Overview
The Trieste Science+Fiction Festival is Italy's primary science fiction and fantastic genre film festival. Founded in 1963, it is one of the oldest genre film festivals in the world. The 25th edition ran from 28 October to 2 November 2025 in Trieste, Italy. The 26th edition is scheduled for 2 to 7 November 2026. The festival is organized by La Cappella Underground, a cultural association based in Trieste, and presents over 50 world, international, and national premieres across its program.
The festival's main venue is the Politeama Rossetti theater, with additional screenings at Teatro Miela and Sala Xenia. The program includes competitive sections for international and European genre films, non-competitive sections for Italian genre cinema and international shorts, and extra-cinematic events covering video games, literature, comics, music, and visual arts. The festival also runs a Fantastic Film Forum, an industry section dedicated to fantastic and science cinema, which is the only industry event in Italy focused on genre film.
Trieste's geography gives the festival a distinctive identity. The city sits on the Adriatic coast at the convergence of Italian, Slavic, and Central European cultures. During the Cold War, Trieste was a contested border territory between East and West. This border identity between cultures and between worlds gives the festival a natural connection to science fiction's interest in boundaries, futures, and alternative realities.
The festival is not an Academy Award-qualifying festival. It does not operate a film market in the traditional sense, but the Fantastic Film Forum provides industry networking and project development opportunities for genre filmmakers. The festival is a member of the Melies International Festivals Federation (MIFF), a network of European fantastic film festivals that organizes the Melies d'Argent competition.
Submission Fees and Deadlines
26th Edition (2026)
- Submission deadline: 8 August 2026
- Submission platform: FilmFreeway
- Festival dates: 2 to 7 November 2026
Historical Deadlines (25th Edition, 2025)
- Submission deadline: August 2025 (specific date varied by section)
- Festival dates: 28 October to 2 November 2025
Submission fees are not published on the festival website and may vary by section and FilmFreeway category. Check the FilmFreeway festival page for current fee information. The festival's contact email for submissions and programming is info@scienceplusfiction.org.
Eligibility and Requirements
Asteroide Award (International Competition)
- Open to feature-length films (60 minutes or longer).
- Restricted to 1st, 2nd, or 3rd feature films by emerging directors.
- Films must be completed within the 18 months prior to the festival.
- Films must not have been released theatrically in Italy.
- No strict premiere requirement, but Italian premiere is expected.
- Screening format: DCP. All films must be in original version with English subtitles if not in English.
- An international jury selects the winner.
Melies d'Argent Competition (European Fantastic Film)
- Open to European feature-length and short films from the fantastic genre (science fiction, fantasy, horror).
- Films must qualify as European productions according to the European Fantastic Film Festival Federation (EFFFF) rules.
- Films must not have been released in Italy.
- Organized in collaboration with the Melies International Festivals Federation (MIFF).
- The winning feature film advances to compete for the Melies d'Or against winners from other MIFF member festivals.
Non-Competitive Sections
- Spazio Italia - Italian genre productions (features and shorts)
- Fantastic Shorts - international short films from the fantastic genre
- Futurologia - science and science-fiction documentaries
- Sci-fi Educational - international genre films for younger audiences (6+)
- Premieres, special events, and retrospectives
Key Sections
- Asteroide Competition - international science fiction and fantasy feature films by emerging directors
- Melies d'Argent Competition - European fantastic feature and short films
- Spazio Italia - Italian genre cinema
- Fantastic Shorts - international genre short films
- Futurologia - science and science-fiction documentaries
- Sci-fi Educational - genre films for young audiences
- Fantastic Film Forum - industry section for genre film professionals
- Book Invaders - literary presentations on fantastic and science fiction literature
- IVIPRO Days - video game industry event exploring cultural heritage and territory
Major Awards
- Asteroide Award - best international science fiction or fantasy feature film by an emerging director
- Melies d'Argent - best European fantastic feature film and best European fantastic short film
- Special Jury Prize
- Best Short Film
- Audience Award
The 2025 Asteroide Award jury was presided over by Gabriele Mainetti, director of "Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot" (2015), "Freaks Out" (2021), and "La citta proibita" (2025). The jury also included Julia Wrigley, a content curator with over 30 years in the film industry who contributed to the Film4 Channel brand, and Rocio Moreno, programmer for Fancine (the Fantastic Film Festival of Malaga).
The Melies d'Argent jury for 2025 included British distributor Martin Myers, film critic and writer Ann Billson, and Mark Moore, DJ and frontman of the band S'Express.
What Filmmakers Should Know
Trieste is a competitive European platform for genre filmmakers, particularly those with first, second, or third features. The festival accepts work-in-progress submissions, provided the film can be finished in time for the festival. Preview copies must be accessible to the selection committee via FilmFreeway by the submission deadline. Selected films must deliver screening copies (DCP for theatrical screenings, .mp4 or .mov for online screenings) and accompanying materials including synopsis, director bio, stills, poster, dialogue list, and English subtitle files.
The Fantastic Film Forum is the festival's industry section and the only industry event in Italy dedicated to fantastic and science cinema. The 2025 edition offered four different program tracks. Filmmakers interested in industry participation should check the festival website for Forum application details, which are separate from film submissions.
The festival's location in Trieste, a city with limited hotel capacity, means accommodation should be booked well in advance for attending filmmakers. The festival does not typically cover travel or accommodation costs for selected filmmakers, though this should be confirmed directly with festival organizers upon selection.
Festival History
The Trieste Science+Fiction Festival was founded in 1963, making it one of the oldest genre film festivals in the world. The festival predates most mainstream science fiction festivals and has maintained its commitment to the genre for over six decades. The festival was originally known as the Science Fiction Film Festival of Trieste and has undergone several name changes and format adjustments over the years.
The festival is organized by La Cappella Underground, a cultural association that operates from Piazza Duca degli Abruzzi 3 in Trieste. The organization also runs the Sci-Fi Club, a streaming platform hosted on MYmovies.it that offers a selection of festival films and "best of" editions from past years.
Notable past Asteroide Award winners include Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja (Aniara, 2019) and Jaco Bouwer (Gaia, 2021), both of whom returned to the 2025 festival with new work. The 2025 edition opened with L'Homme qui retrecit by Jan Kounen, starring Oscar winner Jean Dujardin, and closed with Chien 51 by Cedric Jimenez, a dystopian thriller set in a Paris divided into three social zones.
The 25th anniversary edition featured over 50 world, international, and national premieres, a retrospective program, and special events spanning video games, literature, comics, music, and visual arts.
Past Winners
2025 (25th edition): Asteroide Award - Redux Redux directed by Kevin and Matthew McManus (USA). Special Mention - Arco by Ugo Bienvenu (France). Melies d'Argent (feature) - The Shrinking Man by Jan Kounen (France/Belgium). The 25th anniversary edition drew over 20,000 attendees.
2022 (22nd edition): Asteroide Award - The Artifice Girl directed by Franklin Ritch (USA). The film later won Best International Feature at Fantasia and received US distribution through XYZ Films.
2021 (21st edition): Asteroide Award - Gaia directed by Jaco Bouwer (South Africa). Premiered at SXSW 2021, acquired by Decal for North American distribution, won 9 SAFTA awards.
2019 (19th edition): Asteroide Award - Aniara directed by Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja (Sweden). Received US distribution through Magnolia Pictures, nominated for a Saturn Award, won 4 Guldbagge Awards.
Notable Alumni Films and Where They Ended Up
- Aniara (2019) - Swedish sci-fi epic based on Harry Martinson's poem. Distributed by Magnolia Pictures in the US, grossed approximately $40,000 domestically. Directors returned to Trieste in 2025 with Egghead Republic.
- Gaia (2021) - South African eco-horror. Premiered at SXSW, acquired by Decal, grossed approximately $126,000 domestically. Director Jaco Bouwer returned to Trieste in 2025 with Orion.
- The Artifice Girl (2022) - AI sci-fi thriller. Won Best International Feature at Fantasia 2022, distributed by XYZ Films in the US.
Submission Tips Specific to This Festival
The Asteroide Competition is restricted to first, second, or third feature films by emerging directors. If you have directed more than three features, you cannot compete for the Asteroide Award. This makes Trieste one of the few major European genre festivals that specifically programs new talent in its top competition.
The Melies d'Argent competition requires European productions in the fantastic genre. Winning qualifies your film for the Melies d'Or competition across the MIFF network of over 20 European genre festivals.
Trieste programs genre films with intellectual ambition. Pure exploitation or splatter without conceptual depth does not fit the festival's curatorial taste. The festival responds to science fiction with philosophical or social commentary, as evidenced by winners like Aniara (existential environmental allegory) and The Artifice Girl (AI ethics thriller).
Industry Reputation Notes
Trieste is the only genre festival in Italy with a dedicated industry section (the Fantastic Film Forum). Within the European genre festival circuit, it sits alongside Sitges (Spain) and Fantasporto (Portugal) as a long-running genre event, but Trieste's restriction of its top competition to emerging directors gives it a different role. Sitges programs established genre auteurs in its main competition, while Trieste builds its identity around new talent.
The Melies International Festivals Federation membership connects Trieste to a network of over 20 European genre festivals. Compared to Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), which draws larger audiences but has a broader commercial program, Trieste maintains a more curated, auteur-oriented approach to genre cinema.
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See Also
For genre filmmaking and independent production strategies, see Independent Filmmaking Strategies. For festival submission planning, read Film Festival Strategy. For festival entry fee budgeting, use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator. For production budgeting, see the Production Budget Calculator.
