COSPLAY UNIVERSE
Wednesday,
July 13th at 7:00 PM
In Person: Filmmaker Jonathan McHugh and cosplayers Fairwind Cosplay & Rizuki
Members $10
| Public $15 | Free for Young Film Fan Members!
Cosplay Universe explores the
rise of the global Comic Con sub-culture and evolution of Cosplay; the art form
of becoming a character that you love. The film follows the journey of several
international cosplay teams as they compete in what is known as the 'Olympics
of Cosplay' at the World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya, Japan. Cosplay
Universe also chronicles America's top cosplayers' challenges to
turn their geeky hobby into a thriving business. The film taps into the
psychology behind this art of self-expression and demonstrates how Cosplayers
can transform and expand their perceptions of themselves while finding
community. Cosplay Universe features appearances by comic book legend Stan
Lee, cosplay superstars Yaya Han and Jessica Nigri and
many more. (2018, 84min., US/Japan,
English | Dir. Jonathan McHugh & Jordan Rennert)
Fairwind Cosplay is a professional
cosplay model, actor, educator, mermaid performer, and children’s entertainer.
She got her start in the cosplay world in 2008 and has been following her fairy
tale dreams ever since! She has been a guest, panelist, and performer at
several east coast conventions and especially loves working with
children—especially when it comes to teaching the next generation of cosplayers
to find and follow their passion.
Rizuki
is a Long Island cosplayer who has been in the community officially since 2009
but began her cosplay adventures back in 1998. She makes many of her cosplays
and mostly chooses characters from various anime and video game series. She is
the cosplay coordinator for Long Island Tropic Con and Long Island Retro Gaming
Expo, and has been a Cosplay Guest/Judge at various New York events since 2017
including I-CON, Mount Vernon Public Library Comic Expo, EmCon Anime Festival,
OceanCon, CopiaCon, InbeonCon, and Cradle Con, to name a few. She has
facilitated panels, workshops, and official convention photoshoots at events
including Anime NYC, New York Comic Con, AnimeNEXT, Katsucon, and Otakon. Her
platform revolves around strengthening the cosplay community and providing
motivation + resources to cosplayers of all ages. The goal is to assist the
community in enjoying their craft and being better versions of themselves
regardless of social platforms and media misconceptions of cosplay.
Calling All Cosplayers! Cosplayers of all ages
will have a chance to show-off their work to the audience. They are also
invited to come early, and stay afterwards, to meet professional Cosplayers.
They will be at the Cinema Arts Centre to talk about their craft, answer your
questions, and have information about upcoming cons. Come as your
character. Get pointers on wigs, makeup, clothing and props.
