The World Will Get A Brand-New Animation Magazine In 2020

Even as the animation industry booms, print magazines dedicated to the medium remain rare. A group of movers and shakers in the industry are looking to fill that gap with a new French-language periodical, Revue du Film d’Animation (Animated Film Review), which they unveiled at last month’s Annecy Festival. The first issue will be published in January 2020.

The publishers’ aims are “to help expand [animation’s] reach beyond its close-knit target audience, and to contribute to the recognition of animation as an art.” The review will look at the medium in a broad sense, covering its use in virtual reality, live shows, and the plastic arts, as well as traditional formats. Critical and historical essays will feature alongside interviews, reviews, and opinion pieces. It will be aimed at fans and students of animation, as well as industry people and academics. (Dislcosure: I’m a contributor to the first issue.)

The magazine will run to 160 pages, richly illustrated in color. The format was revealed in a pilot issue distributed at Annecy, which contained interviews with two French directors: the veteran Florence Miailhe and the up-and-comer Charlie Belin. The eventual goal will be to publish two issues a year. Asked at Annecy about the possibility of a bilingual French-English edition, the publishers replied that they aren’t planning one for now, but hope to work toward that goal.

Revue du Film d’Animation is a joint venture by three cultural organizations across France and Canada — NEF Animation, the Cinémathèque québécoise, and WARM — with support from Fondation GAN. Its editor is Jacques Kermabon, who also edits the long-running short film review Bref. Discover more and pre-order the first issue on the magazine’s official website (French only).

(Image at top: “Hammam” by Florence Miailhe.)