Kaffeeklatsch

Thursday 13:00 – 14:00, London Suite 4 (ExCeL)

Gala Art Show Opening and Book Launch

Thursday 16:30 – 18:00, Art show (ExCeL)

The gala opening of the Art Show is sponsored by Titan Books and features the launch of Jim Burns’ Hyperluminal as well as a joint signing by all of Titan’s attending artists and a chance to meet many of the other artists whose work is on show.

Molly Brown Short Films Interview

Friday 12:00 – 13:30, London Suite 2 (ExCeL)

Alastair Reynolds will interview BSFA Award-winning author Molly Brown about her short films and animations. Molly started making films about three years ago. Since then her short films have been screened at international festivals in the U.K., Germany, Austria, Canada, and the U.S. A selection of her short films (featuring zombies, aliens, robots, and vampires!) will be shown on a continuous loop in the exhibits hall.

Meet the Artists

Friday 12:00 – 13:30, Art show (ExCeL)

Visit the Art Show and meet our attending artists – who will be available by their work to talk, explain and answer questions.

Space on Screen

Friday 15:00 – 16:30, Capital Suite 11 (ExCeL)

One striking contrast in 2013’s SF cinema was visual — the gleaming, luxurious habitat of Elysium versus the detailed, cramped capsules of Gravity. How do we respond to these two very different visions of life in space? To what extent could SF cinema benefit from more Gravity-esque ‘realism’, and to what extent from more Elysium-esque political consciousness? Which films combine the two aesthetics?

SF: What It Is, What It Could Be

Friday 19:00 – 20:00, Capital Suite 13 (ExCeL)

SF as a genre is both loaded and contested, bringing with it decades of controversies, assumptions, prejudices, and possibilities. What do the genre’s various practitioners and consumers think SF is? Are we speaking the same language, or talking past each other? How do perceptions of SF – in terms of who can write it, who can consume it, and what kinds of stories can find a market – create or reinforce realities? Is ‘core’ SF still about space exploration and colonisation, or is there room for other types of stories? If SF is ‘dying’, as we’re frequently told, what does that mean and in whose interests are the preparations for its funeral?

Meet the Artists

Saturday 12:00 – 13:30, Art show (ExCeL)

Visit the Art Show and meet our attending artists – who will be available by their work to talk, explain and answer questions.

The Art and Science of Scale and Atmosphere

Saturday 16:30 – 18:00, Capital Suite 4 (ExCeL)

Few science fiction images are as compelling as those which infect your brain with a sense of scale – giant spaceships, suspended in the void.  In this keynote panel, we explore both the imaginate poetry and the practical techniques that artists bring to bear when they want to squeeze vastness into a single canvas.

Reading: Alastair Reynolds

Saturday 19:30 – 20:00, London Suite 1 (ExCeL)

Autographing – Alastair Reynolds

Sunday 13:30 – 15:00, Big Autographing Space (ExCeL)

I4IS: Far Centaurus – the pros and cons of interstellar travel in science fiction

Sunday 16:00 – 16:30, Capital Suite 14 (ExCeL)

Alastair Reynolds will go on a ramble through some of SF’s wide variety of ideas about interstellar travel, touching on ideas both doubtful and serious from Van Vogt to Greg Egan, but with a focus on the realistic possibilities and problems of actually embarking on such an endeavour.

I4IS: Panel on our Interstellar Future

Sunday 16:30 – 17:30, Capital Suite 14 (ExCeL)

An opportunity to question the presenters and put your own point of view. I4IS will also invite its many friends in Science Fiction and Space Technology to contribute – and to be both original and controversial as we envisage our Interstellar future.