Five Things That Are Cool About Worldcon (Anticipation in Montreal)
1. Anticipation is having programming in two languages, English and French. This is especially nifty because most years, “Worldcon” takes place in an English-speaking country, and that’s usually the only language used for panels. Japan is a recent exception.
2. Is this not the coolest program item ever?
“TimeTravellerTM” is a series of short movies about an angry young Mohawk man living in 2121 who uses a new technology to observe and participate in historical events. A machinima production shot in Second Life, there will be a screening of the first episode followed by a talk and Q&A. The “Skins” project is series of workshops designed to teach “Storytelling in Cyberspace” to Aboriginal youth. “Skins” was prototyped with Graphic Arts teacher, Owisokon Lahache, and her students at Kahnawake Survival School during the 2008-2009 academic year. The team created a vertical slice of an original game mod based on Iroquois legends, using the Unreal Tournament game engine. We’ll show a video of the process, also with Q&A.
Time TravellerTM & Skins (1228 – Fri, 19:00, P-511D)
Skawennati Tricia Fragnito, Jason Lewis
3. The Art Show and Masquerade at a Worldcon are not to be missed. The Art Show includes full-size cover paintings from science fiction and fantasy novels. And I will never forget, at the 1998 Baltimore Worldcon, the utterly amazing Masquerade entry that concluded with The Shiny Thing That Fell Over. Or the incredible Green Army Men skit. Closeup – yes, those are human beings in costume and makeup!
4. The Prix Aurora Awards will be held at Worldcon this year. And also, as always, the Hugos. I’m rooting for 26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss by Kij Johnson to win a Hugo for short story. And the Hugo Losers Party afterwards is not to be missed.
5. Melissa Auf der Maur! “She will present her new concept album project, including a CD, a film, and comic. An acoustic set follows the film screening. Directed by Tony Stone, “OOOM,” a 28-minute wordless, hypnotic braid of three science-fictional storylines, was an Official Selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Our members may attend at no additional cost.”
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