The 9th Edition of the Fórum Fantástico (Fantastic Forum) is on the horizon!
Lisbon (Lisboa), Portugal
To be held at the Orlando Ribeiro Municipal Library (Biblioteca Municipal Orlando Ribeiro), Lisbon (Portugal), 14-16 November 2014, Fórum Fantástico will provide, as always, several days of rich programming discoveries of the portuguese and international Fantastika.
Fórum Fantástico (Fantastic Forum) is an international Science Fiction and Fantasy convention that takes place yearly in Lisbon, Portugal.
Fórum Fantástico covers fantastic literature, as well as the fantastic in other media, and harbours author and book presentations, talks, debates, signings, exhibits, etc.
It is open and free to the general public, with the main goal is to promote the fantastic genre. Besides a wide range of Portuguese creators, editors and academics, in past years we have had foreign guests as George R.R. Martin, Christopher Priest, Paul McAuley, Peter V Brett, Dan Wells, Zoran Zivkovic, Richard Morgan, Stephen Hunt, Elia Barceló, Nick Sagan, Juan Miguel Aguilera, C.B. Cebulski, Edward James, Mark Brake, among others.
The Fórum Fantástico 2014 (FF2014) will take place from November 14th to 16th at Orlando Ribeiro Municipal Library (Lisbon), which will be the ninth edition.
Julio Cortázar (1914-1984), Argentine novelist, short story writer, and essayist
This year, the festival will underline the “Cortázar Year”, marking the centenary of the Argentinian writer, especially through a collaboration with publisher Cavalo de Ferro, which has been releasing several previously unavailable works in Portuguese by the author. Among other activities, a photographic competition/exhibition dedicated to Julio Cortázar is being promoted.
While talking about commemorations, the FF2014 will also spotlight the 30th Anniversary of the Science Fiction Movies Festival “1984 – Is the Future today?”, a groundbreaking national genre event, that involved the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Cinemateca, the National Cinema Institute.
The Guest of Honor of FF2014 is the Welsh writer Rhys Hughes, a writer of Fantastika and Magic Realism who often uses comedy and absurdism to examine philosophical issues. Rhys Hughes is known for his original ideas, intricate plots and entertaining wordplay.
Together with him, a wide array of Portuguese writers, directors, graphic artists, game designers, editors, and more, are attending, giving rise to a diverse 3-days filled program, with special emphasis to the presentation of several collaborative works. Besides literature, the program includes illustration, comics, cinema, music, radio, games and new technologies.
Lastly, the FF2014 will testify to the birth of the Adamastor Awards of the Fantastic, an annual initiative, organized by the Trëma Collective, which will distinguish the genre national creation output on literature and comics, and will give a special award to notable individuals within the genre. To those unfamiliar with Portuguese folklore, Adamastor was the mythological giant preventing European navigators from crossing the south tip of Africa, from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, during the Age of Discoveries.
The Fórum Fantástico event is organized by Épica – Associação Portuguesa do Fantástico nas Artes (The Portuguese Association of the Fantastic in the Arts).
Editor’s Note :
The Fórum Fantástico event is organized by Rogério Ribeiro and Épica – The Portuguese Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, and sponsored by several institutions, publishers and other companies. Entrance to the event and access to all sessions is free of charge.
From left : Rogério Ribeiro, Safaa Dib, Diogo Madredeus, Filipe Cardoso
Épica, Associação Portuguesa do Fantástico nas Artes (The Portuguese Association of the Fantastic in the Arts) was established in the year 2004 , following the 1st Meeting of Literary Fantasy and Science Fiction held in May at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon.
Épica consists of the following founding members:
Bruno Jacinto, Isabel Penteado, João Barreiros, João Cristóvão, João Seixas, João Ventura, Luís Filipe Silva, Luís Rodrigues, Pedro Marvão, Phillip Moringer, Rogério Ribeiro, Safaa Dib.
The association, headed by Rogério Ribeiro, organized lectures, debates and book launches that gathered editors, writers, critics and the audience in a discussion that was primarily aimed at stimulating the Portuguese Fantastika.
The receptivity of the public allowed to set new goals, and so, in late 2004, became possible to organize a dedicated to a Fantastika special event in a more ambitious convention mold, the Fantastic Forum in Lisbon, Portugal’s annual convention that encompasses the various aspects of the fantastic genre. The main objective of the event is to inform the general public of the work of creators and Portuguese and foreign scholars in the Fantastika area, as well as encourage and enrich the study and discussion on the Fantastika in Portugal.
Épica expanded its range of activities in the coming years and initiated new partnerships and projects.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/F%C3%B3rum-Fant%C3%A1stico/132519120136500
Rogério Ribeiro was born (in Torres Novas, Portugal, in 1971) at dawn for the pure pleasure of annoying the neighbors who took such offense at being yanked to their childish fantasies. He graduated in Biology and engaged in the scientific research, having articles published internationally and awards. As misfortune never comes alone, he was the Dragão Quântico (Quantum Dragon) fanzine’s editor and of the Bang ! magazine, a founding member and president of Epica, the Portuguese Association of the Fantastic in the Arts, and organizer of the Fantastic Forum since 2004.
Fantasporto, An Anthology of Portuguese Science Fiction by Rogério Ribeiro
