Mission Accomplished for the 10th Annual Montreal Comic Arts Festival

Montreal, June 3, 2021 – The Montreal Comic Arts Festival was held on May 28-30, the tenth annual event of the Festival and the second time it was successfully presented in a 100% live virtual format. The Festival team, exhausted but delighted, is already looking forward to the 2022 Festival, and envisioning a triumphant return to an in-person event for the 11th festival! In the meantime, here is a non-exhaustive recap of last weekend’s events.

The Winners of the Bédélys Awards

The 22th annual Bédélys Awards ceremony, hosted by Stéphane Archambault (member of the group Mes Aïeux), was held on Friday evening and presented trophies (one-of-a-kind sculptures created by artist Karl Dupéré-Richer) to the following creators for their excellent work in the comic arts. The winners were:

• Bédélys International: Peau d’homme by Zanzim and Hubert (Glénat BD)
• Bédélys Youth: Sacrées sorcières by Pénélope Bagieu and Roald Dahl (Gallimard) 
• Bédélys Independent Francophone: Boumeries 10 by Boum (self-published)
• Bédélys Independent Anglophone: Hi, Stranger by Anouk (self-published)
• Bédélys Québec: Temps libre by Mélanie Leclerc (Mécanique générale)

Jury Special Mention: Pucelle 1 : Débutante by Florence Dupré la Tour (Dargaud). The Bédélys Québec, Bédélys Independent Francophone, and Bédélys Independent Anglophone winners were each awarded a prize of $1000.
Find all the information on the Bédélys Awards.

A Movie Night to Remember!

Thanks to a collaboration with Cinéma Public, MCAF presented a special screening of Turbo Kid, reuniting the filmmakers from the Roadkill Superstar Collective (Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissel, and  François Simard) with the cartoonist Jeik Dion, storyboard artist for the film and creator of the official Turbo Kid comic book. Moderated by Benoît Mercier of the podcast Les Mystérieux Étonnants, this one-night-only reunion was full of juicy anecdotes about the creation of this Quebecois cult classic which continues to delight film fans, cosplayers, and comic book readers.

Memorable Encounters

All weekend long the Festival presented a dizzying range of round-table panels, in-depth discussions of recent hit comics, and encounters between creators, giving the audience a chance to deepen their understanding of works from Québec and around the world. Highlights included a moving round-table discussion on inclusive creation, a look at the magnificent—and deeply personal—graphic novel Petit Astronaute by Jean-Paul Eid, a discussion with the women cartoonists of Chile, a friendly drawing battle between giants of Quebecois kids comics Alex A. and Félix Laflamme, a fascinating interview with super-star American writer Scott Snyder, and a look at the politics of translating Tintin into Ukranian… The list of memorable moments goes on and on!

A quick mention to the exceptional work of the various hosts and moderators, including Catherine Emmanuel Brunet, Alyssa Favreau, and the cartoonist Jeik Dion. The full lineup of programming will be available shortly on the Festival’s YouTube channel, available to watch anytime!

MCAF 2021 in Numbers

Aware that the deconfinement, the good weather as well as a certain weariness of the screens were playing against it, the MCAF team remains very satisfied with the participation of the public in the thirty or so activities offered during the weekend. More than sixty creators took part in this program.

The total views on all of Montreal Comic Arts Festival’s social networks amounted to nearly 10,000 views with a total reach of 24,426.

The Festival Continues All Year Long

MCAF is so much more than the annual Festival, with events planned throughout the year. In addition to the Festival each May, MCAF sponsors a range of activities, including a monthly Book Club, an international conference on the comic arts this fall, and the new podcast  La ligne de fond, hosted by Catherine Emmanuel Brunet which will feature interviews with comic book creators from Québec and beyond discussing the role of the comic arts in the broader culture.

I Read Comics! 

Moi, je lis de la BD! (aka I Read Comics!) is a series of a dozen video capsules presenting the favorite comics of twelve people from all walks of life… Some of whom might surprise you! Broadcast throughout the month of May, these short interviews were shared widely on social media and successfully celebrated the love for the comic arts. Guests included Montréal’s mayor Valérie Plante, musician Dumas, journalist Richard Cloutier, and Summer Delezen, who shared her story of learning French by reading bande dessinée. All the videos can be seen on the Festival’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Presses du FBDM | MCAF Press

Born from a desire to expand the Festival’s mission to promote and distribute the work of comic creators, the new Presses du FBDM | MCAF Press will add a new title to its expanding catalog. The anthology X brings together creators from Québec and abroad, in both French and English, including stories by Mélanie Leclerc, Christian Quesnel, Cab, Jean-Paul Eid, and Henriette Valium amongst others. The second installment in the annual series Marvelous Creations And Fables, bringinging together creators whose presence has marked the history of the Festival.

Looking Forward to Next Year!

The Montreal Comic Arts Festival will be returning in just under a year, and the MCAF team has every hope and confidence that the Festival will be returning as an in-person event in 2022! The MCAF team will be working hard throughout the coming 12 months to make the next Festival the best ever, a triumphant return and a chance to celebrate the Festival’s 11th anniversary with as much gusto as we might have brought to the 10th annual fest this year!  

About MCAF

This year MCAF was celebrating its 10th anniversary! To mark the occasion, a full lineup of programming was presented live online on May 28, 29 and 30th, celebrating the work of cartoonists from here and abroad. This year is also marked by the appearance of the Festival’s second anthology, X, published by Presses du FBDM | MCAF Press.

As always MCAF would like to thank our partners for their support and collaboration:
Emploi Québec, Conseil des arts du Canada, Conseil des arts de Montréal, SODEC, Patrimoine Canada, Service de la culture – Ville de Montréal, and the Arrondissement Le Plateau Mont-Royal. Special thanks also to our media partners LesLibraires.ca, Culture Cible, and the “booktubers” Nos Lectures Bleues, Evelynebiz and Abookandacup. 

Thanks to Denis Rodier for his magnificent illustration for this year’s poster. Thanks also to the artists who participated in the wonderful illustration highlighting our 10th anniversary.
And finally thank you to the MCAF volunteer team, without whom the Festival simply couldn’t happen.

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Further Information

MCAF Contact
Johanne Desrochers
General Direction
johanne.desrochers@fbdm-mcaf.ca

Press Agency Rugicomm Contact
Camille P. Parent
Community relations and management
camille@rugicomm.ca