During the Angoulême international comic festival, which starts next Thursday, the FLF will be handing out posters of De Poortere's picture. Characters from graphic novels by De Poortere himself, Brecht Evens, Olivier Schrauwen, Judith Vanistendael, Randall.C and Jeroen Janssen that have been translated into French have left their pages to grace a Parisian décor.
On the reverse of the poster, comic lovers will find an interview of their Flemish comics on sale now in French shops that have been translated with support from FLF.
Once again, the FLF will be opening its 'Café BD Chez les Flamands' in Angoulême, where Flemish comics and graphic novels will be on sale in the original language and in translation.
The FLF foreign rights assistant has more than thirty appointments at the café tables with foreign publishers and festival organisers and Flemish publishers and authors will also be there to sell their work abroad.
Those Flemish authors present will be signing their work in the café. Three of them have received an FLF grant to attend Angoulême: Lectrr, Simon Spruyt and Ephameron.
Together with Strip Turnhout and Pinceel Stripverspreiding, and with support from the Flemish Representation and Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT), this year the FLF will be organising another Flemish Evening on the Friday.
Earlier in the day there will be a presentation on the FLF's foreign policy at the 'Marché des droits', during which Knack journalist Gert Meesters will be interviewing graphic novelist Olivier Schrauwen and Thomas Gabison, Brecht Evens' French publisher, for an international audience.
Schrauwen and Evens have both been nominated for prestigious Angoulême prizes for the French translations of 'De man die zijn baard liet groeien' (The Man Who Let His Beard Grow) and 'Ergens waar je niet wil zijn' (Somewhere you don't want to be).
A lot has happened since Flanders was the guest country in Angoulême in 2009. at that point, only five albums have been translated with support from the FLF.
In the meantime, that number has risen to 26 graphic novels, with translations into English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Finnish and Polish. At least ten comic translations are currently in the pipeline.
