ShorTS Comics Marathon
The ShorTS Comics Marathon 2024 has officially begun!
All participants, regardless of age and gender, are invited to reinterpret in comic book form the film assigned to them based on their preferences selected from a list of over 100 historical titles. With some modifications…
As in the past two editions, the comic resulting from the combination of all the works will follow the adventures of Allan Spielberg, a boy with a significant surname, who, from a near future where cinema no longer exists, travels back in time to understand what exactly the seventh art is. Jumping from film to film, at the end of the last adventure, he returned to his present with a firm conviction: “I have lived cinema. I will be the one to bring it back to life even in this time!”
Are you a participant? Download the Marathon Runner’s Kit here!
Are you a spectator? Don’t miss all the updates on the marathon on the Instagram page www.instagram.com/shortscomicsmarathon from Wednesday 15 May to Saturday 15 June.
The registrations for the ShorTS Comics Marathon 2024 are finally open! The comic marathon organized by the ShorTS International Film Festival, scheduled this year from June 29th to July 6th in Trieste, begins the search for new talents of the ninth art who want to challenge themselves by reinterpreting the story of a famous film… in comics.
After opening its doors to all of Italy, making the Instagram page www.instagram.com/shortscomicsmarathon its headquarters, following the extraordinary success of the last edition (51 participants and 40 completed comics of excellent quality), this year too the available time will be one month, from Wednesday, May 15th to Saturday, June 15th.
All participants, regardless of age and gender, will be asked to redraw in comics the film assigned to them according to their expressed preferences from a list of over 100 historical titles. With some modifications… As in the last two editions, indeed, the comic resulting from the union of all the works will follow the adventures of Allan Spielberg, a boy with an important surname, who from a near future where cinema no longer exists returns to the past to understand what exactly the seventh art is. Jumping from film to film, at the end of the last adventure, he returned to his present with a firm conviction: “I have lived cinema. I will be the one to bring it back to life even in this time!”
The individual comics must be a minimum of 6 panels long. The technique is free as well as the style. The works must be presented in grayscale, but without excluding the possibility of also presenting a colored version to the jury. Graphic grid, specific theme, and pilot comic will be released in a downloadable kit at the beginning of the marathon, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. The same day, the assignments of the titles to reinterpret will be communicated. In writing the story, some fundamental guidelines must be followed to make the comic work both as a standalone work and as part of a larger graphic novel. Each contestant will therefore be followed by an editor who will assist them at every stage of the creation of the work and supported by professionals in the comic and film industries who will form the 2024 jury. In addition to a contest, the marathon can indeed serve as an experience and a comparison with a reality similar to traditional publishing.
The 15 (or more) works selected by the 2024 jury will also enjoy printing in a limited edition paper volume, which will be delivered to the home of each participant and to anyone who requests it for free, and distributed at events related to the ShorTS International Film Festival and connected to it. All completed works will instead be published in episodes throughout the year on the marathon’s Instagram page and will compose a volume downloadable for free from the website maremetraggio.com.
Among the novelties of the 2024 edition:
- moments of virtual meeting with professional judges
- the return of the live marathon in the city of Trieste, on a day dedicated to comics during the festival dates, during which the top performers will be invited to attend.
- collaboration in the organization and promotion of the Marathon of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, Trieste Science Fiction Festival.
Registrations: private message on instagram.com/shortscomicsmarathon or via email at 24hmarathon@maremetraggio.com.
Everything starts from here
The Jury
Lucia Biagi
Lucia Biagi
Born in Pisa in 1980, she currently lives in Turin, where she runs the comics shop Belleville Comics. She has worked as an illustrator with various publishers including Mondadori and Feltrinelli Kids, as a cartoonist with many independent organisations and has published Pets (Kappa edizioni), Japanize me (Zandegù), Punto di fuga (Diabolo edizioni in Italy and Éditions çà et la in France) and Misdirection (Eris edizioni in Italy and Éditions çà et la in France). In 2022 she published in the anthology Fai rumore (Il castoro) and La Revue Dessinée Italia vol 2 and in 2023 her latest graphic novel The Cyan’s Anthem (Eris edizioni in Italy and Éditions çà et la in France).
Barbara Canepa
Barbara Canepa
From Genoa, is the brains behind the W.I.T.C.H. (Walt Disney Company) phenomenon, creating with Alessandro Barbucci its concept, characters, background and graphic style. Widespread throughout the world and winner of numerous awards, W.I.T.C.H. has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide. In 1997, again with Barbucci, she created the science fiction saga Sky Doll, for the French Éditions Soleil, later published in more than 28 countries, and in 2003 she was the graphic designer of the series Monster Allergy, for Buena Vista (Disney), distributed in more than 32 countries. Since 2008, she has been the editorial director of two prestigious series: Métamorphose and Venusdea for Éditions Soleil (Group Delcourt), with currently more than 100 titles published.
In 2022, she created with Clotilde Vu and Jean-Luc Istin Les Éditions Oxymore, for which she edits the leporello Métamorphose, written in a partnership with Benjamin Lacombe and illustrated by the contemporary artist Marco Mazzoni. Also in the same year, she created the concept and universe of a new children’s series Au chant des grenouilles, for a total of 12 issues, which is to be drawn by 12 international artists. The first volume came out in February in France and will be published in Italy this autumn by Tunué Edizioni.
Fabio Pia Mancini
Fabio Pia Mancini
Born in the province of Rome in 1990, he studied in order to work in animation and from 2012 to 2014 he was props designer for Musicartoon. He later decided to change area and devote himself full time to illustration. Since then he has collaborated with many publishing houses: Mondadori (Black Beauty, La signora Frisby and il segreto di NIHM), DeAgostini (Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book, Greek Myths), Giunti, Panini, Titan Press, Clementoni and Ravensburger, among others.
He has participated as cartoonist in the anthologies of the independent comics label Attaccapanni Press Grimorio II (2018) and Melagrana (2017). Since 2021 he has illustrated the Che Mito! series published by Gallucci, working for them on thirteen volumes. In 2023 he published Unboxing Pandora, his first long comic book, for Bao Publishing.
Lorenzo Palloni
Lorenzo Palloni
One of the founders of the Mammaiuto collective and the magazine La Revue Dessinée Italia. He has won Best Screenwriter awards, including the Attilio Micheluzzi Award at the last Naples COMICON, and teaches screenwriting and storytelling. His latest publications include Fortezza Volante (Minimum Fax), Ossario (Feltrinelli), L’Ignobile Shermann and Burn Baby Burn (Saldapress). He is working on Dylan Dog and comics for the French market.
Luca Luisa
Luca Luisa
Learned to read from the pages of Conan the Barbarian by Roy Thomas and John Buscema and gained an education from the novels of Chandler, Hammet and Spillane. EC Comics taught him the cult of beauty and Lovecraft that of wonder. Since 2006, among other things, he has curated the selection and programming of short films for the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival. He watches cartoons.
Rules and Regulations 2024
– The SCM 2024 opens registrations from April 16, 2024, until May 14, 2024.
– SCM 2024 will run from Wednesday, May 15, to Saturday, June 15.
– Registrations are open to any aspiring artist who wants to test their skills, regardless of age, gender, or origin.
– At the time of registration, name, surname, date of birth, origin, and Instagram contact will be required.
A photograph (or avatar) will then be requested, which can be used for the participation announcement, as well as a drawing that reinterprets Allan Spielberg in color with one’s own style.
– During the first half of May, the list of films from which to choose 5 titles (in order of preference) to reinterpret in one’s own comic will be announced.
– On May 15, 2024, the assignments will be announced, and the pilot episode from which the requested work must start, as well as the final theme of the year, will be released.
– Works must be a minimum of 6 pages long. The technique and style are free. Works can be presented either in grayscale or in color, bearing in mind that in the case of print publication, everything will be converted to grayscale. Space for text will be calculated using a common font.
– During the marathon month, participants must interact with an editor at least 2 times, discussing the idea, storyboard, and any other advice regarding the drafting of their work.
– Participants are also required to attend at least one of the online meetings organized with the jurors.
– At the end of the marathon, the jury will meet to draw up a ranking of the received works.
– The top 15 ranked works and any mentions will be published in a limited edition paperback volume, which will be delivered to the home of each participant and anyone who requests it for free, and distributed at events related to the ShorTS International Film Festival and others..
– All works will be assembled into a free downloadable volume in PDF format from the maremetraggio.com website.
– All works will be published episodically on the marathon’s Instagram page throughout the following year after the edition.
– The 15 selected works will be announced via social media in the days leading up to the ShorTS International Film Festival, which will be held this year from June 29 to July 6. The ranking, as well as the name of the winner, will be announced in Trieste during the festival, on a day dedicated to comics. The top-ranked participants will be privately invited to attend the award ceremony for the best work. The event will be free of charge and open to the public.
– All works will be made individually available to all participants once the marathon is concluded so that everyone can vote for the colleague they believe deserves the most, who will win the relay prize awarded by the other participants.
– The works will remain the property of both the authors and the festival organization. Authors may use them as they wish, always citing their origin during the ShorTS Comics Marathon 2024. The festival organization may use the works or parts thereof for advertising and promotional purposes of the ShorTS Comics Marathon. In any case, the use of the works must be non-profit.