Trieste Science+Fiction Festival was founded in 2000 under the name of Science plus Fiction by the

Research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

and

Experimentation An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

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 Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province 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, from 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 Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF), formerly European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation (EFFFF), established in 1987, is a network of 22 genre film festivals from 16 countries based Brussels, Belgium, and dedicated to promoting ...

– that the festival joined in 2005 – it 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 Italian poet

Giuseppe Ungaretti Giuseppe Ungaretti (; 8 February 1888 – 2 June 1970) was an Italian modernist poet, journalist, essayist, critic, academic, and recipient of the inaugural 1970 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. A leading representative of the experi ...

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 a whole bunch of renowned international stars to the city of

. In those years, the festival saw the participation of

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A ...

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

– whose '' X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes'' was awarded the ''Astronave d'argento'' (Silver Spacecraft) in 1963 -,

Riccardo Freda Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror film, horror, ''giallo'' and spy films. Freda began directing ''I Vampiri'' in 1956. The f ...

, Forrest J. Ackerman,

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...

(one of the 1963 Jury members) and

Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for oc ...

, among others. In the following years, the event would turn the city of Trieste into a unique stage for genre films, until 1982, when it abruptly came to an end. In the year 2000, La Cappella Underground decided to pick up the tradition of the festival, presenting to the audience independent film productions, premières and rarities in a new event called Science plus Fiction. In 2002, in cooperation with

Arnoldo Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori (2 November 1889 – 8 June 1971) was a noted Italian publisher. Biography Mondadori was born in Poggio Rusco, Mantua in 1889. His publishing house Arnoldo Mondadori Editore was founded in 1907 and is today the largest in ...

, editor of the sci-fi and fantasy magazine

Urania Urania ( ; ; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy and astrology. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, her attributes being the globe and compass. T ...

, the ''Urania d'Argento'' (Silver Urania) Career Achievement Award was created. The first Silver Urania Award went to Italian director

Pupi Avati Giuseppe Avati, better known as Pupi Avati (born 3 November 1938), is an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known to horror film fans for his two '' giallo'' masterpieces, '' The House with Laughing Windows'' (1976) and '' ...

. Over the years the Award was bestowed to:

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. His influential work in the horror film, horror and giallo genres during the 1970s and 1980s has led him to being referred to as the "Master of the ...

(2003),

Jimmy Sangster James Henry Kinmel Sangster (2 December 1927 – 19 August 2011) was a Welsh screenwriter and film director, best known for his work on the initial horror films made by Hammer Film Productions, including '' The Curse of Frankenstein'' (1957) an ...

(2004),

Lamberto Bava Lamberto Bava (born 3 April 1944) is an Italian film director. Born in Rome, Italy, Rome, Bava began working as an assistant director for his director father Mario Bava. Lamberto co-directed the 1979 television film ''La Venere d'Ille'' with his f ...

(2005),

Enki Bilal Enki Bilal (born Enes Bilal; born 7 October 1951) is a French comic book creator and film director. Biography Early life Bilal was born in Belgrade, PR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Czech mother, Ana, who came to Belgrade as child from Karlovy ...

and

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...

(2006),

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...

(2007),

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of both fields. In a career spanning more than 40 ...

(2008, via

videoconference Videotelephony (also known as videoconferencing or video calling) is the use of audio signal, audio and video for simultaneous two-way communication. Today, videotelephony is widespread. There are many terms to refer to videotelephony. ''Vide ...

from London),

and

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

(2009), George A. Romero (2011),

Alfredo Castelli Alfredo Castelli (26 June 1947 – 7 February 2024) was an Italian comic book artist and writer. Biography Born in Milan, Castelli began his comic book career at an early age, creating the strip '' Scheletrino'', a humor series for Italian comic ...

(2012),

Gabriele Salvatores Gabriele Salvatores (born 30 July 1950) is an Italian Academy Award-winning film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Naples, Salvatores debuted as a theatre director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directe ...

(2013),

Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean and French Experimental film, avant-garde filmmaker. Known for his films ''El Topo'' (1970), ''The Holy Mountain (1973 film), The Holy Mountain'' (1973) and ''Santa Sangre'' ...

(2014),

Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...

(2015),

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. H ...

(2016),

Sergio Martino Sergio Martino (born 19 July 1938) is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre. Martino is the brother of the late producer Luciano Martino (who died in 2013). They collaborated frequently in their ...

(2017), and

Douglas Trumbull Douglas Hunt Trumbull (; April 8, 1942 – February 7, 2022) was an American film director and visual effects supervisor, who pioneered innovative methods in special effects. He created scenes for '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', '' Close Encounter ...

(2018). In 2019 the name of the Award was changed to Asteroide Lifetime Achievement Award and was bestowed to

Phil Tippett Phil Tippett (born September 27, 1951) is an American film director and visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design, stop-motion and computerized character animation. Over his career, he has assisted ILM and Drea ...

. and, in 2021, to

Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara (; born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use and redefinition of neo-noir imagery. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best ...

. In 2004 the Festival picked up a new challenge by restoring the forgotten icon of the event that inspired it: the Asteroide Award, historical prize of the Festival internazionale del film di fantascienza di Trieste. In those years the award to the best film in competition was called ''Asteroide d'Oro'' (Golden Asteroid) and 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

, a network including all the main events in the field and aiming at the promotion of the European genre production on a big scale. In 2007 the festival updated its name to Science+Fiction (now Trieste Science+Fiction Festival) and has since then been characterized by an increasing range of events, not only including film screenings, but also side events related to science fiction (round tables,

scientific conference An academic conference or scientific conference (also congress, symposium, workshop, or meeting) is an event for researchers (not necessarily academics) to present and discuss their scholarly work. Together with academic or scientific journals a ...

s, concerts and stage performances,

art exhibition An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is occasionally true, it is stated to be a "permanen ...

s 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 Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

genres. Over the years new sections have been added and 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

Italian productions, and science (fiction)

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

s with follow-up meetings ("Futurologia" section). Among the many

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in software development, popular culture, and the arts. ...

s organized by the Festival: ''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), a focus on Spanish science fiction films, curated by

Carlos Aguilar Carlos Aguilar (born May 25, 1988) is an American soccer player who is currently an assistant coach at San Diego State University. Career College and amateur Carlos attended Palmdale High School played two years of college soccer at Taft Co ...

; ''Voyage Fantastique'' (2006–2008), a journey into French science fiction, in collaboration with the

Institut Français The Institut Français (; French capitalization, Institut français; "French institute") is a French public industrial and commercial organization (EPIC). Started in 1907 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for promoting French, francophone as ...

in Milan and the Embassy of France in Italy; ''Fant'America'' (2009) a tribute to

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

, two hundred years from his birth. The event reaches a grand total of more than 20,000 spectators per year.

Awards

Asteroide

Méliès d'argent – feature films

Méliès d'argent – short films

References

{{Reflist 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

sciencefictionfestival.org

lacappellaunderground.org
Film festivals in Italy Film festivals established in 2000 2000 establishments in Italy Culture in Trieste Science fiction film festivals Fantasy and horror film festivals