SF Film launches refer only approximately to European/UK release dates and are subject to studio change.
Although covering many countries this convention diary lists only the major national and international SF conventions relating to the genre's literary and cinematic forms. For a more complete list of book conventions (including smaller regional ones especially in the US) then consult the Locus listing. For details of TV related SF conventions in the UK then consult SFX magazine in the UK and for conventions in countries with a significant Russian-speaking population see MIR Fantasy magazine in Russia.
For registration details see the convention's own website linked to each of the below entries.
Jump to 2010 - '11 Films Jump to 2010 - '11 Conventions
2010
March 2010
WORLD HORROR CONVENTON (25th - 28th March '10) Royal Albion Hotel, Brighton, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Guests of Honour: Authors Tannith Lee and David Case, plus Artists Les Edwards and Dave Carson, plus Hugh Lamb as Editor GoH and editor Jo Fletcher as Mistress of Ceremonies and the Special Guest of Honour is James Herbert! (Oh, and the convention's theme is 'Brighton Shock'.)
And then the very next weekend 45 miles (73 km) north in London (travel and sight-seeing guide here) there is...
April 2010
ODYSSEY 2010 (2nd - 5th April '10) Heathrow, London, UK. Guests: Alastair Reynolds (SF), Liz Williams (science fantasy) and Mike Carey (graphic novel writer). This is both the British national convention and a European SF Society Euroconference. The venue is the same as that for the successful 2008 British Eastercon (news review here) and some of the organisers are also the same. Expect well over a thousand attending and at least four parallel programme streams, book dealer's room, art show, fan exhibition area etc, etc. Word has it that the Wednesday (two days) before the convention there will be a sight-seeing tour day of London for visiting mainland Europeans. (Though billed as starting on Friday 2nd, actually many will turn up on the evening of Thursday 1st.) ESFS Eurocon (and ESFS Euroconference) news can be found within the 'Eurocon/Worldcon' subsection of our seasonal Science Fiction News page.
SWANCON 35: CONTAGION (1st - 5th April '10) Perth, Western Australia. Guests of Honour: Scott Sigler (SF) and Ian Irvine (SF). This is Western Australia's 35th convention and will no doubt see much last-minute preparation for Australia hosting the Worldcon in September and as such a must for die-hard Australasian fans. Details e-mail secretary [-at-] 2010 [dot] swancon [dot] com or alternatively rimsey[-at-]iinet[dot]net[dot]au.
BRUSSELS INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL 2010 (9th - 18th April '10) Brussels, Belgium. This is the 28th in this film fest series.
SCI-FI LONDON 9 (28th April - 3rd May '10) Piccadilly, central London. Britain's SF showcase film fest which includes a number of European premieres and which is in central London. You pay for only the films you see and there is a free (for registrants) pub quiz on the Sunday. This year once more there will be SF author and science panels too. With the Forbidden Planet book and comics shop just beyond the Cambridge Circus 1/4 mile away, and other central London attractions on the doorstep, it is well worth combining this event with a city break. Last year's SFL reviewed here.
May 2010
21st ETONNANTS VOYAGEURS [ASTONISHING TRAVELLERS] INTERNATIONAL BOOK AND FILM FESTIVAL (22nd - 24th May '10) Saint-Malo, France. Multi-programme streamed event featuring writer panels and film screenings. This event is more mainstream (think Hay-on-Wye with films) but SF is not marginalised. Indeed it is the new home of the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire ['The Imagination Big Prize']. As with Hay it is big. Some 200 guest programme participants.
June 2010
ROYAL SOCIETY 350 (26th June - 4th July '10) SouthBank Centre, London. This is not a Science Fiction convention but a Science Fact Fest and will appeal to all scientists into SF as it is being run to mark the Royal Society's 350th anniversary and featured cutting edge research with stands manned by the scientists themselves. The Royal Society is the UK learned body to promote excellence (not in 'science' but) science research: the front line where, among other things, SF is turned into science fact.
July 2010
FINNCON 2010 (17th - 18th July '10) Jyväskylä, Finland. This is Finland's national convention and is usually combined with an animecon. GoH: Ellen Kushner and Sari Peltoniemi. More GoH's is expected, as well as some additional Guests. It is known that for example Jeff and Ann VanderMeer will most likely be attending. Coverage of last year's event here.
ESTCON 2010 (24th - 25th July '10 dates to be confirmed) Estonia. This is Estonia's national convention. Estonia is a small country and so the con is similarly sized. Set in the countryside, much socialising is outside. There is a single programme involving authors and film screenings. Stalker awards are presented. Brief news of last year's event here.
August 2010
FRENCH NATCON (26th - 29th Aug '10) Gronoble, France. The 37th French national convention. Small single programmed event but usually with the outdoors or an outing involved somewhere in the mix, good food and wine. Summary of last year's French natcon here.
AU CONTRAIRE (27th - 29th Aug '10) Wellington, New Zealand. This is the New Zealand national convention. The aim is to hold the event the weekend before the Australian Worldcon (see next convention) so that those from outside of Australasia can make the short hop to Worldcon and do two conventions for largely the same travel price from Europe as one. +++ Early sight seeing recommendations here and even more (Wellington and New Zealand info here).
September 2010
WORLDCON 2010 (2nd - 6th Sept '10) Melbourne, Australia. Guests of Honour will be Kim Stanley Robinson, Robin Johnson and Shaun Tan. Remember, this is just a couple of days after the end of the above New Zealand National convention. So if you are travelling to Australasia for one you may as well stay for both events. Worldcon news can be found within the 'Eurocon/Worldcon' subsection of our seasonal Science Fiction News page.
DRAGONCON 2010 (3rd - 6th Sept '09) Atlanta, Georgia, US. This is the 23rd in the series and with some 30,000 attending this is N. America's largest SF convention covering TV, films, comics, games and books as well as science. Some refer to it as the USA's national convention in all but name. Last year's event briefly reviewed here.
FANTASTICON 2010 (18th - 19th Sept '09) Copenhagen, Denmark. This is Denmark's national convention. Guest of Honour: Catherine Asaro.
SWECON 2010 (provisionally end of September) Stockholm, Sweden. This is Sweden's national convention. Details not available at time of creating this annual page (Dec 2009) but check out the link for the latest information (when you get to the convention's home page there usually is a link to an English version).
STARBRIDGE 2010 (provisionally end of September) Kiev, Ukraine. Ukraine's national convention. Last year's event briefly covered here.
October 2010
FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DU FILM D'HORREUR
(6th - 10th Oct '10) Sainte-Maxime, France. This is the third time this fest has been held.21st FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FILMS (15th - 17th Oct '10) Manchester, UK. Including the international amateur and professional independent SF/fantasy/horror film competitions which provides a rare showcase for recent/current SF art house films. Vintage and rare vintage SF, fantasy and horror films are also very well covered in among the three parallel programme streams. Guests will include screenwriter Steven Volk. Exact venue not confirmed as of December when we compile the diary. Last year's event reviewed here.
SF PORTAL (16th Oct '10) Budapest, Hungary. Hungary's national convention. Details will be announced early in the summer.
WORLD FANTASYCON 2010 (28th - 31st Oct '10) Columbus, OH, USA.
BENELUXCON 2010 (29th - 31st Oct '10) Antwerp, Belgium. GoHs are the authors Justina Robson and Charles Stross. Beneluxcon is arguably the closest thing that the three small countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, have as a joint national convention. It consists of two literary SF programme streams.
SF UTOPIALES 2010 (28th - 31st Oct '10 dates to be confirmed) Nantes, France. With some 40,000 passing through its doors this is the World's largest convention! See our brief review of last year's SF Utopiales.
30th ZILANTKON INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF FANTASY & ROLE PLAYING GAMES (31st Oct - 3rd Nov '10 dates to be confirmed) Kazan, Russia. Reportedly the largest regular Russian con with many thousands attending. Though fancy dress and historical / fantasy re-enactments take centre stage there are also writers involved in the programme and film screenings. And of course the Big and Little Zilant Awards are presented.
2011
March 2011
DORTCON 2011 (12th - 13th March '11) Dortmund, Germany. One of Germany's principal SF & F conventions held every other year. The 2007 Dortcon is briefly covered here.
April 2011
SCI-FI LONDON 10 (late April - early May '11 exact dates to be confirmed) Piccadilly, central London. Britain's SF showcase film fest which includes a number of European premieres and which is in central London. Usually two parallel programme streams. You pay for only the films you see and there is a free (for registrants) pub quiz on the Sunday. This year once more there will be SF author and science panels too. With the Forbidden Planet SF book and comics shop just beyond the Cambridge Circus 1/4 mile away, and other central London attractions on the doorstep, it is well worth combining this event with a city break.
WORLD HORROR CONVENTION 2011 (28th April - 1st May '11) Austin, TX, USA.
June 2011
EUROCON 2011 (17th - 19th June (but get there for the evening of the 16th)) Stockholm, Sweden. The Eurocon combined with Sweden's national convention. This year the Eurocon will have a literary approach. Note: The organisers are having a warm-up gathering the evening before the event, hence the need to get there for the evening of the 16th. (No news yet as to their dead dog party plans for the event's end but we dare say we will be told before we have to book travel and accommodation.) The venue is Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology, so even if the con will have a literary SF focus, science enthusiasts may well find the environs of considerable interest (and hopefully the committee will make some use of it with a science strand).
August 2011
RENOVATION -- WORLDCON 2011 (17th - 21st August '11) USA. GoHs: Tim Powers, Ellen Asher, Boris Vallejo and the late Charles N. Brown.
FRENCH NATIONAL CONVENTION 2011 (No website yet (Jan 2010).) (18th - 21st August '11) Enseux, Belgium. Yes, the 38th French natcon is not being held in France but Belgium! Now this is not the first time that this has happened: in 2008 the French natcon was held as part of Boreal in Canada. Enseux is the home of the Belgian SF writer Alain de Bussy and he will be attending this event. What is more than a little odd is that it cashes with the Worldcon: is the Franco-Anglophone gulf really that big?
October 2011
WORLD FANTASYCON 2011 (27th - 30th Oct '11) San Diego, California, USA.
Want a feel for whether any of the above might be for you? Check out our reviews of past SF conventions.
Note: This list features UK/Western European dates as at January 2010, so these may change.
Also release dates in other parts of the World may vary by a few months.
2009
November 2009
2012
A researcher translates an ancient calendar and discovers that the end of the World is nigh. Director: Roland Emmerich.
Planet 51
This Spanish / British offering sees an Earth astronaut is mistaken by the inhabitants of a distant world as an alien invader...
December 2009
Avatar
A distant world seems a paradise ripe for exploitation. But a marine thinks otherwise... This is directed by James Cameron and as such is long awaited.
2010
January 2010
Daybreakers
This Australian-US offering is a reasonably fresh take on vampires and is set in the near future (2019). Then a plague has transformed many humans into vampires, but there is a problem as with so few humans how can the vamps be sustained? Somehow the two 'species' must find a way to co-exist. Stars Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill and Willem Dafoe. We linked to the trailer in our autumnal 2009 newscast. Note: There are two cuts of the film being released. One has a certification of 18 and the other is milder at just 15 (best to check which DVD your getting as the 15 will probably come out first).
The Book of Eli
Travelling across a devastated world, Eli (Denzel Washington) carries a 'sacred' book that may help humanity. Also stars Mila Kunis, Gary Oldman, Michael Gambon, Malcolm McDowell, Jennifer Beals and Frances de la Tour. This is a US offering with some Brits sprinkled in the cast.
The Abaddon File
This is just a short 9 minute offering but we thought you might like it. Don't let your government try psychic spying as the dead might not like it...
February 2010
The Crazies
We have been waiting for this science horror for a while. Of course it is a re-make of the George A. Romero's 1973 film of the same name. We are though still wondering how they will 'update it'? Nonetheless it looks interesting. This time it is not zombies, for which Romero is famous, but a bioweapon that makes the gentle town's folk loopy, the authorities twitchy and the local cop caught in the middle. You can see the trailer here. (The trailer for the 1973 original here.)
Psych 9
Working alone at night in a recently closed hospital, an unstable woman (Sara Foster) witnesses events that may be connected to a string of murders. This is a Brit-US offering shot in the Czech Republic.
The Wolf Man
Now you may recall from our diary last year this was slated to have come out last November (2009) but has been held over (probably due to the Christmas season release competition). A modern re-telling of the classic horror film. Co-stars Anthony Hopkins. Made by Universal and shot in Buckinghamshire (UK).
March 2010
Alice in Wonderland
This is diector Tim Burton's take on the Lewis Carroll classic fantasy novel. The star-rich cast includes: Mia Wasikowska (Alice), Johnny Depp (The Mad Hatter), Helena Bonham Carter (The Red Queen), Crispin Glover (The Knave of Hearts), Anne Hathaway (The White Queen), Stephen Fry (The Cheshire Cat), Christopher Lee (The Jabberwock), Michael Sheen (The White Rabbit), Alan Rickman (The Caterpiller), Matt Lucas (Tweedledee / Tweedledum), Timothy Spall (The Bloodhound), Barbara Windsor (The Dormouse), John Hopkins (Lowell Manchester), Frances de la Tour (Aunt Imogene) and Paul Whitehouse (The March Hare).
Legion
There is an apocalypse of literally Biblical proportions. A group of strangers have to come to terms with the world and themselves before a personal encounter with whatever is behind it all. Note: We understand that this is science fantasy (not fantasy).
Season of the Witch
In the 14th century a woman is being taken by knights to a monastry to determine if she is a witch and the cause of the Black Death... Stars Nicolas Cage and features Christopher Lee.
Clash of Titans
A joint British-US re-make of the 1981 classical Greek heroes tale complete with the Gods of Olympus.
How to Train Your Dragon
This comedy adventure is set in Viking times with dragons.
April 2010
Blood Army
In this British SF-horror offering, humanity has been unaware of the battle between the forces of good and evil, but now the forces of evil are growing. A battle is coming to end all battles, but will anything be left?
May 2010
Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
Film re-make of the 1984 cult horror with the bladed-handed Freddy Krueger.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
A Brit offering in which an angry ruler threatens to destroy the world with a sandstorm. Can our hero save the day and get the princess?
June 2010
July 2010
Shrek: Forever After
One for the kids. (Also out in IMAX format.)
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
One for teenage girls with this vampire romance sequel and third in the series.
Toy Story 3
Another for the kids in the school summer holidays
August 2010
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
The latest version of the classic fairy tale, this time with a modern twist. Stars Nicolas Cage.
September 2010
Visionary
A British mild chiller. A girl is murdered and the murderer might have got away with it but for a private investigator discovering the ability to communicate with the dead. The girl manages to convince the PI that she was murdered and so the hunt for the killer is on before he murders again.
October 2010
Resident Evil: Afterlife
The latest in the science fiction horror series in which a military bioweapon infects people. It continues the story from Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004). Stars Milla Jovovich as Alice the heroine with super reflexes having been treated with an experimental version of the weapon. The film is a British, US and German collaboration and filmed in Toronto (Canada). This is currently (Jan 2010) set to come out a few months later (Jan 2011) in the US. There will also be a 3D release of this film and as such is the first film based on a computer game to come out in 3D.
Guardians of Ga'Hoole
This computer animation film is a US-Australian collaboration. A young owl is kidnapped by older (bad) owls intent on creating soldiers.
Invasion of the Not Quite Dead
British spoof SF horror (shot on location). An alien infection has been lying dormant in the Welsh mountains since the 1970s. Then after a few decades a community becomes infected. Stand by for an invasion of the not quite dead.
November 2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
Out in time for Christmas (so ensuring previous Harry Potter will be on prime time TV), this is the first part of Rowling's final Harry Potter novel. This one will be undoubtedly popular and a shoe-in for a Hugo Award nomination (which says more about the Worldcon SF achievement award than it does about the film).
December 2010
Megamind
A DreamWorks computer animation super hero spoof with the voices of Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The British wing of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment made this adaptation of the C. S. Lewis novel. (Disney dropped out after Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) did not do so well at the box office. Here the children return to Narnia's seas for a voyage on the sailing ship 'The Dawn Treader'.
2011
Silvaticus 3015
This is the last film whose screen story was co-penned by Dan O'Bannon (Dark Star (in which he also co-starred as Pinback), Heavy Metal, Lifeforce (co-writer) and Alien ). At the time of compiling this year's diary (Jan 2010) its release date has not been announced but it will be either at the end of 2010 or be in 2011. Humanity is all but wiped out in 2585 but by 3015 it seems this was not an accident but mass murder.
A Small Window in Time
Not much early news on this but we understand that it is a mainland European collaboration. Tentative release date is April 2011.
Spider-Man 4
Spidy's back for more web slinging. Currently slated for May 2011.
Thor
More Marvel superhero adventure.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II
The final outing... Nuff said.
The First Avenger: Captain America
Another Marvel superhero does his stuff.
The Avengers
With Iron Man firmly established, Thor and now Captain America now out, it was surely only a matter of time before Marvel's Avengers assembled. Nick Fury and The Hulk are also rumoured to be in the mix.
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This page is updated annually in early December -- so get any additions you have to us in November. (See 'contact' below.)
Please note the guidance at the top of this page: this is a listing of primarily national level and international conventions.
There are other sites on the web for regional and more specialist SF events.
Also the film listing relates to British Isles release dates as there are many other websites covering N. American SF.
Note to bookmarkers -- This page's URL remains the same and we update the information annually.
So best cite this as a national SF convention listing and forthcoming film diary without mentioning a specific year.
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