Giulia Pex Adapts Davide Coltri's Refugee Story into Graphic Novel

Illustrator and photographer Giulia Pex has adapted Davide Coltri's book "Dov'è casa mia?" into a graphic novel titled "Khalat," published by Hoppípolla edizioni in 2019. The story follows Khalat, a young Kurdish-Syrian woman who defies her traditional father to attend university in Damascus, supported by her brother and aunt. As the Syrian civil war erupts, her brother is forced to join the Kurdish cause and is killed after refusing to shoot civilians. Khalat then flees with her family through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, and Austria, eventually reaching Germany. Pex's adaptation uses pastel drawings and a free layout without panels, employing two different lettering styles to distinguish narrative voices. The graphic novel was released concurrently with Coltri's original book. Hoppípolla edizioni, known for its surprise box service, previously published the Italian edition of Conxita Herrero's "Grande coppa di gelato." The publisher collaborated with minimum fax on this project. Pex, born in 1994, co-founded ALT! in 2013, an association promoting cultural production and self-publishing of artbooks and comics.