CineCalidad. Documentary about Joann Sfar (born August 28, 1971) is a French comics artist, comic book creator and film director. He is considered one of the most important artists of the new wave of Franco-Belgian comics. His main influences are Fred and André Franquin as well as Marc Chagall, Chaim Soutine, Will Eisner, Hugo Pratt and John Buscema. From 2009 to 2010, Sfar wrote and directed Gainsbourg: Une Vie Heroique, a biopic of the illustrious French songwriter and singer, of whom Sfar is a self-confessed fanatic. The film, which draws substantially on Sfar's abilities as a comic book artist through its extensive use of fantasy artwork, animation and puppetry, was released in 2010 to general critical acclaim.