A major annual meeting for lovers of the 9th Art, the 47th edition of the Angoulême Festival will mark, from Thursday, the official launch of the year of comics against a backdrop of concern among designers and scriptwriters who are struggling to live of their boards.
As assures the Minister of Culture, Franck Riester, expected this Thursday in Angoulême, “France loves the 9th Art!” Sign of this interest, Emmanuel Macron is also expected on January 30. He has notably planned to have lunch with the authors. The last visit of a head of state to the Angoulême festival dates back to 1985 with François Mitterrand.
The “impoverishment»Comic book authors
To try to allay a concern that could turn into anger – several professional organizations including the Authors’ Union (Snac BD) invited the authors present in Angoulême to “put down their pencilsFriday – the Ministry of Culture has just released the report commissioned a year ago from Bruno Racine.
53% of the authors live on less than the minimum wage, more than a third live below the poverty line. 50% of the authors live below the poverty line.
Noting that “The State cannot attend without reacting to the impoverishment of the artist authors”, the report lists 23 recommendations aimed at improving and clarifying the dire situation of authors in general and of comics in particular.
The situation is paradoxical. On the one hand, the figures for the sector make you dizzy: a turnover of 276.2 million euros and nearly 44 million albums sold in 2018. On the other hand, the situation of designers and screenwriters BD continues to deteriorate.
No less than 53% of the authors live on less than the minimum wage, more than a third live below the poverty line. Women are even worse off: 50% of women authors live below the poverty line. Authors’ access to social rights is not always guaranteed.
“It’s not all rosy”
Franck Riester will make known the proposals he retains from the Racine report during the first half of February. “This report is a real paradigm shift”, welcomed the League of professional authors, which brings together many comic book authors. “It will now be necessary for this report to be followed by facts, by concrete”, added the association.
“I don’t want to break the mood, but the Racine report is a report, an opinion, recommendations. This is without prejudice to what the government and the SNE will do with it. ”, tempers the designer Cyril Pedrosa (Golden age ).
The SNE, the professional publishers’ union, did not comment on Bruno Racine’s report. If we readily acknowledge on the side of the publishers that the economic and social situation of the authors is “Difficult and precarious for many of them”, there is no question of legislating, said the president of the SNE, Vincent Montagne, at the recent union vows ceremony.
“There is a great temptation to turn to the state and the public authorities to legislate … always legislate, legislate to better normalize”, lamented Mr. Montagne, also president of Média-Participations (Dargaud, Dupuis, Le Lombard, Urban Comics, Kana …), European leader in comics. “All is not rosy in the land of comics”, admits Franck Bondoux, general delegate of the festival who nevertheless intends to make this event a celebration.
2000 authors expected
Exhibitions, conferences, concerts, exclusives, meetings … The program promises once again great moments for comics. Until February 2, some 2,000 authors are expected in Angoulême.
Numerous exhibitions including, for the first time in France, a major retrospective dedicated to the American Robert Kirkman, creator of the series Walking Dead , will be presented to the public. The first designer to be appointed to the Academy of Fine Arts, Catherine Meurisse, also in the race for the Grand Prix of Angoulême, will also be entitled to a large exhibition.
Very popular, the master classes presented by authors from all over the world will welcome, on February 1, the Japanese Yukito Kishiro, author of Gunnm, cult manga of the 1990s.
The Festival also dedicates an exhibition of 150 plates that have never left Japan. Robert Kirkman will also participate in the exercise on Friday, January 31.
72 albums in competition
Major screenwriter, co-creator of Valérian Pierre Christin, will be in the honor of a retrospective which will allow to know his abundant work. From science fiction to fantasy, thriller and spy, the talent of the screenwriter has been brilliantly illustrated in series such as Valerian or Hardy Agency. Without forgetting his superb political and committed stories revisiting the dark hours of history, Hunting game and The Phalanges of the Black Order, designed by Enki Bilal.
But Angoulême is also a competition with 72 albums in the running, including 43 for the official selection. The Fauve d’or, the coveted prize for best album of the year, will be awarded on Saturday evening. In addition to the Golden Fauve, the event awards five other prizes: the special jury prize, the series prize, the revelation prize, the audacity prize and the France Télévisions audience award.
Beyond the Angoumois city, the festival invited all French people to take a break, Thursday January 30 at 1 p.m., to read the comic strip of their choice.
»The full program of celebrations is on the site bdangouleme.com and all BD2020 events, on bd2020.culture.gouv.fr.
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