Comic Books Go To War
What happens when the comic book meets real war?
Overview
Genre
Arts, Human Rights, Culture, Politics, and Current Affairs
Synopsis
The universe of comic books is a worldwide pop mythology, a Pantheon in cheap newsprint and saturated colors. For almost 100 years comic books have provided fantasy, escape, and compensation for adolescents who often feel powerless and misunderstood in their daily lives. Fantasies of power are inevitably violent, but the violence in comic books has no consequences. After all, it's just the stroke of a pen... But what happens when the comic book meets real war? In this age of hundreds of television stations, 24-hour news, worldwide instantaneous satellite transmission and thousands of web sites updated hourly, the lowly comic book has become a documentary medium, providing a real understanding of the human dimensions of war, genocide and revolution.
Treatment
Show treatment
Stage
finished
Running time
65 or 52 minutes
Credits
Mark Daniels
... Writer/Director/Cameraman
Production Details
Prod. Co.
GA&A Productions, Rome, Italy; Reciprocal Films, New York
Country
Italy
Production years
2006/2009
Locations
Paris, New York, Portland, Geneva
Prod. Partners
ZDF/ARTE, Avro. SVT, YLE, MEDIA
Distribution Details
Release year
2009
Festivals
Nominated for Europa Prize (2010), FIFA, Montreal (2011), Istanbul International Film Festival (2010), San Diego Comic-Com (2011), Imperial War Museum, London (2011); others . . .
Awards
Best Reportage FIFA, Montreal
Distribution
Distributed by GA&A Productions, Rome. DVD released by ARTE (France). On tour with prize-winning films from FIFA, Montreal.
Broadcast (Prod.)
ZDF/ARTE, AVRO, SVT, YLE, SVT, SF, TSR, CBC
Language
English, French
Subtitles
English, French
Overview
Genre
Arts, Human Rights, Culture, Politics, and Current AffairsSynopsis
The universe of comic books is a worldwide pop mythology, a Pantheon in cheap newsprint and saturated colors. For almost 100 years comic books have provided fantasy, escape, and compensation for adolescents who often feel powerless and misunderstood in their daily lives. Fantasies of power are inevitably violent, but the violence in comic books has no consequences. After all, it's just the stroke of a pen... But what happens when the comic book meets real war? In this age of hundreds of television stations, 24-hour news, worldwide instantaneous satellite transmission and thousands of web sites updated hourly, the lowly comic book has become a documentary medium, providing a real understanding of the human dimensions of war, genocide and revolution.