2016 Zilantcon: performance of Melnitsa, ball of Game of Thrones and bride for Henry VIII
Organisers of the festival that became one of the brands of Kazan say that the flow of participants from other cities has fallen
The next and one of the biggest festivals of fantasy and role-playing games Zilantcon opens in Kazan on 3 November. At a press conference, the organisers of the event told the number of participants would not change considerably. However, due to a rise in the very trip, fewer fans of fantasy and role-playing games are expected in Kazan this time. Realnoe Vremya tells about the cost of Zilantcon, where the money for it comes from and why Star Wars will pass it by.
Zilantcon stops being a centre of attraction for tourists?
The Lenin Culture Centre will traditionally host Zilantcon international festival of fantasy and role-playing games on 3 November. The 26 th festival will gather about 1,000 fans of fantasy, Tolkien and role-playing games under one roof.
The chairman of the organising committee of Zilantcon Boris Fetisov says that the budget of the festival has made up about 1,5 million rubles this year as well as last year. 95% of them are target contributions of participants to the organisation of the event. The biggest amount of the fee is 2,300 rubles per person.
The speaker thinks the absence of an external financing is not something bad but, on the contrary, it gives the organisers an opportunity to do what they consider necessary.
Answering a question of Realnoe Vremya asked at the press conference of Tatar-inform, Fetisov told the economic situation had a negative impact on them. But it did not affect the prices much.
'In general, we know how to count and don't pursue any commercial success at Zilantcon. Our goal is not to earn on it. There is a task to have no losses and preferably not to invest money, flats and other values. At the moment we manage to do it,' the organiser told with laughter.
According to him, related expenses are growing faster than participation fees, for example, train tickets.
'This, unfortunately, significantly reduces the flow of participants who come from other cities. This is why, of course, the economic situation affects us.'
Fetisov is forecasting that, in general, the number of participants is going to be at the level of 1,000 people but only due to a greater amount of participants from Kazan. 'Generally speaking, the number of participants from other cities is reducing, while the number of participants and guests from the city is growing.'
The speaker said that citizens from other cities organised the festival more than the Kazan people. About 350-400 people organise events at Zilantcon. 100 people of them are from Kazan. The rest of them visit the event at their own expense.
'We say that the festival is international. And we are not lying. It is international not because of its participants but its organisers. It is not one team of effective managers who upped and did it. It is a great number of people each of whom does his or her job and is responsible for their part of the job,' Fetisov said.
Performance of Melnitsa group, Middle-earth Ball and bride for Henry VIII
The international festival will last for four days and contain many events. The first day, on 3 November, will be dedicated to the musical programme. A concert of the soloist of Melnitsa group Hellawes with a programme called 36,6 will be its culmination, which starts at 19.00. The Middle-earth Ball according to The Lord of the Rings will take place on the same day. Dances are to be held during the next two days – Henry VIII's ball is on 4 November when the King will choose his next wife, and a ball based on Game of Thrones is on 5 November. The second day of the festival will be held under the aegis of table games, while the third day will unite fans of fencing. Apart from that, different workshops, lectures and round-table talks will take place there. To put an example, there will be a round-table talk 'Harry Potter against Krapivin boys'.
A Russian fantasy writer Svyatoslav Loginov is expected to come. The honourable president and founder of Zilantcon Andrey Yermolaev told about it in detail.
'He is the person who founded fantasy in Russia in the early 90s and did it all of a sudden. People called him a 'sudden patriarch of Russian fantasy' at that moment,' the speaker noted.
Russian fantasy writers Lyudmila Belash and Aleksandr Belash, writer and expert in literature Alan Kubatiev, who will hold literary seminars, are expected to come too.
Yermolaev tells that the festival is a place where fans of books and role-playing games can gather and talk. He says the spirit of the two kinds of people is similar. They like to fantasise, and it unites them.
Zilantcon ends on 6 November. If the last possibility to pay a participation fee for participants of the festival expired on 28 October, its guests have an opportunity to buy a single-use ticket on the spot. On the first day, it will cost 1,000 rubles, later – 600 rubles. Volunteers will monitor the event during the festival days.
By the way, the Lenin Culture Centre will close for repair work after Zilantcon. Boris Fetisov calmed down the fans of the festival. According to the plan, the repair work is due to end by September next year. The festival is likely to take place in the traditional place in 2017.
Game of Thrones overshadowed Star Wars
The first episode of the spin-off of the cosmic saga Star Wars called Rogue One is expected to appear in December. However, this time attention to it won't be paid at Zilantcon. Answering a question of Realnoe Vremya, Fetisov explained that the organiser reacted to the interest of fantasy and role-playing game fans. This time there was not such interest. This is why Star Wars will be passed by at the festival. One the most popular series Game of Thrones is still given pride of place.
As usual, great attention will be paid to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The topic of Star Wars was discussed last year. Fans also waited for the appearance of the next episode of the saga. For this reason, there was a role-playing competition dedicated to it. This year Fetisov have heard little about Star Wars. 'In this sense, the festival is vox populi. Interesting plots arise. If the topic is not popular, it won't arise,' the organiser explained.