Without Ina’s bad grades in English she might never have found filk – because that was the reason her parents sent her off to Swindon, England on a student exchange in 1983. Her host family took her to the movies – “Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi”. That was it; Ina was done for and henceforth was interested in everything related to science fiction and fantasy.
It was the late 80s, and to get in touch with other fans, you had to join a fanclub since there was no internet yet.
Through a German “Beauty and the Beast” fanclub meet-up, Ina met the “number one filk spreader from Germany” (R.V.) and got her hands on her first filk tapes.
Ina’s next passion became Star Trek: TNG which she did not have to watch on German TV but could enjoy in the original English version, on videotapes provided by friends which had a pretty good fannish network. Back then, Ina lived in Lüneburg, and thus not far away from Hamburg where one of the first Star Trek conventions was held. It was there that she got in touch with the emerging German filk scene.
In the meantime, the internet had become accessible for everybody, and so it was much easier for fans to stay in touch. So, Ina received word that the first German filk con would happen in Blankenheim in 1997. The rest is history. Freusburg, Gütersloh, Filky Days in Leverkusen, Wernigerode, Bad Salzdetfurth, Helsinki, Dublin, Hanstedt.
Ina likes to sing along when she is in the audience but does not perform solo on the stage or in circles. She does not play an instrument, either, but for many filkers, she is the first contact at a convention since she has been working at the registration desk of almost every filk con in Germany. So, you could say she plays the keyboard of the membership lists 🙂
Apart from filk cons, you can meet Ina at the German media conventions as well as the gaming fair (Spielemesse) in Essen since board games are her most recent passion. In earlier years, you would also have met her in London (at Harry Potter events) or in Japan (at concerts of the band KAT-TUN).
Fandom never let go of her again.