On Tuesday, 14 October, at 7 p.m., the Cinema Ariston in Trieste will host Ai confini – Dialoghi tra fantascienza e biodiversità (At the Edge – Dialogues between Science Fiction and Biodiversity), an event promoted by the National Biodiversity Future Centre (NBFC) – the first national research centre on biodiversity funded by the PNRR – Next Generation EU – with the aim of bringing together representatives and professionals working in various cultural fields, including literature and science.
The meeting is the fourth event in the Intrecci di biodiversità series organised by NBFC and takes place as part of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival. It will feature Dario Tonani – author of the Mondo9 saga and Il trentunesimo giorno (both published by Mondadori) and winner of several awards including the ESFS Award for best science fiction author – and Chiara Anzolini, researcher at the University of Padua, Spoke 7 NBFC communications officer and runner-up in the GiovedìScienza 2025 National Award. The discussion will be moderated by science journalist Simona Regina.
The worlds of imagination and reality, despite appearing so distant from each other, frequently intertwine with scientific research influencing the work of writers and vice versa. Science fiction has always engaged in dialogue with representations of the world, nature and science. During the meeting, we will explore how contemporary research is shaping the writing and representation of the future, and whether there are new ways of imagining tomorrow in light of today’s scientific discoveries.
The dialogue will be followed by a screening of the film Annihilation by director Alex Garland (2018).
The idea stems from a vision and a multidisciplinary approach that NBFC wanted to bring to its communication initiatives on the theme of biodiversity. Different audiences are involved, in different ways, but with a single common goal: to discuss contemporary research, biodiversity, its impact on the lives of each of us and its relationship with art and literature.
