Tag: The Golden Blasters

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The Golden Blasters 2019

John Vaughan ponder the Golden Blasters

The Golden Blasters is the annual Irish science fiction short film festival, usually held at Octocon. This year we loaned it to Dublin 2019, an Irish Worldcon. The films were shown on Sunday August 18th and the winners announced by Golden Blasters chair John Vaughan and Octocon co-chairs Janet and Raissa at the Worldcon closing ceremony on Monday August 19th.

For only the third time in Golden Blasters history, both the judges’ award for Best Film and the Silver Blaster audience award went to the same film: “Gryphon Animo“, directed by Matthew Maloney.

The Golden Blaster for Best Script went to Lucas Vossoughi for ‘Recurse’.

The Spirit of Festival Award is given to a filmaker who captures the spirit of why the festival was originally set up. The winner was Emmet O’Brien for ‘Hear Hear’.

Another award not always made is the Golden Blaster for Creative Achievement. This year it was presented to William Simpson for his work as the Storyboard Artist for Game of Thrones.

Will Simpson receives his Golden Blaster for Creative Achievement
William Simpson receives his Golden Blaster for Creative Achievement

The founder and chair of the Golden Blasters, John Vaughan, is sadly stepping down for reasons of ill-health. We would like to congratulate and thank him, and his vice-chair Pat Fanning, for all their hard work over the years, and welcome the new chair Adrian Horsman and vice-chair James Brophy who will be taking over for 2020 and beyond.

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Worldcon is Over…

The first Irish Worldcon, Dublin 2019, wrapped up on Monday 19th August (or Tuesday 20th, if you made it to the second Dead Dog party), having brought over 5500 fans into Dublin to celebrate all the good things that we love to talk about and see at Octocon!

Highlights include:

  • Meeting so many wonderful people at our fan table in the Forum – friends old and new – and selling quite a few memberships. We’ll see you all in October, where we will definitely be chatting about our experiences of Worldcon.
  • John Vaughan delivering yet another dreadful film from the Vault of Horror: “The Swarm” (1978).
The 2019 Golden Blaster award for Best Film - etched glass
  • An excellent discussion on The Monster’s Perspective with regular guests and former Guests of Honour Pat Cadigan, Emma Newman, Peter Morwood and Oisin McGann, moderated by our co-chair Janet O’Sullivan.
  • The Golden Blasters film festival, with the winners announced during the closing ceremony by John and co-chairs Janet and Sakura – they were even introduced by Eoin Colfer!

It was a convention full of pride and delight for the many of us who had worked for hours, days, months and year to help bring it into existence, with more than a few tears shed as well as celebratory pints shared in the fan bar named after recently-deceased fan and friend Martin Hoare.

The sign for Martin's Bar at Dublin 2019, an Irish Worldcon
The sign for Martin’s Bar at Dublin 2019, an Irish Worldcon

You can catch up with us more at Titancon, the 2019 Eurocon in Belfast (Thursday 22nd – Sunday 25th August); and we hope to see you at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Blanchardstown in October!

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Octocon Presents at Worldcon 2019

This year, two of Octocon’s flagship events will be brought to a bigger audience at Dublin 2019, an Irish Worldcon. We’re also re-running one of last year’s panels, with a line-up featuring some of our regular guests and previous Guests of Honour.

Come to one of these, and you can pick up an exclusive souvenir!

Octocon presents: The Vault of Horror

Saturday August 17th, 5:00pm to 6:50pm, CCD Liffey-B (Second Stage)
The Vault is back and for its fifteenth goryious year (see what we did there) we have decided to share both the fun and horror with the Worldcon. Join your host, award-winning screenwriter and film-maker, John Vaughan as he deconstructs moments from some of the worst films ever made. No film is safe and neither is the audience from the laughter and groans which can be heard when the Vault is opened.
With John Vaughan.

Octocon presents: The Monster’s Perspective

Sunday August 18th, 11:00am to 11:50am, CCD Wicklow Hall 2B
Often fiction is an exploration of the human condition as written from the perspective of the monster, the outsider, the other – the one who is different and so questions things that we might have taken for granted. But who defines who is the monster? Regular Octocon guests and previous Guests of Honour revisit a discussion from Octocon 2018.
With Janet O’Sullivan (moderator), Pat Cadigan, Emma Newman, Peter Morwood and Oisin McGann.

Octocon presents: The Golden Blasters

Sunday August 18th, 2:30pm to 4:20pm, Point Square Odeon 1
Octocon is proud to co-host this year’s Golden Blasters with Dublin 2019. Now in their tenth year, the Blasters are dedicated specifically to the art of the short film and screenplay in the genres of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. Please join us as we show you the finalists for this year’s awards – the winners of which will be decided not only by our panel of judges but also by you, with the coveted Silver Blaster audience award. So be sure to come along and help decide which film will take home this year’s Blaster.
Note: The awards will be announced at the Closing Ceremony on Monday August 19th.
With John Vaughan.

Read a bit more about the Golden Blasters on Dublin 2019’s Facebook page.

Dublin 2019 - An Irish Worldcon