COMIC SUPERHERO!

BE THE CHARACTER OF YOUR OWN COMIC

IN OUR ONLINE GALLERY

"COMIC HERO"

Comic strip creation contest "Be the character of your own comic strip!" is a challenge addressed to primary school students, by which they are invited to create a cartoon inspired by one of the films watched during the Astra Film Junior 2023 festival.

Taking into account some basic elements for designing an "illustrated scenario", namely: characters, settings and plot, children will give free rein to their imagination and create their own story, choosing one of the themes below, starting from films from the film program selected for primary grades (6+).

The most successful comics that comply with the instructions below will be published in the "Superhero BD" gallery, on our website: www.astrafilm.ro/astra-film-junior.

1. Pavel - the painter who loves animals

Pavel, an 11-year-old boy from Russia, likes to paint - preferably animals. He donates the money he earns from custom paintings to homeless animal shelters and advocates for the well-being of four-legged friends in many ways. Through his passion for painting, Pavel manages to present to the world, in the most artistic way, the beauty of animals, thus drawing attention to the dangers that lie in wait for them at every step.

Imagine that you have to save an animal that is in danger for reasons beyond your control. Create a cartoon about how you try to protect him by helping yourself to a passion of yours.

2. The school by the seashore

Thorvin is a cheerful and friendly boy who, after only two years of school, is forced to move to a school in a nearby town. Thorvin misses his old school and tries to find explanations for this change together with his best friend.

Create a cartoon about an important change in your life.

3. Tsering lives on the roof of the world

Tsering is among the few children who have the chance to live close to the highest mountain peak on the planet. No wonder he dreams of becoming a mountaineer, like his father, and reaching Mount Everest. The daily activities to help his family do not prevent him from training and learning to become a very good climber.

What burning passion do you have? Create a comic to show us what you would do to make your dream come true.

4. The Nine-and-a-Half Breakup

Although he is only 10 years old, Tom already knows a lot about the natural events of the world we live in and helps his younger brother to understand them through play and creative ideas.

Imagine a situation where you have to explain a natural phenomenon to a friend, so that he can understand it better. How do you proceed? Illustrate with a cartoon the methods you apply (a comparison, a game invented by you, etc.).

5. Kam dreams of becoming a singer

Pop music and dance, which bring happiness to her family's simple life, are Kam's passions. The girl takes singing lessons and works hard for it, with the support of her parents and her best friend, but she is too shy to give her first recital. The much-dreamed-of meeting with her favorite singer and her passion for music encourages her to get on stage and sing.

Emotionality is a normal human feeling. Imagine that you have to control your emotions that you might have when you present an assignment or participate in a competition. Create a cartoon showing how you manage to overcome this moment and who helps you to do so.

6. Jimmy and Sabato from Lake Kiwu

Beautiful landscapes, scootering and cycling, fishing, climbing banana trees. All this sounds very nice, but life lived in an African jungle, on the shore of a lake, is hard if you have no electricity or if you have to fish at night with a net the size of a football field. Jimmy and Sabato learn to get used to these living conditions and everything goes more easily, and they are happy.

Imagine that you live on another continent, where there are specific living conditions, different from ours (different climate, other animals, other ways of spending your time, etc.) and create a cartoon to show us this .

Full Dome animated films

7. The old scientist and Zoe

GrandPa and Zoe spend a lot of time together, sitting quietly fishing, having endless discussions about the mysteries of the universe. But, one day, this peace is shattered and they have to venture into a race against the clock to save the light from the Sun. Once they've left the desert, the next step is space, where they must face the alien BogBog.

What would have happened if the heroes had not saved the light? Take inspiration from the movie and imagine another important change on Earth.

8. Armstrong – the adventures of a mouse on the way to the moon

Motivated by his immense passion for the knowledge of the Universe and the desire to prove that the Moon and the Earth are not made of cheese, as the other mice claim, but of rock, Armstrong proposes to build a rocket in his attic, with which to venture towards Month.

Imagine getting on board a rocket, take inspiration from the movie and show us through a cartoon what you see on your journey into space.

9. Super peanuts – in search of the perfect planet

After many failed attempts to reach space to find the best peanuts - the super peanuts - the squirrels Nino and Lilli learn from the owl-astronomer Leon about our solar system and the conditions a planet must meet in order to could support life, as it happens on our planet.

Imagine that you are on a planet similar to our planet. Create a cartoon in which you show us what conditions must be met for the living things here to survive.

10. Guardians of the Galaxy

Peoples and the environment are connected and interdependent. From the smallest bacterium to the largest whale, there is a connection between all things. In a world out of balance, how do ecosystems connect with each other? What is the connection between human activities and climate change? We find out the answers with the help of satellites.

Imagine being able to send a satellite into space. Show us in a cartoon what you would like to monitor.

Comics that do not meet the following requirements will not be considered:

- to be drawn on A3 paper format, comprising 6 quadrants, each quadrant illustrating a new action;

- there must be at least one dialogue bubble in each quadrant (the bubble can contain: text, drawing, punctuation marks or symbols);

- only pencils (black and colored) should be used - watercolors, crayons or collages are not allowed;

- not to represent a "story" of the watched film, but an imagined story based on the stated theme, from which it is clear that the author of the cartoon is also its character;

- have as a subject one of the themes above;

- not to contain elements drawn by adults.

After selecting the comics that meet all the above requirements, they will be evaluated by the jury for the "Superhero BD" gallery from the point of view of: creativity, originality (they should not be copies of colleagues' drawings), abundance of details, logical chaining of drawn scenes.

The works must have the following information written on the back

- the name and surname of the student;

- the name of the school and the class to which the student is enrolled;

- contact details of the teaching staff (surname, surname, e-mail address and telephone number);

- the title of the film from which the comic is inspired.

It is important to know that the drawings will not be returned, and handing them over to us constitutes tacit consent to publish them and the personal data they contain and keep them in the archive.

The cartoons are taught by the teaching staff at the Astra Film studio, Piaţa Mică str. 11, in the periods 16-20 October 2023 and 23-25 October 2023, between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. After the evaluation by the jury made up of artists: Coralie de Gonzaga, Silviu Tomișteanu and Casandra Vidrighin, the online launch of the comics gallery will take place on Monday, November 6, 2023.

A cartoon model: Please note that images of children participating in Astra Film Junior will be published and used for non-commercial purposes.