From September 26 to 28, 2025, the 15th edition of the BD Comic Strip Festival will take place in Brussels. This year, the Polish Institute in Brussels is spotlighting author Marzena Sowa, best known for her series Marzi—an autobiographical story that portrays life in 1980s Poland through the tender and poetic eyes of a child.

She will be joined by her recent collaborators Sylvain Savoia, Geoffrey Delinte, Joanna Lorho, and Émilie Plateau. Together, they will host talks, book signings, and live drawing sessions. At the Polish Institute stand, visitors will also find: an exhibition of original, never-before-seen illustration, life-size characters from their graphic worlds, and a selection of albums in several languages, available for purchase thanks to the Polish publisher Timof Comics.

BD Comic Strip Festival 2025
September 26–28
Tour & Taxis, Brussels
Programme

Programme at the Polish Institute stand:

26/09/2025 – Friday – 9:00–18:00

• 14:00–18:00 – Signing session with Sylvain Savoia and Marzena Sowa

27/09/2025 – Saturday – 10:00–18:00

• 11:00-13:00 – Signing session with Geoffrey Delinte and Marzena Sowa
• 14:00-16:00 – Signing session with Émilie Plateau and Marzena Sowa
• 16:00-18:00 – Signing session with Joanna Lorho and Marzena Sowa

28/09/2025 – Sunday – 10:00–18:00

• 11:00-13:00 – Signing session with Sylvain Savoia and Marzena Sowa
• 14:00-16:00 – Signing session with Sylvain Savoia and Marzena Sowa

At the heart of the 2025 edition, the Polish Institute in Brussels celebrates Marzena Sowa, author of the autobiographical series Marzi. A true coming-of-age story, Marzi depicts everyday life in 1980s Poland through the eyes of a little girl. This child’s perspective, filled with poetry and tenderness, stands in sharp contrast to the often harsh realities of the communist regime. It also highlights solidarity, imagination, and the strength of family and friendship—elements that shaped an entire generation. Today, Marzi remains a landmark work, offering an intimate, accessible, and deeply human insight into that era.

Marzena Sowa, photo: Céline Levain (for Dargaud) / Sylvain Savoia, Marzi, comic book series, 2004 – 2022

Marzena Sowa will appear alongside long-time creative partners Sylvain Savoia, Geoffrey Delinte, Joanna Lorho, and Émilie Plateau. Together, they will present an exhibition of unpublished illustrations from their artistic worlds, life-size characters, and a curated selection of multilingual albums from Timof Comics. Throughout the Festival, the artists will share their talents through signings and live drawing sessions, turning this event into a true celebration of memory, imagination, and creative friendship.

Marzena Sowa
Born in Poland in 1979, she moved to France in 2001 to complete her degree in Modern Literature at the University of Bordeaux. There, she met illustrator Sylvain Savoia, to whom she recounted her childhood in 1980s communist Poland. From their conversations came the idea of turning these stories into comics: in 2004, the first volume of Marzi was published by Dupuis.

The series grew to seven volumes, later adapted into a graphic novel and collected into two omnibus editions by Aire Libre (2019–2020). Internationally acclaimed, Marzi was nominated both at the Angoulême Festival and for the Eisner Awards. Sowa has since built a rich and diverse body of work: N’embrassez pas qui vous voulez with Sandrine Revel (2013), L’Insurrection with Gawron (2014), and several children’s books (Histoire de poireaux, de vélos, d’amour et d’autres phénomènes with Aude Soleilhac, 2015; La Grande Métamorphose de Théo with Geoffrey Delinte, 2020). She has also translated major comics, including Igort’s Ukrainian Notebooks and Russian Notebooks (Timof Comics, 2013).

She has explored documentary filmmaking with Un Essai sur nous deux (Arte, 2019) and The Godmother (2024), which brought her back to Poland in search of her godmother.

Her more recent works include Monfreid (Angoulême Schools Prize, 2023), Vivian Maier, claire-obscure with Émilie Plateau (2024), the adaptation of Petit pays by Gaël Faye with Sylvain Savoia (2024), Hey Djo! with Geoffrey Delinte (Montreuil SLPJ Pépite Prize, 2024), and Le Hibou abasourdi with Joanna Lorho (2024). In 2025, she will publish with Hélène Le Cam the comic adaptation of Racism Explained to My Daughter by Tahar Ben Jelloun (Seuil). She is currently working on new projects, including Les Polacks with Geoffrey Delinte (Gallimard) and the adaptation of Gaël Faye’s second novel, Jacaranda, with Sylvain Savoia (Dupuis / Aire Libre).

Geoffrey Delinte, Hey Djo, 2024 / Emilie Plateau, Vivian Maier Claire-Obscure, 2024

Sylvain Savoia
French illustrator and scriptwriter, co-creator of Marzi and author of Les esclaves oubliés de Tromelin. His work blends personal storytelling, historical epics, and a refined graphic sensitivity.

Geoffrey Delinte
Belgian author and illustrator, known for a style that is both poetic and humorous. His collaboration with Marzena Sowa reflects his commitment to blending different voices and stories.

Joanna Lorho
Franco-Belgian author and illustrator, she works across comics, illustration, and collective projects. Her art is marked by intimacy and poetry.

Émilie Plateau
French comics author whose work explores memory, everyday life, and the female experience. Her sensitive and socially engaged stories, such as Moi, non, have been praised for their strength and understated style.