Middle East Film and Comic Con 2023: Meet these stars in Abu Dhabi this weekend

It's that time of the year again when comic world fans converge, many in full costume, in the UAE for the ultimate pop culture festival - the Middle East Film and Comic Con (MEFCC). The festival is being held in Abu Dhabi at ADNEC for three days, starting tomorrow (Friday). The event will conclude on March 5.

The three-day festival will also see fan-favourite celebrities from the world of comic-book-inspired movies and fantasy dramas. We compile a list of the familiar faces you'll get to see in Abu Dhabi this weekend. Attendees will also get a chance to get autographs and photos with the stars.

HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN: Best known for his role as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Wader in the Star Wars franchise, Canadian actor Christensen will attend the event. You'll be able to meet and greet the star on March 4 and 5, and vouchers for autographs/photographs will cost you Dh470-490 if you have a standard ticket.

ANTHONY DANIELS: The English actor is best known for bringing to life Star Wars’ neurotic golden droid, C3PO, and will be at the festival over all three days. The Clone Wars, LEGO-The Yoda Chronicles, Droid Tales and Rebels are some of the other animated series he has voiced, as well as the WAZE and TomTom GPS satnav devices. Autograph/photo vouchers for this star start at Dh270.

MATT SMITH: Known to Game of Thrones fans as Prince Daemon Targaryen, this 'House of Dragons' star will be in Abu Dhabi for two days (Friday and Saturday). He has also acted in Dr Who, The Crown and Morbius. Vouchers to meet him start at Dh350.

ANDY SERKIS: The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) star, who played 'Gollum', is a familiar face for fantasy fans with his roles in Planet of the Apes, Star Wars, Black Panther and Batman. Vouchers for this star will cost Dh350/Dh370 and Serkis will be at the event of March 4 and 5.

DAVID HARBOUR: Harbour plays the lovable Hawkins Chief of Police Jim Hopper in Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things, which has garnered him Golden Globes and Emmy nominations. He also starred in No Sudden Move, and Marvel’s Black Widow as “The Red Guardian”. The star will be at ADNEC on March 4 and 5, and vouchers start at Dh350.

JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER: UK-born actor, entertainer, songwriter, and artist has become embedded in the mythos of Harry Potter, The Twilight Saga, Mortal Instruments, Fantastic Beasts, and, as of 2022, Netflix’s most popular original series Stranger Things. He will attend MEFCC on March 4 and 5.

MAY CALAMAWY: Egyptian-Palestininan actress Calamawy is blazing new trails as one of Hollywood’s most exciting rising stars. Her breakthrough role was in the comedy series, Ramy, but you may know her better as Layla El-Faouly in Moon Knight. She will meet and greet fans on March 3 and 4.

This year's festival is a great place to be if you're an aspiring comic book author/artist with local creators and international artists giving talks during the event. Examples include legendary comic artists Ken Lashley and Ryan Ottley. Ryan Ottley is highly regarded for his iconic masterpieces on Marvel titles such as The Amazing Spider-Man and Hulk. Ken Lashley, on the other hand, has worked across the comic book industry with DC (Suicide Squad, Superwoman, Batwing, Superboy) and Marvel (Excalibur, X-Men Gold, Rising Stars, Black Panther).

The best part of MEFCC is that you get to dress up as your favourite character and stand a chance at winning Dh30,000 or a unique opportunity to represent the UAE at the World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya Japan (for winners of the WCS Preliminaries).

Movie lovers will be spoiled for choice at this year’s Cine Club which will have exclusive screenings of feature films, trailers and featurettes; Q&A panels with guest stars sharing their personal experiences in the industry and community meet-ups with celebrity panels.

The plaza will also host Kid’s Zone and the Foodie’s Village, with food trucks and customised MEFCC menus. Tickets are on sale at Dh135 for single-day and Dh299 for three-day access. VIP ticket-holders will not need to purchase celebrity meet-up vouchers separately.

Timings of the event on Friday are 3pm to 11pm, and 12pm to 11pm on Saturday and Sunday. If you have bought tickets to the celebrity meet-ups, ensure you get there atleast 30 minutes ahead of time. All schedules and timings are available on the official event website.