The Annual Celebration for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Role-Playing Fans
Tel Aviv Cinematheque, 9-14 October 2006
 
The annual Science Fiction, Fantasy and Role-Playing festival will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and, as always, it continues to grow and develop.

As in every year, Icon will be held during the Succoth holiday at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque and adjacent complexes. The festival will encompass four days, almost 24 hours a day.

The theme of this year’s festival will be dreams – a subject featured in numerous sf and fantasy stories and films, either as the underlying premise, as inspiration or as an opening point for the story. All of our dreams can be found in sf and fantasy – from the hope for a better future for humanity, through the aspiration to travel among the stars and explore the final frontiers of human knowledge, to ghoulish nightmares and bizarre incidents in the dark Elm Street corners. These stories voice our hope to achieve what is impossible today while creating further impossible dreams to be pursued, achieved and surpassed in the future. These and many other dreams will come to life at Icon – in movies, lectures, role-playing games and various other activities.

The guest of honor in this year’s festival is internationally known as the best fantasy writer in recent years – Neil Gaiman. A world-renowned author and screenwriter, Gaiman has been honored over the past 15 years with numerous awards in his various fields of work, and is an artist who enchanted millions through every medium in which he chose to immerse himself – be it graphic novels, literature, television or movies. Throughout his work, the subject of dreams has always been a dominant theme.

In addition to the guest of honor, other guests at Icon will include Israeli authors and artists, thinkers and scholars who will conduct panels, lectures, open discussions and much more. Events will range from scientific, literary and historical lectures to live and tabletop role-playing games through everything in between. The international film festival forming a central part of Icon will proudly present an even wider range of international cinema than last year. As always, Icon will offer varied cultural and entertainment events for both core fans and the general public.
 
As in previous years, two awards will be granted at Icon: the Geffen awards for the best sf and fantasy literature published in Hebrew in the past year, and the Icon award, chosen by vote of festival visitors and a panel of jurors, for the best movies shown during the festival.

The Icon Festival is produced in conjunction with the Tel Aviv municipality and the Tel Aviv Cinematheque and is organized by three non-profit organizations that promote fantastic culture in Israel: the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy, Starbase 972 and The Israeli Role-Playing Society.

Come dream with us at Icon 2006.