A one day conference dedicated to the Star Wars TV series ‘Andor’? Take a bow Dave Tree! To bring 13 members of the production team to Fordingbridge Town Hall to talk about their work on the show was an incredible feat.
The only event of its kind, for a series that is also the only of its kind, being the first in TV history to have five consecutive episodes with IMDb user scores of 9.5 or higher, plus broader critical claim and a number of award nominations already.
Across the day we heard from Barry Gingell, Dom Sikking, Tereza Hudakova (Graphics Team), Solomon Honey, Samantha Redwood, Rob King (Set Decoration), Jake Lunt Davies, Lee Towersey, Tim Berry (Creature Workshop), TJ Falls, Mohen Leo, Marcus Dryden (VFX) as well as lead Production Designer, Luke Hull.
The panels were hosted (and stage run) expertly by Mark Newbold and the team from Star Wars fan publication Fantha Tracks. Dave’s events fully embrace the “it takes a village..” phrase with friends and family contributing to the running of the event and giving it a welcome DIY feel that’s a stark contrast to soulless conventions, whilst punching far above its weight in both professionalism and ambition.
The attention to detail was fantastic, with custom merchandise including extremely limited Lego builds utilising official bricks to represent niche material from Andor such as the Time Grappler (I had to buy one of the 25 editions) and an event poster that featured the in-world language and typeface developed for this series.
Admirably, funds raised through the auction and other activities were donated to the important nearby charity Moyles Court Wildlife Rescue whose vital work supports animals in the New Forest and across the south coast.
There’s something so special about seeing someone pull off their wild ideas with total conviction. It’s even better when it relates to your favourite franchise and gives you the opportunity to hear incredible insights from the team behind the latest production. Thank you Dave. 👏
Read more about Dave and All The Cool Stuff‘s regular Star Wars event in Fordingbridge, Farthest From.
Liam Toms 