The China booth at the Brussels Comic Festival is officially opened!
In the morning of September 2nd, an official delegation of the Center of International Cultural Exchange joined the kick-off reception of the China booth at the Brussels Comic Festival. The reception took place at the China Cultural Center, in the presence of selected guests and privileged members of the China Cultural Center.
“We have a willingness to see more Chinese comics and artists in Belgium in the future, to reinforce China-Belgium relationship through the comic strip culture, for which we obviously share the same interest”, affirmed Mr. YU Peng, director of the Center for International Cultural Exchange. On this occasion, the son of Zhang Leping, creator of San Mao, also took the floor to introduce his father’s work and importance in manhua history. “San Mao is to China what Tintin is for Belgium. He is a playful boy with a good sense of justice, a true friend for generations of Chinese. I hope that Belgian people can get to know him better with the current exhibition”, said Zhang Weijun earlier today.
To close the event, the Center invited Mrs. Vanessa Frangville, Senior Lecturer at the ULB and specialist on Chinese movies, to introduce the cinematographic work around the character of San Mao, who inspired quite a number of movie directors and artists in China. An episode of the San Mao animation series created by Ah Da in 1984 was screened on the occasion. Mr. Jean Auquier, Director of the Belgian Center for Comic Strips (CBBD), concluded the reception by saying a few words on San Mao, who has his own statue at CBBD, and on the upcoming exhibition on Chinese comics, to be held in his Center in 2018.
During the two first weeks of September, the possibility to discover manhua and Chinese animation works will be extended to the China Cultural Center. A special program of animation movie screenings is planned to take place during its weekly Chinese Movie Nights.
