Trieste Science+Fiction Festival was founded in 2000 under the name of Science plus Fiction by the Research and Experimentation Centre La Cappella Underground with the ambitious purpose of re-launching the Festival Internazionale del film di fantascienza (International Science Fiction Film Festival), which had been held in the northern Italian city of Trieste in the years 1963–1982.
It is a multidisciplinary event devoted to the realms of the "fantastic", to experimental languages and new technologies in cinema, television and the visual arts. With a program rich in screenings, retrospectives, tributes, conferences and meetings with renowned international and national professionals, it aims to explore the whole range of the science fiction world, from cinema to comics, as well as literature to stage performances.
Todd Brown describes it as "not just one of the world's leading science fiction festivals", but "one of the finest genre events in the world regardless of the genre in question", while Dan Jolin lists it as one of the "14 captivating film festivals in Europe you won't want to miss".
Trieste Science+Fiction Festival annually awards the Asteroide to the best international feature film in competition. Moreover, in cooperation with the Méliès International Festivals Federation, it also awards the Méliès d'argent (Silver Méliès) to the best European feature and short films in competition.
History
In 1963, a group of "young visual poetry artists"—as they were called by the Italian poet Giuseppe Ungaretti in a greeting telegram still in the archives of La Cappella Underground—founded the Festival Internazionale del Film di Fantascienza (International Science Fiction Film Festival), a revolutionary event that brought many renowned international stars to the city of Trieste. In those years, the festival saw the participation of Arthur C. Clarke, Roger Corman (whose X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes was awarded the Astronave d'argento (Silver Spacecraft) in 1963), Riccardo Freda, Forrest J. Ackerman, Umberto Eco (one of the 1963 Jury members) and Brian Aldiss, among others. In the following years, the event would turn the city of Trieste into a unique stage for genre films. In 1982, the Festival Internazionale del Film di Fantascienza abruptly came to an end.
Later in 2000, La Cappella Underground decided to pick up the tradition of the festival, presenting independent film productions, premières, and rarities to the audience in a new event called Science plus Fiction.
In 2002, the Urania d'Argento (Silver Urania) Career Achievement Award was created in cooperation with Arnoldo Mondadori, editor of the sci-fi and fantasy magazine Urania. The first Silver Urania Award went to Italian director Pupi Avati. Over the years the Award was bestowed to: Dario Argento (2003), Jimmy Sangster (2004), Lamberto Bava (2005), Enki Bilal and Terry Gilliam (2006), Joe Dante (2007), Ray Harryhausen (2008, via videoconference from London), Roger Corman and Christopher Lee (2009), George A. Romero (2011), Alfredo Castelli (2012), Gabriele Salvatores (2013), Alejandro Jodorowsky (2014), Bruce Sterling (2015), Rutger Hauer (2016), Sergio Martino (2017), and Douglas Trumbull (2018). In 2019, the name of the Award was changed to Asteroide Lifetime Achievement Award and was bestowed to Phil Tippett. Then in 2021, the Award was bestowed to Abel Ferrara.
In 2004, the Festival picked up a new challenge of restoring the forgotten icon of the event that inspired it: the Asteroide Award, historical prize of the Festival internazionale del film di fantascienza in Trieste. The award to the best film in competition was called Asteroide d'Oro (Golden Asteroid). It was designed and crafted every year by a different artist (e.g., Nino Perizi and Marcello Mascherini), whose fame and talent was as exceptional as that of the sci-fi films and celebrities taking part in the Festival.
In 2005, Science plus Fiction became part of the Méliès International Festivals FederationEuropean Fantastic Film Festivals Federation – The home of the Méliès d'Or, a network which includes all the main events in the field and aims at the promotion of the European genre production on a big scale.
In 2007, the festival updated its name to Science+Fiction. Since then, it has been characterized by an increasing range of events, including not only film screenings but also side events related to science fiction (round tables, scientific conferences, concerts and stage performances, art exhibitions, and literary events).
In 2009, Trieste Science+Fiction Festival launched the Méliès competition for feature films in addition to the competition of the same name reserved to short films.
The film schedule has always included a wide range of proposals bound to attract both fans and newcomers to the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres. As of 2019, besides the official section—"Neon"—that includes the latest releases and film premières in and out of competition, the Festival presents classic films, short films in and out of competition ("European Fantastic Shorts" and "Fantastic Shorts" sections), "Spazio Italia" (a showcase of science-fiction and fantasy Italian productions), and science (fiction) documentary films with follow-up meetings ("Futurologia" section).
The retrospectives organized by the Festival are, including but not limited to: Brit Invaders! (2003–2005), on British science fiction from the 1960s to the present day; Marx Attacks! (2007, 2009), a showcase of Russian and Eastern European productions; FantaEspaña (2002), curated by Carlos Aguilar with a focus on Spanish science-fiction films; Voyage Fantastique (2006–2008), a journey into French science-fiction, in collaboration with the Institut Français in Milan and the Embassy of France in Italy; and Fant'America (2009), a tribute to Edgar Allan Poe, two hundred years from his birth.
The event reaches a grand total of more than 20,000 spectators per year.
Awards
Asteroide YearTitleDirectorCountry2004Able EdwardsGraham RobertsonUnited States2005PuzzleheadJames BaiUnited States2006MangaPeter KhazizovRussia2007Timecrimes (Spanish: Los cronocrímenes)Nacho VigalondoSpain2008Before the Fall (Spanish: Tres días)F. Javier GutiérrezSpain2009First Squad: The Moment of TruthYoshiharu Ashino / Misha Shprits / Aljoscha KlimovJapan / Russia / Canada2010TransferDamir LukacevicGermany2011MonstersGareth EdwardsUnited Kingdom2012Errors of the Human BodyEron SheeanGermany / United States2013Europa ReportSebastián CorderoUnited States2014Time LapseBradley D. KingUnited States2015WyrmwoodKiah Roache-TurnerAustralia2016EmbersClaire CarréUnited States / Poland2017The Man with the Magic BoxBodo KoxPoland / Italy2018FreaksZach Lipovsky / Adam B. SteinCanada2019AniaraPella Kågerman / Hugo LiljaSweden / Denmark2020SputnikEgor AbramenkoRussia2021GaiaJaco BouwerSouth Africa2022The Artifice GirlFranklin RitchUnited States2023Mars ExpressJérémie PérinFrance2024U Are the UniversePavlo OstrikovUkraine2025Redux ReduxKevin McManus & Matthew McManusUSA
Méliès d'argent – feature films YearTitleDirectorCountry2009The ChildrenTom ShanklandUnited Kingdom2010Rare Exports: A Christmas TaleJalmari HelanderFinland2011L'arrivo di WangManetti Bros.Italy2012GrabbersJon WrightUnited Kingdom / Ireland2013The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears (French: L'étrange couleur des larmes de ton corps)Hélène Cattet / Bruno ForzaniBelgium / France / Luxembourg2014Index ZeroLorenzo SportielloItaly2015PolderSamuel Schwarz / Julian M. GrunthalSwitzerland / Germany2016The Sum of Histories (Flemish: Terug Naar Morgen)Lukas BossuytBelgium2017Loop (Hungarian: Hurok)Isti MadarászHungary2018Man Divided (Danish: QEDA)Max KestnerDenmark / Sweden / Finland2019Extra OrdinaryMike Ahern / Enda LoughmanIreland / Belgium2020The Trouble with Being BornSandra WollnerAustria / Germany2021WarningAgata AlexanderUnited States / Poland2022LOLAAndrew LeggeUK2023The Last Spark of Hope (Polish: W nich cała nadzieja)Piotr BiedrońPoland2024After Us, The Flood (Finnish: Jälkeemme vedenpaisumus)Arto HalonenFinland2025The Shrinking Man (French: L'Homme qui rétrécit)Jan KounenFrance/Belgium
Méliès d'argent – short films YearTitleDirectorCountry2005Terra IncognitaPeter VolkartSwitzerland2006Final JourneyBrendan MuldowneyIreland2007AbsenceKevin LecomteFrance2008KingzBenni Diez / Marinko SpahicGermany2009Virtual DatingKatia OlivierBelgium2010Daddy's GirlHelen Komini OlsenNorway2011Out of Erasers (Swedish: Sudd)Erik RosenlundSweden / Denmark2012Employé du moisOlivier BeguinSwitzerland2013Happy B-DayHolger B. FrickGermany2014The NostalgistGiacomo CiminiUnited Kingdom2015The Kármán LineOscar SharpUnited Kingdom2016Getting Fat in a Healthy WayKevork AslanyanBulgaria2017The Last SchnitzelKaan Arici / Ismet KurtulusDenmark2018Thunder From a Clear Sky (French: Orage par ciel clair)Yohan FaureFrance2019This Time AwayMagali BarbéUnited Kingdom2020The Recycling ManCarlo BallauriItaly2021The Exit PlanAngus WilkinsonAustralia / United Kingdom202268.415Antonella Sabatino & Stefano BlasiItaly2023What-if-ILavinia Tommasoli/Pietro TraversaItaly2024Où va le mondeMickaël DupréFrance2025AnimaliaIMDbMarius RolfsvågNorway
See also Science fiction film List of fantastic and horror film festivals
Other sci-fi film festivals
Boston Science Fiction Film Festival Sci-Fi-London International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival
References
Content in this edit is translated from the existing Italian Wikipedia article at :it:Trieste Science+Fiction Festival; see its history for attribution.
External links Trieste Science+Fiction Festival