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Fan Expo Vancouver 2022 Convention Report

As for what’s next, it’s safe to say they’ll be back next year during BC Family Day. I was pleased that it wasn’t competing with another event upstairs and all I can hope for is to see the city embrace this event like in Calgary, complete with a parade.

Just Like Bender from Futurama, Fan Expo Vancouver is back!

The event showed no signs of operating at half capacity since a few days prior, the latest health protocols said it was okay to be at capacity. I firmly believe the organisers got lucky. Plus, entry to the event was perfectly handled and there was enough staff throughout the day. You walked in, showed your vaccine card and id, and you’re in. There was no bottleneck. All that was asked for is for everyone to continue wearing a face mask. Travellers from afar were enjoying other events this city offered and were unaware this event was happening. I chatted with a few who were curious about the cosplayers walking around the inlet.

The team behind this event were certainly cautious in how much should be spent advertising because all I saw around town were ads on poster cylinders. I can’t speak for newspaper or television since I didn’t look, but I feel that’s needed as this part of the world is getting back to normal and leaving the pandemic behind.

Even though there were overlaps with panels and when I had to be present for a photo op, there was plenty to see and do. I enjoyed chatting with the talents in Artists’ Alley and when there were no lineups for the celebrities, got to talk to them. Like previous years, there’s always going to be some kind of representation with the locally made television shows, namely Legends of Tomorrow, and this aspect is always appreciated. This year, it was about the latest, Superman and Lois.

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Convention Updates in British Columbia

Capital City Comic Con, is postponed. They announced yesterday that instead of its usual Spring Break date, it’ll be taking place in Sept 23-25 instead.

Fan Expo Vancouver looks like it will take place on February 19-21, and they most likely have to double up on enforcing health safety protocols given that another event is not going to take place (please check their faq for the latest updates).

For the big city event, there’s been only one cancellation so far. Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom of Harry Potter fame) can no longer make it; perhaps something at Hogwarts school has come to this attention that he has to take care of. There was supposed to be a certain Jack Skellington to appear, but another holiday is calling to him to wreck up. In his place Jordan Elsass and Alexander Garfin (better known as Jonathan and Jordan Kent from Superman and Lois) are coming to this event instead! This series is now into season two and paving a way for TheCW to revamp their Arrowverse.

Instead, we have a wide range of returning favourites–William Shatner, Robert Englund and Kevin Smith–are invited back. The latter is joined by Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson, Trevor Fehrman, and Brian O’Halloran for a Clerks reunion. Their slice of life Americana is what made this movie a cult classic.

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Pandemics, Fan Expo Vancouver and Capital City Comic Con 2022. How Can The World Survive?

As this year looks to be difficult, just what kind of comic con can survive as the world navigates through the pandemic?

FAN EXPO VANCOUVER - Festivals - 999 Canada Pl, Vancouver, BC - Phone Number - Capital City Comic Con 2022 As we enter year three of the pandemic, it‘s safe to say no pop culture convention is expected to run at full capacity. Despite reports of other big events–namely Fan Expo Portland–cancelling for this region, the organizers behind two of British Columbia’s events (Fan Expo Vancouver and Capital City Comic Con) are still listed as taking place in February and March. They are most likely going to operate at half capacity in accordinace to health guidelines.

Some events have to sally forth otherwise bankruptcy has to be declared. Contracts were signed, and not many have a Impossibility Clause. That is, the government has to directly intervene to say this event cannot continue and there’d be no breach of contract. It’s expected that attendees will have to wear masks throughout and show proof of being vaccinated.

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Honouring Hara Setsuko at the Cinematheque

Setsuko Hara web2 Co-presented with the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre
Dec 23, 2021 – Jan 3, 2022

In celebration of the 100th birthday of beloved Japanese actress and icon Hara Setsuko, The Cinematheque and the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre proudly present Ozu Yasujiro’s so-called “Noriko Trilogy,” the cycle of immortal masterworks, informally named after Hara’s onscreen counterparts, that endeared the luminous talent to movielovers the world over.

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How to Plan for Fan Expo Vancouver 2022

Fan Expo Vancouver is gearing up to return Feb 19 to 21, 2022 and it’ll be magical!

Fan Expo Vancouver is gearing up to return Feb 19 to 21, 2022 and it’ll be magical! Ticket sales started in December, and it’d make for a terrific gift for those hankering to return to the pop culture convention scene.

Matthew Lewis from the Harry Potter movies is one of the first talents announced. After these films, he’s appeared in local theatre and the occasional film, like The Rise and Terminal. His transition from a chubby young actor to hunk has many female hearts a-fluttering, and those who’ve followed his television appearances must be giggling concerning his latest work in the new All Creatures Great and Small.

Also known to be appearing are the vocal talents behind the popular anime, My Hero Academia–Justin Briner, Jason Liebrecht and Christopher Sabat.

More names are expected to be announced late December and in the New Year. There’ll be at least a dozen talents to meet; as for who they are won’t be easy to predict as the Fan Expo brand has expanded into the States; they’re replacing Wizard World. Portland’s show has the Back to the Future cast in attendance in January, and it’s not likely they’ll refreshed in time for Vancouver the following month. The Dallas and San Francisco show will take place much later in the year.

Monitoring other events worldwide suggests not every organizer–talents included–is a hundred percent certain they can offer a packed event, and Fan Expo Vancouver is no different. The hope here is that the organizers will consider using other parts of the building rather than concentrate everything on one floor. It was done when this gathering was young, but it transitioned to being all in one tent event the past few years.

More and more pop culture conventions have protocols in place to keep attendees healthy. In what to expect for this event includes:

A check station for those fully vaccinated to get a wristband or sticker to put on their badge to certify they are ‘safe.’
Wearing a face mask at all times. Certification guidelines will vary (please check faq for the latest updates).
Sanitization stations
Plexiglass barriers in photo-op and autograph areas.

A Filthy Lot, From Startup to Vancouver’s Variety Channel for Gamers and Nerds Alike

Gemma knows that A Filthy Lot is walking into this with their eyes wide open. “You hope for big success out of the gate–of course you do–but, I know it’s going to take five years,” he realistically said.

(Top to Bottom): Nadav Sacha-Santo, Trevor Gemma, Billie Taylor and Chris Livingston.

2023 Update: This company has rebranded post-pandemic to QuestCoast Studios

A Filthy Lot Entertainment is a relatively new North Vancouver based company who encourages content creators to just do it. A Filthy Questline is one of their three channels (the others are the main, an anything goes, and comedy channel) where talents can show off their love for pop culture. Whether that’d be with comic book movies, board games, video games or role-playing, there’s a lot more to this company than meets the eye.

Christopher Livingston is the CEO and Trevor Gemma is the CCO of this company. Before creating this company, they both had careers in the local film/television scene. The former was a lighting technician but he wanted to produce. Part of his credits include The Killing, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl and Pirates of the Caribbean 5. The latter was an actor with the desire to craft his own productions. From a local cult hit Gutterballs to The Little Mermaid, a horror film, to Riese the Series (web) his success was as varied as the wind that guides him. The two met during production of Riese.

“It was a magical little web series everyone became friends on, which doesn’t happen very often in the film. I’ve made a lot of long-term friends there, including Chris, Nadav, and Mischa, who were with us when we started the company,” said Gemma.

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