French Comics Festival brings renowned cartoonists

From left to right: Achdé, Florence Cestac, Guillaume Gallas and Xavier Garnier

The first French Comics Festival will run at Sofitel Macau until February 5, showcasing selected prints by two renowned French cartoonists.

Organized by Alliance Française de Macao (AF), the aim of the festival is to promote French comic culture in the territory.

The festival showcases renowned comic series Lucky Luke and Cestac pour les Grands, penned by French cartoonists Achdé and Florence Cestac respectively. The artists were present at book-signing events and drawing workshops.

AF president Xavier Garnier explained that the festival is also a way for the association to further promote an aspect of French culture in Macau.

“Usually we know French culture through fashion, food and art. In Asia, many don’t know about comics [but] it’s actually quite [an] old tradition in France and in Belgium,” said Garnier.

Lucky Luke is a comic series created by Belgian cartoonist Maurice De Bevere, better known as Morris. French artist Achdé continued the series after Morris passed away in 2001.

According to Achdé, his books are currently translated into 32 languages.

He dedicated himself fully to drawing in 1985 and began illustrating newspapers and self-published Destins Croisés, his first comic book.

The local artist visited Macau back in 2015 for a book-signing event organized by AF, but this is his first time showcasing his drawings in the region.

“I really like Macau because after being in China [for] fifteen days […], Macau is completely different,” he told the Times.

Achdé, who used to be in the medical field, affirmed that comics in France are viewed similarly to classic literature, and stressed that comics are a part of French culture. Achdé added that Lucky Luke is now published in China.

Meanwhile, Florence Cestac brought a selection of her prints from “Cestac pour les Grands” (“Cestac for Grown-Ups).

Cestac is the only woman to have won the prestigious Grand Prix de la ville de Angoulême.

Cestac said most of her comics – which often feature characters with large noses – portray the daily lives and problems of an adult. She has published a total of 38 comic books.

Cestac is visiting Macau for the first time, but previously visited Hong Kong for a book signing.

Meanwhile, Sofitel Macau hotel manager Guillaume Gallas stressed that the hotel is keen to promote such events.

“The big picture of what we’re trying to do is to always promote whatever is French related because its part of the DNA of the hotel,” he said.

“So whenever we have French ambassadors from music, novels, [etc.] that we can basically support, we do it every time,” Gallas added.

In 2016, AF and Sofitel Macau collaborated on some nine French events.

According to Gallas, the hotel intends to host similar events this year in order to promote French activities in Macau.

On average, these French events attract audiences of up to 200, depending on the nature of the event, he said.

The French Comics Festival, sponsored by Macao Foundation and Sofitel Macau commenced on January 10.

On Sunday and Monday, the two artists held drawing workshops at Ze Ai Nursery and Macau Polytechnic Institute targeting local children and teenagers.