G-Fest

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G-Fest is an annual convention devoted to the kaiju film genre and sponsored by Daikaiju Enterprises, Ltd. It regularly features panels, contests, and screenings of giant monster movies at the 1,400-seat Pickwick Theatre. G-Fest is presently held in Rosemont, Illinois, at the Crowne Plaza O’Hare Hotel.

Actors, directors, and special effects technicians who worked on kaiju films in Japan are frequent guests at G-Fest. Since 1999, one guest per year has been honored with the "Mangled Skyscraper Award," sculpted by Gene Rizzardi, for their lasting contributions to the kaiju genre. Consistent features of G-Fest are a Dealers' Room full of kaiju memorabilia, video game tournaments, a 24/7 broadcast of kaiju and tokusatsu content on hotel room television sets, and contests in art, film, modeling, and cosplay. In recent years, it has also introduced a large Artists' Alley and film festival for independent kaiju productions.

G-Fest was founded by G-Fan magazine editor and publisher J. D. Lees, a Canadian high school teacher. Persons assisting Lees in organizing G-Fest include Jeff Horne, Brett Homenick, Armand Vaquer, Stan Hyde, and Dawn McKechnie. Actor Robert Scott Field regularly attends G-Fest as a celebrity guest and translator.

Convention Location Guests Screenings MSA recipient(s) Notes
Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Friends of G-FAN[note 1]
(September 3-4, 1994)
Howard Johnson Addison
O'Hare Airport,
Addison, Illinois
N/A N/A
  • Small gathering of G-Fan's publisher, editors,
    and contributors, along with Chicago-area kaiju fans.
G-Con '95[note 2]
(August 18-20, 1995)
Radisson Hotel,
Arlington Heights, Illinois
N/A N/A N/A
  • First formal kaiju convention outside of Japan. Opened to the public on the 20th.
G-Con '96[note 3]
(August 16-18, 1996)
Radisson Hotel,
Arlington Heights, Illinois
N/A
G-Fest '97
(August 1-3, 1997)
Wyndham Hotel,
Chicago, Illinois
  • Don Glut
  • Marc Cerasini
  • Bob Eggleton
  • Stuart Galbraith IV
  • David Kalat
  • Steve Ryfle
N/A
G-Fest '98
(July 31-August 8, 1998)
Wyndham Hotel,
Chicago, Illinois
  • William Stout
  • Mike Fredericks
  • Yoshikazu Ishii
  • Gene Rizzardi
N/A Collaboration with The Prehistoric Times, a dinosaur magazine.
Four additional movies played on August 1, but their titles are unknown.
G-Fest '99
(July 23-25, 1999)
Hilton Hotel, Burbank, California
  • Forry Ackerman
First G-Fest to book a film in a theater, with Gamera 3:
Revenge of Iris
playing at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles.
G-Fest 2000
(July 14–16, 2000)
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel,
Los Angeles, California
N/A
G-Fest '01
(July 13–15, 2001)
Radisson Hotel,
Arlington Heights, Illinois
N/A
  • Greg Shoemaker

G-Fest '02

G-Fest X

G-Fest XI

G-Fest XII

  • Location: Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois
  • Dates: July 8–10, 2005
  • Guests: Yoshimitsu Banno, Yoshikazu Ishii, Robert Scott Field, Carl Craig, Robert Conte
  • Friday Screenings: H-Man, Godzilla vs. Hedorah
  • Saturday Screening: Godzilla: Final Wars
  • Mangled Skyscraper Award Recipient: Yoshikazu Ishii

G-Fest XIII

G-Fest XIV

  • Location: Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois
  • Dates: July 6–8, 2007
  • Guests: Rhodes Reason, Shelley Sweeney, Robert Scott Field, Don Glut
  • Saturday Afternoon Concert Performed by: Rieko Wada, Tomomi Matsumura, Shetoshi Yamada, Marcus Dunleavy
  • Friday Screening: King Kong Escapes
  • Saturday Screening: King Kong vs. Godzilla
  • Mangled Skyscraper Award presented to: Don Glut

G-Fest XV

G-Fest XVI

G-Fest XVII

G-Fest XVIII

G-Fest XIX

G-Fest XX

G-Fest XXI

G-Fest XXII

G-Fest XXIII

G-Fest XXIV (Shin G-Fest)

G-Fest XXV

G-Fest XXVI

G-Fest XXVII

  • Location: Hyatt Regency O'Hare Chicago in Rosemont, Illinois
  • Dates: July 9-11, 2021
  • Guests: To be announced
  • Screenings: To be announced
  • Mangled Skyscraper Award Recipient: To be announced
  • Note: Originally scheduled for July 10-12, 2020, at the Crowne Plaza. Hiroyuki Kawase and Brian Rogers were announced as guests before the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gallery

Posters

External links

Notes

  1. Retroactively referred to as G-Fest '94.
  2. Retroactively referred to as G-Fest '95.
  3. Retroactively referred to as G-Fest '96.

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