launch in Beijing of a groundbreaking documentary film production program jointly led by ESRA and theCommunication University of China (CUC), illustrating the growing strength of the school’s academic partnerships with China’s leading universities.
By strengthening its ties with theBeijing Film Academy, ESRA reaffirms its commitment to building lasting partnerships with leading institutions of higher education in film and to contributing to the development of a new generation of creators working in a truly international environment.
From left to right:
Nicolas Bary, director (ESRA 2001); Mr. Zhang Chunjing, BFA professor; Max Azoulay, founder of ESRA; Mr. Sun Lijun, dean of the BFA program; Benjamin Azoulay, vice president of ESRA; and Ying Liu, coordinator of ESRA Hebei.
