The Herceg Novi Strip Festival was founded by the painter and comic artist from Herceg Novi Nikola Ćurčin in 2006. "HSF is the first and only comic festival in Montenegro. Given the popularity of comics recently, this has resulted in large media support and promotion of the city. From year to year, the festival is developing, getting better and attracting more and more attention to the regional and global comics public," says Nebojsa Mandic, the festival PR. "HSF became popular in European frameworks and we are able to organize programs with the greatest stars of the French-Belgian, British and Italian scenes. At the same time, we have access to the largest websites and publications dedicated to the comic strip, which advertise and write about HSF," the organizers proudly point out. Visitors of 12th HSF will have the oportunity to enjoy three big exibitions, all to be officialy opened at the beggining of this year edition, scheduled for Friday, September 7. Exhibitions "Live the Cavandoli! - The Walk on the Infinite Line" and “Twenty Easy Pieces“, being realized in cooperation with the Nova Festival from Pančevo (Serbia) and the Italian Cultural Center from Belgrade will be part of this year's main setting of HSF until September 12.
"Live Cavandoli! - The Walk on the Infinite Line" is organized in honor of the celebrated Italian animator Osvaldo Cavandoli. There are works by more than 100 world artists dedicated to the animated series "La Linea" (Line). "La Linea" is inseparable from its author, animator, and cartoonist who marked the Italian history of industrial design and graphics and mass communication. Cavandoli created the "Line" in the form of a comic in 1969, for advertising purposes, for an Italian white-collar manufacturer.
Setting "Live the Cavandoli! "The walk on the infinite line" will be exhibited on the first floor of the Josip Bepo Benković Gallery, while on the ground floor will be shown the work of twelve special guests of 12th HSFs: Fernando Dagnino (Spain), Juan Ramirez (Spain), Giada Perissinotto (Italy), Alessandro Patrovicchio (Italy), Lorenzo Pastrovicchio (Italy), Jovan Ukropina (Italy), Walter Venturi (Italy), Joevito Nuccio (Italy), Dan Verlinden (Belgium), Mirko Čolak (Serbia), Davide de Cubelis (Serbia) and Robert Solanovic (Croatia).The “Twenty Easy Pieces" exhibition brings the selection of works by 20 of the most famous Italian comic masters, who have sought inspiration for their productive and world-wide career, will be set up at the Sue Ryder Gallery. “This is a very important exhibition that shows in the best possible way the history of the Italian comics scene development," notes festival PR, Nebojša Mandić. The exibition is prepared by the respected Italian publicist Andrea Plazzi.
All three exhibitions will be open at the same time as part of the opening ceremony of the 12th HSF, scheduled for 20.30 on Friday, 7 September, at Belavista Square in the Old Town of Herceg Novi.
The special guest at the opening ceremony will be one of the most famous artists in the comics world, the creator of the visual style of the most popular TV series in the world, Game of Thrones, Irish author William Simpson, who will also be officially presented as the first HSF World Ambassador. At the opening of this year's HSF, fans will also have the opportunity to meet Chris Thompson, a world-famous strip manager and promoter.
The only Montenegrin festival of comics hosts over 50 artists from the region, including Milorad Vicanovic Maza, Fran Strukan, Valentina Briški, Vladimir Laci Krstić, Iztok Sitar, Tihomir Tico Tikulin, Filip Andronik, Aleksa Gajić, Stevan Subic, Luka Cakić, Vladimir Vesovic, Bora Grbić, Dragan Kupresanin, Milica Mastelica, Rajko Čučak, Stefan Katanić, but also the now inseparable part of HSF, Italian artist Walter Trono.
The rich program includes an exhibition of a very talented, rising artist from Herceg Novi, Anja Ahmetović, who will present her comic book in the garden of the City Museum "Mirko Komnenović".
This year's HSF commences on September 7th with the opening ceremony of the Belavista Square in the old town, followed by a tour of the exhibitions at the galleries "Sue Ryder" and "Josep Bepo Benković", to celebrate the spectacular opening of the fortress of Forte Mare on the concert of the famous Montenegrin hip-hop band Who See.
During the six days of the festival, visitors will have the opportunity to watch the live drawing of the world's masters of the comic strips, receive a copy of the dedication drawings, as well as attend the stock exchange, drawing school, promotions of the latest releases, lectures and presentations of other comic festivals. The program, in addition to the sailing cruises and the visit to the Lustica peninsula, also includes the well-known HSF parties with local musicians. The 12th HSF will be closed September 12 with the concert of one of the most popular regional bands, the Belgrade noise-pop ensemble Artan Lili, who will perform at the Peoples Beach Bar. All HSF programs are free for visitors.
