Northern FanCon has a galaxy of activities inside its walls.
Some of the favourite activities at the north's one and only fan expo is buying the photo opportunities and autographs with the celebrity guests, the vendors selling products of all pop-culture description, the cosplayers dazzling the audience in their elaborate costumes, but there are more things to do and marvel at than three days can cover.
One of the new features this year is not one but two film festivals to enjoy.
Both are free to see, as long as you are in the FanCon room.
The first is the Indie Filmfest that runs Friday evening. The schedule is:
6 p.m. Bonepicker, Testimony: The Jessie Hamilton Story by Newman & Wright Theatre Company (42:39)
6:48 p.m. Tiger by Starlane Films (19.38)
7:13 p.m. Come Down, the music video by Jer Breaks (3:40)
7:22 p.m. Black & Blue: A Blue's Clues Story by Matchstick Men Media (16:31) Warning: contains explicit language
7:44 p.m. The Wayside Runner by Picaroon Pictures (6:57)
7:56 p.m. The Logging Road by Daniel Stark (10:16)
8:12 p.m. Final Breath by Kim Feragen (10:21)
8:28 p.m. Cold Hands by Eric Bizzarri (16.14)
"We are pleased to present our very own celebration of emerging and established filmmakers," said Norm Coyne of UNLTD Media, the organizers of this Prince George Citizen presentation.
That's not the only internal film fest to enjoy, however.
Saturday and Sunday have some horror and suspense flicks that trace to a single master.
"The Dollar Baby Film Festival will feature eight shorts from indie filmmakers based on stories by the one and only Stephen King," said Coyne.
"On hand to open the festival is author, Dollar Baby alumni and Stephen King collaborator Bev Vincent."
The lineup of King flicks includes:
The Doctor's Case - directed by James Douglas
Everything's Eventual - directed by J.P. Scott
Survivor Type: A Dollar Baby Adaptation - directed by Billy Hanson
Rainy Season - directed by Vanessa Ionta Wright
Rest Stop - directed by Stephen Baxter
For The Road - directed by Simon Scott
I Am The Doorway - directed by Simon Pearce
Popsy - directed by Jon Mann
You can watch some killer movies (yes, that pun was intended) and you can also learn how they're made, directly from the people who make them. Creative Corner is one of the information festivals built into the convention, for no additional charge, thanks to the funding support of Creative BC.
Also, Vancouver Film School will have an on-site presence during FanCon, including info sessions and a live audition session on Sunday.
These additional off-camera personalities of the film industry have stellar reps of their own.
A four-time Academy Award nominee (plus four Daytime Emmy and one Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and many other industry accolades) leads this year's behind-the-scenes stars. That's Matthew Wood (he did the sound editing for Star Wars: the Last Jedi, Star Wars: the Force Awakens, Guardians of the Galaxy, and many more) who will be high profile throughout the event.
FanCon also welcomes the director of Tank Girl, groundbreaker filmmaker Rachel Talalay, who will be in the house delivering workshops and panel discussions. She also directed Ghost In The Machine, some scintillating superhero television, and a little project called Doctor Who.
Michael Uslan, the executive producer of the 1989 Batman movie with Michael Keaton (the key performance, many believe, that started all this superhero business) will be live and in person, giving a Q&A after a screening of the film. He will also conduct some insider's workshops.
One of the main panel discussions at FanCon brings many of these film and television industry leaders onto the main stage at the same time.
The Women In Film discussion hosted by Joelene Olson on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. will feature Talalay, Becca Scott, Jenn Lewis, Sara Shaak and Skye Borgman who has a hit documentary, Abducted In Plain Sight, booming on Netflix right now.
Borgman will also be conducting a director/producer how-to workshop called From Indie to Netflix: The 20-Year Path to Overnight Success. Watch The Citizen for a feature conversation in advance of the big Northern FanCon launch on Friday.
For the full list of free panel appearances, workshops, and the autograph/photo-op price lists and celebrity availability (solo and in teams), go to the Northern FanCon website.
