NEW YORK, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Visual artist and animator Jinghan Zhang officially announced her ongoing work on a short, nine-minute animation project entitled "Acheron River." Scheduled for completion later in the year, the film uses the flowing art of traditional hand-drawn 2D animation and metaphor to explore the protagonist's character arc through a Buddhist lens. Intertwining the ancient life philosophies of kindness, love, and compassion, "Acheron River" follows a purehearted nine-year-old girl as she overcomes many difficulties to save her ICU-bound mother. Using love and the magic known to young children, the girl enters the shadowy crossroads realm of Acheron – where all newly departed souls gather – to find and return her mother back to life.

Zhang is currently reaching out to interested investors to help her team complete the project in time for submission to upcoming international awards festivals.

"I started work on 'Acheron River' shortly after the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic," said Zhang. "During those first few months, there was so much fear and uncertainty in the world as Covid began to affect everyone. So many people lost their lives and the animation industry was keenly affected – workplaces shuttered and everyone went on quarantine lockdown. Hope seemed so fragile. So I wanted to make a short film that encourages people not to give up, no matter how difficult their lives become. This story is dedicated to all those we've lost and those we love the most: our families and friends. No matter how busy we are, we can't give up hope. We should cherish every single minute we have with our loved ones."

Already known for her work, Zhang was recently tasked by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to produce an animated promo for the poverty eradication nonprofit group OPAD, and she has won numerous awards for a previous short festival piece, Elixir.

Holding an MFA from the New York School of Visual Arts, some of Zhang's other accolades include:

• 2019 Best Animation Winner – Vegas Movie Awards
• 2019 Best Animation Short Film Winner – South Film and Arts Academy Festival
• 2019 Best Animated Shorts Winner – Spotlight Short Film Awards
• 2019 Best Animation Winner – Rome Independent Prisma Awards
• 2019 Finalist – USA Film Festival; 2019 Semi Finalist – Animation Day in Cannes

Zhang is particularly inspired by transcendent, universal spiritual themes like Liberation and Eternity. Learn more about future projects and explore Jinghan Zhang's work by following her on social media: YouTube.

Media Contact:

Jinghan Zhang, Producer347-497-0611314035@email4pr.com

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SOURCE Jinghan Zhang