123 - A Century : Still Here!
- Clément Martin
- Dec 31, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 2
On December 31, 2025, André Martin would have celebrated his 100th birthday !
Critic, filmmaker, researcher, and tireless champion of animation, this native of Bordeaux left his mark on five decades of animation cinema—even coining its name in 1952 (1).
André Martin’s course was inextricably linked to animation, shaping every phase of his career:
In the 1940s, in Bordeaux, where he directed his first animated film;
In the 1950s, when he founded the Journées du Cinéma and, alongside Michel Boschet and Pierre Barbin, the Journées Internationales du Cinéma d’Animation (JICA);
In the 1960s, as the JICA evolved into the renowned Annecy International Animation Film Festival, and he produced numerous works, notably with Films Martin-Boschet;
In the 1970s, when he continued his groundbreaking work as an animation historian;
In the 1980s, as he passionately advocated for new images and their artistic potential.
With over a hundred publications—from Cahiers du Cinéma to Banc-Titre—André Martin was a keen observer of the evolution of animation cinema.
As Director of Research at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for nearly a decade, André Martin also stood out for his "McLuhanesque" analysis (2) of telecommunications and media, offering a visionary perspective on society that remains strikingly relevant today. Earlier, he collaborated with Michel Boschet to produce two documentaries on photography and two documentaries on television and media at the National Film Board of Canada.
The year 2026 will be an opportunity to highlight these many facets through publications and republished articles on this blog—including an English version—as well as a series of projects and events we will follow closely.
Beyond the heritage aspect of this centenary celebration, it is also a wonderful chance to explore 50 years of creation, media, technology, sociology, and animation cinema !
In the meantime, his son, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren join GAMCA Animation in wishing him a happy birthday !
To be continued !
(1) L’Âge du Cinéma, no. 6 (1952), "Dessin Animé et Pesanteur" (p. 36). This article features the first known use of the term "film d’animation" (animated film).
(2) Image et Son, no. 182 (March 1965), "Ou en est le culte de l’image reine?"
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