Joann Sfar Draws From Memory

Observing the artist at work, watch Friday, May 25, 2012 at 10pm.

At just 39 years old, the prolific Joann Sfar has published 150 graphic novels, including the French best-seller Rabbi’s Cat and the New York Times best-seller Little Vampire ,and recently crossed over into feature films with Gainsbourg: Vie Heroique and the adaptation of Rabbi’s Cat. JOANN SFAR DRAWS FROM MEMORY tracks the graphic artist’s odyssey through the Algerian and Eastern-European Jewish heritage that serves as the wellspring of his work. Filmed over a two-year period, the camera follows the passionate and perceptive Sfar around his adopted home of Paris — observing the artist at work and capturing his thoughts on family life, Algeria’s past, creativity and his improvisatory method, the inspiration for his alter-ego cat and his dislike of being pigeonholed as a “Jewish” artist. A 10-minute prologue offers a chronological history of the comic book and places Sfar within this 75-year artistic tradition.