Tuesday 19 / November / 2024
Abu Dhabi: For over 11 years since its inception in 2012, The Middle East Film and Comic Con (MEFCC) has been bringing fans of pop culture together on a grand scale. MEFCC 2023, which took place from 3-5 March 2023 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, was no exception to this, with its massive celebration of all things geeky.
This year, the region’s most prominent comic convention offered the visitors opportunities to meet a diverse set of celebrities, win a variety of competitions and buy nerdy trinkets.
Here are the top highlights of MEFCC 2023!
Celebrity Panels and Meet-&-Greets
MEFCC 2023 offered a star-studded line-up for convention goers from some of the biggest film and television franchises in the world.
Headlining the event were film industry legends like Hayden Christensen (Star Wars), May Calamawy (Moon Knight, Ramy), Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars), and David Harbour (Stranger Things) among others. Prominent voice actors including Christopher Sabat (Dragon Ball Z) and Zach Aguilar (Demon Slayer) also graced the event with their presence.
The convention brought together fandom members with their revered celebratory idols through interactive events like meet-and-greets, interviews and QnA panels.
The celebrities were awed by and acknowledged the love showered by Middle East’s diverse set of nerds and geeks.
Celebrities Anthony Daniels, David Harbour, Matt Smith, May Calamawy and Andy Serkis.
Artist Alley
MEFCC highlights the work of local and international artists in its cornerstone section known as the ‘Artist Alley’.
Convention visitors were able to interact with artists and take home gorgeous artwork in the form of paintings, posters, stickers etc, as well as commission custom pieces.
Cosplay Competition
Another trademark event of MEFCC is the cosplay competition. For those unaware, the word ‘cosplay’ is a portmanteau of ‘costume play’, an event of fancy dress for geeks in simple words.
Con-goers dressed up in their very best and shiniest, and put on a magnificent show for judges and fellow attendees. Winners received cash prizes, and a select few were given an opportunity to visit Japan to participate in the World Cosplay Summit.
Gaming Arena
Gaming is an integral part of the geek experience and culture. The Middle East’s communities of video and board gamers were not left out in MEFCC 2023, with opportunities to play games developed by local and international publishers.
Video gaming fans could also participate in live gaming tournaments of beloved franchises like Valorant and CS:GO. The popular sports game franchise NBA Live also hosted an exhibit, even featuring an arcade-style hoop-shooting basketball game, where players competed to win prizes and create new high scores for the duration of the convention.
Shop till you drop!
It isn’t a convention without avenues for fans to buy their favourite pop culture goodies!
MEFCC brought its A-Game with its exhibitors, featuring retailers both local and international, with all kinds of geeky merchandise and limited-edition collectibles from tiny keychains to action figurines to replicas of iconic pop culture items like lightsabers. The convention offered things of all shapes, sizes and budgets for everyone!
Like all its previous iterations, MEFCC 2023 was a powerhouse celebration of geek culture, and stands tall as one of the largest fan conventions in the MENA region. Undoubtedly, fans will await next year’s Middle East Film and Comic Con with bated breath and excitement!
