The comic and cartoon strip festival of Angoulême!
Each year the capital of the Charente hosts Europe's premiere festival of Bande Dessinée and this weekend - January 28-31 - the town will be full to bursting as tens of thousands of bande desinée enthusiasts make their way to the city for the 37th International Bande Dessinée festival.
Bande Dessinée - cartoons and comic strips – are highly regarded in France where it is known as the Ninth Art, on a par with literature and music. Angoulême is France's centre of this illustrative art, hosting the festival since 1974, as well as being the home of the Museum of Bande Dessinee, considered the Louvre of comicstrips and cartoons with more than 8,000 pieces of art..
Around 1000 artists will participate in this year’s bande dessinée festival and organisers expect 200,000 visitors. It’s a lively event with a large number of exhibitions, concerts and theatre productions, and visitors will have the opportunity to meet artists from all over the world. There are also activities for children. Below are a selection of events. For a full list see www.bdangouleme.com, which also has an English option.
January 28
10am (Pole Jeunesse): Young Readers’ Meeting with Alexis Dormal and Dominique Roques, creators of ‘Pico Bogue’ comic book
1pm (Pole Jeunesse): create a comic strip based on an ecological theme
1pm (Pavillion Jeunes Talents): Bookbinding demonstration
3pm (Pole Jeunesse): Meet the authors of Fil et Flo for a workshop
3.30pm (Salle Méliès): Find out about the phenomenal rise of Manga
4.30pm (Pavillion Jeunes Talents): Create your own bookmark
6pm – Awards ceremony at the theatre
January 29
10am (Pole Jeunesse): Find out about the importance of colour in comic strips
2pm (Pavillion Jeunes Talents): Chat with Xavier Dorison about his job as a scriptwriter
3pm (Musée de la bande dessinée): Bdanse-Archipel dance and comic-strip show
3.30pm (Espace sélection officielle): Your chance to be in the jury for the public’s choice prize
4pm (Salle Nemo): Meet Fred, one of France’s most well-known comic book authors
8.30pm (La Cité): Projection of ‘Waltz with Bachir’, in the presence of the film’s director
January 30
10am (Nouveau Monde Forum): Chat with comic author David Prudhomme and music magazine Les Inrockuptibles
12.30pm (Nouveau Monde Forum): France Inter live radio show
3pm (Hotel du Palais): Discussion of cartoon strips in the press 7pm (Espace sélection officielle) – Prize ceremony 9pm (Theatre): Show with comic creator Blutch and musician Irène Jacob
January 31
10am (Salle Nemo): Chat with British comic book author Kevin O’Neill
12pm (Manga building): Exclusive showing of ‘Inu Yasha: the castle of illusions’ (10 years and up)
3pm (Pavillion Jeunes Talents): Comic strip workshop
4.30pm (Theatre) – Prize ceremony