Cosplay with a needle: "Black Silk" and the sequel to "Daddy's Daughters" were presented at the "Fandom Fest"

K-pop idols, Baba Yaga, Philip Kirkorov, fairies and angels are all guests and participants of the 2026 Fandom Fest. For two days, the CSKA Arena became a venue for lectures, presentations and a full-fledged music show. The festival guests were among the first to see exclusive footage from the filming of the action detective story "Black Silk" and found out what the sixth season of Daddy's Daughters will be like. New Ones" and even saw a short scene from the finale of the series "It's hard to be a God." For more information, see the Izvestia report.

Fairy tales and anime under one roof

Last weekend, the CSKA Arena sports complex in Moscow was filled with people in wigs, crinolines and overalls. There were even fairies and angels with big outstretched wings in the corridors. Indeed, from October 10 to October 11, a bright VKontakte event, the Fandom Fest, was held in the capital. Cosplayers, artists, k-pop artists straight from Korea and Russian movie stars met under one roof.

On the approach to the building, nothing gave away a special atmosphere, but the gray facade is deceptive. You realize this when you come across a man with a saber in a long black cloak right at the entrance — not quite a typical image for Moscow streets. The further down the corridors, the richer the colors of the outfits and the friendlier the atmosphere. The events of the festival are taking place in parallel — while familiar characters are parading on stage, important fandom topics are being discussed in the lecture hall, including the development of new film adaptations and the specifics of the approach to fantasy in Russian realities.

The first such events were held back in the noughties. Over the years, the cosplayer movement has become more widespread. The approach to costumes has also changed — if earlier they turned to improvised tools and papier-mache for this, today 3D printers and professional work of sewing workshops are already in use. It is all the more interesting to look at the images that are constantly found on the Fandom Fest site. There is handwork, filigree embroidery, and detailed props. In addition to those who decided to take part in the cosplay competition this year, there are also venerable masters on the site. Everyone is ready to offer the author's merch and give good advice.

— When I was a child, I went to theater clubs. Then I really liked one character. I thought, why not try to create a cosplay. Then I didn't understand which masters to choose, what to buy and where. I came to what I have now through mistakes. Today, it's both art and self—expression for me," cosplay legend Anya Ichios told Izvestia at the festival site. — I choose the characters according to their type and character. Perhaps also by sympathy. I don't take a hero who's just on hype. I'd rather make the most niche character that no one knows, but I like him.

The general collection of fandoms was full of variety this time. Asian cultural characters are still interesting to Russians, but now it is increasingly possible to see characters with a domestic cultural code in the ranks of cosplayers. Among them are Finist and Baba Yaga from the cinematic universe of The Last Hero, the Frog Princess, the Peasant from the Village of Fools, and even Philip Kirkorov on the arm of Alla Pugacheva.

— I've loved Soviet cartoons since I was a kid. Fun from the "Flying Ship" is one of the bright heroines. She's big, bright, and full of character. I've already done a cosplay for the Chieftain from the Bremen Town Musicians, and Miss Bock from Carlson is in the plans," the participant under the name Kashi shared with Izvestia, barely leaving the stage.

The heroes of Western culture were a little less frequent, but they also met at the festival site. In general, as noted in the industry, trends have changed today.

— This year and last year, there is rather a decline in Asian culture. Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, and Honkai used to be very popular. Now there are Resident Evil cosplays. Dungeons & Dragons, various fantasy and more are popular again," Ichios emphasized.

Large-scale action of "Black Silk"

However, the Russian content at the festival was represented not only by characters. Special attention was paid to cinematography in the program of the event.

The Black Silk team from the Fandom Fest stage promised that the new film would be even bigger than the first part. Part of the filming took place again in China at the Hengdian World Studios. These decorations literally transfer into the atmosphere of the "Asian New York" - Shanghai of the 1930s. It is there that the secret cargo called "Black Silk" is delivered according to the plot. The purpose of the content is the main intrigue of the action detective, which is expected to premiere in March 2027.

A full-fledged airship and passenger liner were built in Moscow for filming. Exclusive backstage footage, which was presented at the festival, confirms: The action in the sequel to "Red Silk" will reach a new level. What are the storm scenes on the ship?

— We've been rehearsing these scenes for a long time. Preparation is a key part of the job, and filming is already the cherry on the cake, actor Milos Bikovic told Izvestia. Filming in wetsuits in cold water was difficult, but exciting. We had several such shooting days. And I realized that for scenes like this, you need to strengthen your immune system somehow, and learn how to warm up quickly between takes. And don't forget, all this is happening in Japanese and Russian.

Maxim Matveev, who embodied Richard Sorge's scout in the sequel, performed most of the action scenes on the set on his own, without the help of stuntmen. A special challenge was dancing in partnership with Zheng Hanyi.

— Tango is a very complex structure for perception. It also had to be covered by the system of relationships between the characters, conflict and dispute, in some ways quite aggressive. During the rehearsals, we raised this structure to an absolute rank, so it was already easy on the set," Matveev said in an interview with Izvestia.

By the will of fate, among the passengers of the liner will also be the pilot — heroine Mai Giter, and the Polish Catholic nun, played by Polina Kutsenko. The actresses admitted that there was a warm atmosphere on the set, and director Andrei Volgin, despite the frenzied pace of work, paid attention to every artist on the set.

He himself promised the audience a lot of spectacular surprises.

— We have a large number of attractions that are distributed throughout the film. This is a calculated enough story for the viewer not to be discouraged: somewhere he dug into the detective story, and somewhere he switched his attention and watched the entertainment component," director Andrei Volgin told Izvestia.

From the Strugatskys to the Vasnetsovs

A few days before the release of the final episode of the series "It's Hard to be a God," the approach to the adaptation of the Strugatsky brothers' works was also discussed at the Fandom Fest site. As Andrey Zolotarev, the screenwriter of the new project, emphasized, there are many subtexts hidden in this author's film story. To prove this, the festival guests were shown one of the scenes of the final episode — almost 5 minutes of action against the background of a philosophical dialogue.

— The Strugatskys always send actions over the horizon. Ent in any of their works is much broader than the plot. It's a great pleasure to try to look there," he clarified during the session.

Among other series, a special place was occupied by "Daddy's Daughters. New ones." It would seem that not so long ago the viewer saw on the screen another generation of the Vasnetsov-Vasilyev family. Meanwhile, the sixth season is coming out in October, and it is already known about the appearance of the seventh. In the upcoming episodes, the company of your favorite characters will be Lucy Chebotina and Nikita Kologrivy. The scene with the latter was presented to the audience on the main stage.

There is a food court and activity areas on the floor above. Anyone could play computer or board games during the festival. And there were no empty seats at any of the tables in the so-called quiet corner. Board games have never attracted so many fairy-tale characters as during the days of the Fandom Fest.

South Korean rapper BewhY and the band W24 became the musical headliners of the event in 2026. These performances definitely did not leave the audience indifferent, charging them with a mood that will now definitely last until the next "Fandom Fest".