The 25th edition of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival—Italy’s leading science fiction event, held at the Rossetti, the Miela Theater, and the Sci-Fi Dome in Piazza della Borsa—concluded with an awards ceremony at the Politeama Rossetti on Sunday, November 2.
Organized by La Cappella Underground, a center for film and audiovisual research and experimentation, the 2025 festival once again brought the best fantasy films to the big screen, featuring over 50 world, international, and national film premieres, as well as three competitions attended by directors, actors, and screenwriters from around the world. The 2025 edition drew over 20,000 attendees who took part in the screenings and conferences on the program, confirming the success of this Italian festival, which brings the best of global science fiction to the big screen every year.
“On its exceptional 25th anniversary, the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival has once again demonstrated that interest in the science fiction genre remains strong. Anything is possible, boundaries are limitless, and nothing escapes the imagination in science fiction, whose value as a powerful cultural force continues to be appreciated by the public and embraced by the city.” – said director Alan Jones – “The film lineup was a huge success, as evidenced by the caliber of the award winners. The Dome in Piazza della Borsa is an extraordinary venue and was once again a sensational success, hosting various debates on issues that concern us today and in the near future. The Teatro Rossetti continues to impress as the perfect showcase for high-profile premieres, and the Miela is gaining even more traction among cult and arthouse audiences who rely on us to cater to their tastes. And our guests—from pioneering writer Ted Chaing to innovative director Gabriele Mainetti—all sparked great interest within the growing TS+FF community. See you next year as we continue our journey toward even vaster universes.”
THE WINNERS OF THE 2025 TRIESTE SCIENCE+FICTION FESTIVAL
ASTEROIDE AWARD
The Asteroide Award honors the best science fiction, horror, and fantasy film among the first, second, or third feature films by emerging directors, which are grouped in the festival’s Neon section. The award was presented by an international jury composed of Gabriele Mainetti, Julia Wrigley, and Rocio Moreno.
Winner of the 2025 TS+FF Asteroid Award “Redux Redux” by Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus (USA, 2025)
Reasoning Thanks to its bold fusion of science fiction and emotion, this film transforms a story of revenge set within a time loop into a deeply human exploration of pain and determination. With creative storytelling, extraordinary performances, and a remarkable use of the soundtrack, it demonstrates that great ideas can thrive within an intimate, character-driven film.
MENZIONE SPECIALE PREMIO ASTEROIDE TS+FF 2025 “Arco” di Ugo Bienvenu (Francia, 2025)
Reasoning The “Asteroid” award goes to a film as free as a dream: high above the clouds, a man surrenders to the passage of time and plunges down like a rainbow. That fragile, luminous flight reflects both the memory of the future and the grace of those who still know how to reinvent it.
PREMIO MÉLIÈS D’ARGENT - FEATURE FILMS
The competition is organized in collaboration with the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) and is open exclusively to European-produced feature-length fantasy films. The 2025 jury for the Méliès d’argent Award consists of Martin Myers, Ann Billson, and Mark Moore.
Vincitore Premio Méliès d’argent – Lungometraggi TS+FF 2025 “The Shrinking Man” (L’Homme qui rétrécit) di Jan Kounen (Francia/Belgio, 2025)
Rationale The Méliès Award goes to a remake that respectfully reinterprets a well-known classic for a new generation. Without straying from the source material, it is based on Richard Matheson’s classic 1956 novel.
SILVER MÉLIÈS AWARD – SHORT FILMS The competition is organized in collaboration with the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) and is open exclusively to European-produced fantasy short films. The award is given to the short film that receives the most votes from the audience.
Winner of the Méliès d’argent Award – TS+FF 2025 Short Films “Animalia” by Marius Rolfsvåg (Norway, 2025)
AUDIENCE AWARD Reserved for feature-length fiction films in the Neon section and awarded to the film that receives the most votes from the audience in the theater.
Vincitore Premio del Pubblico TS+FF 2025 “Arco” di Ugo Bienvenu (Francia, 2025)
WONDERLAND AWARD
Rai Cultura, the media partner of the 2025 Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, awards the Wonderland Prize to the best film of the 25th edition.
Vincitore Premio Wonderland – TS+FF 2025 “Redux Redux” di Kevin McManus e Matthew McManus (USA, 2025)
SNCCI CRITICS' AWARD – NATIONAL UNION OF ITALIAN FILM CRITICS
An award reserved for debut films and presented by a jury composed of three critics from the National Union of Italian Film Critics: Martina Barone, Andrea Chimento, and Sara D’Ascenzo.
Winner of the SNCCI TS+FF 2025 Italian Critics’ Award “Lesbian Space Princess” by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese (Australia, 2025)
Synopsis Princess Leia encounters the Queer Galaxy, and Star Wars plays out within her. Irreverent with a touch of acid, Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese explore cosmic science fiction in search of pleasure and self-awareness, with the grace of punk debutantes and sharp writing that plants its flag on Planet Cinema.
CINELAB SPAZIO CORTO AWARD Reserved for the best Italian short film presented in the Spazio Corto section, the award is presented by a jury composed of film school students from across Europe who are guests of the 2025 Trieste Science+Fiction Festival.
Vincitore Premio CineLab Spazio Corto TS+FF 2025 “The Other Lives” di Nicolò Folin (Italia, 2024)
EVENT HORIZON AWARD - INAF
This year’s National Institute of Astrophysics Award goes to Ted Chiang, a writer who has portrayed with extraordinary effectiveness the way scientists conceive of the universe and seek to understand how it works, for his extraordinary contribution to the dialogue between science and literature, and for inspiring curiosity, empathy, and wonder. Works such as *Exhalation*, *The Lifecycle of Software Objects*, and *Story of Your Life* (on which the film *Arrival* was based) offer a rare synthesis of philosophical depth, scientific rigor, and literary elegance. Through themes such as the perception of time and memory, consciousness, artificial intelligence, entropy, and determinism, Chiang invites us to explore the boundaries of human understanding. What sets his writing apart is not only its intellectual clarity but also its emotional resonance. In *Arrival*, for example, the idea that language shapes perception resonates deeply in our present, where the way we communicate increasingly defines our view of the world.
