Middle East Film and Comic Con Announce Business Forum, Additional Guests and Content for 2015

CEO of top Japanese Anime Studios, Production I.G. and Sanzigen will be visiting MEFCC along with ‘The X-Files’ star, Gillian Anderson

Middle East, March 31, 2015: The Middle East Film and Comic Con (www.mefcc.com) has announced even more content to its burgeoning 4th annual event with a number of new guests and a new entertainment B2B (Business-to-Business) forum dubbed Access: The Business of Entertainment launching this year.

Access will bring together leading industry speakers from across the globe to take an inside look at at the entertainment, licensing and content creation business, giving delegates the chance to share, discuss and network. The business forum which is developed in association with LIMA, the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association, will see discussions on the latest trends in licensing, IP protection and regional retail, an in depth discussion on gaming trends as well as insight into the cutting edge of transmedia development and future technology.

“It was the natural next step for the Comic Con as over the last three years we’ve managed to create a platform for artists with an opportunity to connect with professionals and companies across the region and now we want to bring together regional and international professionals in a bid to develop our entertainment industry even further plus give our artists and creators access to the established industry,“ commented Ben Caddy, CEO of Middle East Film and Comic Con.

Access will host numerous industry leaders including Charles Riotto, President of LIMA (Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association); Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlightrunner Entertainment – the world’s leading transmedia company who’ve worked on projects such as Avatar & The Amazing Spiderman, Jesse Norton, Founder of Fates.com Animation studios with offices in New York and Tokyo,  Donna Bruschi Senior Global Licensing Leader - Sony Pictures; and a host of regional leaders such as Helen Fielding, Head of Licensing for East West Licensing and Narain Jashanmal Head of Advertising - Facebook MENA, to name a few.

Legends from the Anime and Manga World

As content and global partnerships continue to develop year-on-year, MEFCC will also be bringing a trio of legendary figures from the Anime and Manga industry to the Middle East. The CEOs of major animation production studio Production I.G, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and CGI focused studio Sanzigen and Super Ultra Pictures, Hiroaki Matsuura will be making their inaugural visit to the region to share their decades’ long knowledge and experience with fans.

They will be joined by Masami Suda, a veteran of the Anime world who has worked on animation and character design for numerous famous shows including Hokuto no Ken and Gatchaman – known better to international fans as Fist of the North Star and Battle of the Planets!  

“It’s often difficult to bring guests from the from the Anime and Manga world as they are so busy but it speaks to the profile of the event that we’re able to now appeal to more and more talent from that region” added Caddy.

Even More Celebrity Guests Signed

Adding to the  already substantial guest line up, MEFCC oraganisers have also announced the attendance of Miltos Yerolemou best known as the sword master ‘Syrio’ from Game of Thrones and already cast in the new Star Wars film debuting in 2015.  He’ll be meeting fans and giving a select few the opportunity to participate in their own sword fighting masterclass!  Alongside is one of the most popular female characters in all of science-fiction – Agent Scully herself – Gillian Anderson.

Middle East and Comic Con Exclusive Preview at Dubai Mall

Fans wanting to get a sneak peek at The Middle East Film and & Comic Con will be able to enjoy an MEFCC preview hosted by The Dubai Mall this year. Following on from the original Art Wars in 2014, this year MEFCC presents ‘Game of Arts’, a collection of shields, inspired by the fantasy worlds of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings, customised by 20 regional artists.  The shields will be officially unveiled at The Dubai Mall on the 1st of April and will be showcased until the 8th of April. They will then be displayed at MEFCC from the 9th to the 11th of April where they will be sold via a silent auction with a percentage of the proceedings going to the Super Hope UAE Charity.

The Dubai Mall preview will also feature part of the largest Star Wars collection outside the US and Europe, a display of rare and vintage comic books and a cosplay parade which will take place on the 3rd of April.   Many other surprises await The Dubai Mall visitors during #MEFCCXTDM with instant prizes and social media interaction.