The Graphic Novel in French: Z. Abirached & Z. Benjelloun

On Thursday, February 29, I had the pleasure of welcoming, together with my colleague Karine Germoni from Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, the exceptional Francophone illustrators and graphic novelists Zeina Abirached and Zineb Benjelloun for a conversation with students from Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and many French-speaking high schools from the UAE. The discussion focused on their artistic training, creative journeys, relationship to the French language, and passion for drawing.

Zineb Benjelloun spoke about Darna, her graphic novel about family memory, home, and the history of colonial and postcolonial Morocco across generations, while Zeina Abirached discussed her distinctive visual universe and works such as Mourir partir revenir – Le jeu des hirondelles, Je me souviens – Beyrouth, and Le Piano oriental, which explore memory, childhood, Beirut, family history, and the bridges between cultures. The event also included an exchange with students, a live drawing session that opened a window onto their artistic process, and a book signing. Organized in partnership with the Institut Français UAE and French-language schools in the UAE, the meeting formed part of the first section of the international conference Écrire en français langue autre au XXIe siècle.