Guests include director Paolo Strippoli, president of the jury for the Asteroide award and protagonist of a masterclass on horror cinema, and Mauro Repetto, co-founder of 883, who will present his first sci-fi thriller novel at the festival.
From November 3rd to 8th, great science fiction cinema returns to the Julian capital: Trieste Science+Fiction Festival presents the
best fantastic genre productions, featuring over 60 premieres,
alongside a rich calendar of side events.
Among the most anticipated events is the free masterclass “Nuovi incubi italiani” (New Italian Nightmares) held by Paolo Strippoli, acclaimed director of the film “L’estranea” (The Stranger) and President of the Jury for the Asteroide Award, along with a meeting with Mauro Repetto, co-founder and songwriter of 883, who will preview his first sci-fi novel “Election Day 2067”.
Closing the 26th edition of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival will be
the visionary “Bucking Fastard” by Werner Herzog, which will be
screened on Sunday, November 8th at the Politeama Rossetti.
From November 3rd to 8th, great science fiction cinema returns to the Julian capital: the 26th edition of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, organized by La Cappella Underground, brings the best fantastic genre productions to the Trieste screen.
With over 60 world, international, and national film premieres featuring directors, actors, and authors from around the globe, the 2026 edition of the festival will take place at the Politeama Rossetti, which will host the competition films and the traditional out-of-competition premieres, the Cinema Ariston, with an offer ranging from short films to documentaries, restored classic films, midnight screenings, and more experimental works, the now iconic Sci-Fi Dome, the structure set up in Piazza della Borsa hosting the event's extra activities, and Sala Xenia, which will welcome events linked to genre literature, board games, and comics.
In 2026, the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival will once again bring a selection of the most interesting international genre productions, featuring film premieres, great authors, new voices in fantastic cinema, and an unmissable calendar of side events open to the public spanning cinema, literature, exhibitions, video games, and new technologies—as always, in perfect balance between science and science fiction.
Many guests are also expected for the 26th edition, including Paolo Strippoli, acclaimed director of “L’estranea” (The Stranger), the film selected by Italy for the 2027 Oscar race, and President of the International Jury for the Asteroide Award, the accolade that every year honors the best film by emerging directors in the sci-fi, horror, and fantasy genres. On Sunday, November 8th at 5:00 PM, at the Sci-Fi Dome set up in Piazza della Borsa, Paolo Strippoli will also lead the free masterclass titled “Nuovi incubi italiani” (New Italian Nightmares), an event dedicated to the subversive potential of horror cinema and its ability to unhinge the conventions of the national film landscape. Drawing from his own artistic experience, Strippoli will share how horror cinema can become a tool for challenging traditional storytelling rules, subverting audience expectations, and giving shape to the anxieties of the present. A journey through the new frontiers of Italian horror, discovering a genre capable of reinventing languages, imagery, and narrative approaches. The meeting, organized in collaboration with Casa del Cinema di Trieste, will be moderated by journalist Simone Soranna from longtake.
Among the special events of the festival is also the meeting with Mauro Repetto, co-founder and songwriter of 883. On Friday, November 6th at 6:30 PM, at Sala Xenia, Repetto will present a preview of his first sci-fi novel “Election Day 2067”, published by Acheron—a gripping sci-fi thriller that weaves together politics, war, technology, and artificial intelligence, questioning the future of democracy and the progressive loss of human identity. Set in a not-too-distant future, “Election Day 2067” transports readers to a post-cyberpunk Rome transformed into a giant global amusement park, where reality and AI-generated simulations blur together, and iconic figures from the past are cloned to manipulate the masses for political ends. In a world dominated by super-autocracies and multinational corporations, where emotions and identity can be downloaded like digital products, young performer Monica discovers she is the double of Avatar Q, a virtual entity tied to one of the planet's most powerful leaders. Catapulted into a secret war capable of disrupting global balance, Monica will face chases, hacking operations, and clashes between clones, aided by the artificial intelligence D14na, with whom she develops an increasingly deep bond. In the background, a decisive election upon which the fate of all human civilization rests. A novel that blends
Closing the 26th edition of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival will be the film “Bucking Fastard” by Werner Herzog, which will be screened on Sunday, November 8th at the Politeama Rossetti, following the traditional award ceremony at 8:30 PM. The new visionary film by the master of contemporary cinema stars Kate and Rooney Mara, appearing together on the big screen for the first time. Inspired by the true story of British twins Freda and Greta Chaplin, the film recounts the tale of Jean and Joan Holbrooke, two inseparable sisters bound by a symbiosis so profound they speak in unison, share the same dreams, and fall in love with the same man. Convinced of the existence of a place where they can finally find love, the two embark on an apparently impossible endeavor: digging a tunnel through a mountain to reach their personal promised land. Amid obsessions, surreal landscapes, and eccentric characters, Herzog crafts a work suspended between reality and imagination that explores the boundaries of identity, love, and madness, returning to tell the story of the stubbornness of those who defy the impossible to chase a dream. Dedicated to David Lynch, “Bucking Fastard” marks a new chapter in the unmistakable cinematic universe of the director of “Fitzcarraldo”, “Aguirre, the Wrath of God”, and “Grizzly Man”, confirming his radical and unconventional perspective on human nature.
