Fantasy Festival, the new epicenter of Fantasy in Athens, Greece! We talk about Cosplay, the event and its first upcoming physical event!
THE CULTURE OF FANTASY !
From 2020 onwards, the Fantasy scene in Athens, Greece, seemed for a moment as if it would no longer have its own big annual Convention, which would be gathering all fans of Fantasy in one place every year! Fantasy Festival, organized by Rising Star Promotions and Hellenic Fantasy Legion, fills this gap!
Starting on October 16, 2020 and October 3, 2021 in its online form, on October 1 & 2, 2022, it returns for the first time in physical form, as intended from the beginning, at the Hellenic American Union, acting as a major cultural festival full of literature, comics, music, dance, theater, crafts, videogames, games, visual arts and much more, related to Fantasy!
Among them being our favorite Cosplay and respective Fantasy costumes, as well as the related activities!
Let’s talk about everything in detail with Kostas Striftos, member of Fantasy Festival‘s organizing team!
Fantasy Festival 2020: Online Edition – Photo by Makri Irene Photography
Find Fantasy Festival on the following media! Page - Facebook - Youtube - Instagram
ENTER INTO A WORLD OF FANTASY !
1) Tell us a few words about Fantasy Festival, its history and contents! When and how did it start? What themes is it about? Are those themes based on the organizers’ personal interests, and if so, when did you start taking an interest in each of them, before your first event?
Fantasy Festival is an annual Cultural Festival themed around Fantasy, taking place in early autumn at the Hellenic American Union at Massalias 22 in Athens, Greece.
Our goal is to create a festival that will bring together all the people who love Fantasy – books, comics, board games, videogames and related hobbies – in a place where they can be informed and entertained by watching and participating in a variety of events, while giving a platform to professionals in the scene, and not only them, to present their creations, products and services.
Each festival reflects the vision and characteristics of its organizers, both in terms of content and theme as well as in terms of organization and philosophy. Our goal is to actively contribute to the evolution of the genre, to increase and expand the audience of Fantasy, to create a festival by standards abroad, professional, with substance, ethos and new ideas, adapted to the specific requirements of our country and time period, which fully meets the expectations of the public.
Every one of us on the Organizing committee and partners involved in this project have been working professionally in the scene for several years now in various ways and roles and have the required knowledge and experience. We are all active fans, that Fantasy attracted from an early age through books, RPGs, movies and videogames – hobbies and interests that we still maintain! The idea of organizing a festival has always been on everyone’s mind. However, circumstances, conditions and luck brought us together at this given moment and united us in this joint effort called Fantasy Festival!
Fantasy Festival 2020: Online Edition – Photos by Makri Irene Photography
2) What led you to proceed with organizing Fantasy Festival? What led to its launch as an online event in 2020? What was its content?
Selfless love for something is in itself a driving force for any effort! That’s the case here!
In 2020 Fantasy Festival was held digitally because, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no alternative to implement the Festival in its physical form! However, the activities we had organized had to be completed in some way. I’m referring to the announcement of the winners of the Magic Pen Writing Contest, Magic Brush Illustration Contest and the awarding of the Everly Awards. Their cancellation or postponement was never a dilemma for us! We don’t think this would be ethical towards the participants and people who actively supported these efforts throughout the year. So, we started adapting to the harsh reality and designing a small but substantial digital event …
This event was called Fantasy Festival Online Edition, took place at the Hellenic American Union and was broadcast digitally on the internet for the general public. Despite being a closed event, it had several difficulties in its implementation as it was subject to several restrictions that were in force during those days! However, we managed to set up a beautiful award ceremony with Fantasy aesthetics!
Fantasy Festival 2020: Online Edition – Photo by Makri Irene Photography
3) What will one be able to find there once it happens in its physical form and how do you think will it differ from other events of similar type or theme?
There are many ideas that we want to implement, things that haven’t been done before and things that will be done in a way that hasn’t been done before. However, developments concerning the COVID-19 pandemic are the ones that will determine the possibilities and options we will have, as well as the time frame in which we will implement our plan.
Fantasy Festival 2020: Online Edition – Photo by Makri Irene Photography
4) How much effort, time and money does it take to set up Fantasy Festival in its physical form? What is the preparation plan that you are following until the chance appears to make it happen?
The parameters you mention vary depending, among other things, on the number of people who make up the organizing team, their skills, the management that is exercised and the result that one wants to achieve. Obviously, the bigger the festival, the bigger their sizes and risk.
Unfortunately COVID-19 has created a new landscape where external factors are changing rapidly and constantly and nothing should be taken for granted. Organizers are now called upon to be more flexible and adaptive but also to constantly review data. No one can fully assess developments and draw up a specific plan that will be implemented to the fullest. There is a general hesitation in the events’ scene. The vagueness of data increases the risk. Most festivals and conventions are on hold.
We start each time with a complete plan, which we constantly review and adapt to the circumstances … until we come up with a realistic idea of what is possible, what is sustainable and what must be done.
Fantasy Festival 2020: Online Edition – Photo by Makri Irene Photography
5) What’s your opinion, in proportion to Greece’s size, about the size and level of the audience of the scene towards which Fantasy Festival is addressed?
We believe that Greece has great potential and people love arts and culture in general! We also believe that the audience of the Fantasy scene is quite large in proportion to the size of the country and is now quite familiar with festivals.
However, in order to further develop the audience of the Fantasy scene and the respective festivals, there are still many things to be done.
The most important thing for us is to create a proper domestic industry of primary productions related to Fantasy. In Greece, we are limited to providing services and selling imported products … this isn’t enough. We can and must create and promote our own talents and efforts …
We aren’t and will never be Hollywood, but we must finally be able to produce our own movies and series as a country, that aren’t B-movies, to be able to produce noteworthy board games and serious videogames, to strongly promote remarkable Greek Fantasy writers and visual artists and to introduce them to the wider Greek audience and, why not, abroad too. This would bring more people together, make them more active, upgrade and expand the scene.
Fantasy Festival 2020: Online Edition – Photo by Makri Irene Photography
6) Why did you decide to include Cosplay in Fantasy Festival’s themes? What more do you think will the presence of Cosplays provide to Fantasy Festival?
Cosplay is now an established art that is an integral and important part of most festivals and events of this kind and we believe that Cosplayers now have the power to determine and shape the tone and aesthetics of each festival to a large extent!
We encourage and invite everyone, from ordinary visitors to professional cosplayers, to visit and participate in the festival with their costumes, suit and props … We want to see strange fantasy creatures, knights, magicians, superheroes, robots and other familiar and mysterious characters to roam around and interact with each other and with people. This is a key feature we want our festival to have.
Video of the online Fantasy Festival 2020: Online Edition – Video by Fantasy Festival
7) What will one be able to find related to Cosplay at Fantasy Festival? Will there be any specific activities and events related to it? Do you think that Cosplay as a theme will be a key part of Fantasy Festival for a long time?
The purpose of the festival is to include some kind of event related to Cosplay. We have some ideas in mind and based on developments we will carefully decide which of them we will implement but also when … You know very well that setting up a successful Cosplay event is not an easy task.
In any case, we want to try to do something different that’s substantial for both the participants and the audience that will be interested in watching this event. Once we finalize our thoughts we will let you know … rest assured you’ll be the first to know!
Fantasy Festival 2020: Online Edition – Photo by Makri Irene Photography
8) Is there a long term goal or personal dream you want to achieve through Fantasy Festival?
Our vision is to create a pioneering, interactive festival, by international standards and beyond … that promotes Fantasy and is a unique and unforgettable experience for all participants.
There are specific goals we are trying to achieve gradually. The important thing is to build a solid foundation. The conditions are difficult and any effort requires determination, clarity, patience and perseverance to thrive.
Fantasy Festival 2020: Online Edition – Photo by Makri Irene Photography
9) What is the first thing you would tell to someone who seriously considers visiting the first Fantasy Festival?
Rise up, wear your best mood and costumes and let us take you far away … but beyond that, the schedule of activities and the festival’s content will be a strong motivation by themselves for people to visit Fantasy Festival.
But let’s say no more, let’s wait for the pandemic’s situation to get clear before we can get more specific.
Fantasy Festival 2020: Online Edition – Photo by Makri Irene Photography
10) Is there anything last you would like to share with our readers?
We hope that we will be able to get out of this darkness soon and be able to meet with all our friends who love Fantasy in a huge celebration – at Fantasy Festival.
Until that moment arrives, we invite all readers and friends of Cosplayers//GR to visit Fantasy Festival’s website, to get informed about it, get to know us and actively support us on social media and in general.
Thank you very much for inviting us for the interview!
Until we meet, stay sane and safe and keep imagining beyond reality!
Video of the online Fantasy Festival 2021: Online Edition – Video by Fantasy Festival
EVENTS BY FANTASY FESTIVAL ! INFO, PHOTOS & VIDEOS !
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