TS+FF 2024 Regulations

Art. 1 — Introduction, aims and purposes

Trieste Science+Fiction Festival is a multidisciplinary event devoted to the exploration of the realms of the ‘fantastic’ genre, and the use of new technologies and experimental languages in film, television and visual arts. The main purpose of Trieste Science+Fiction Festival is to present and promote internationally ‘fantastic’ productions from all over the world, focusing particularly on science fiction and fantasy cinematographic and audio-visual works.

Art. 2 — Organization and supporting institutions

Trieste Science+Fiction Festival is organized by the Italian film center La Cappella Underground. The Festival is supported by: Ministry for the Cultural Heritage – DGC, Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Municipality of Trieste, University of Trieste. Since 2005 Trieste Science+Fiction Festival has been a member of the M.I.F.F. – Méliès International Festivals Federation.

The address of the Festival’s headquarter is:
Trieste Science+Fiction Festival
c/o La Cappella Underground
piazza Duca degli Abruzzi 3 – 34132 Trieste (Italy)
T +39 040 3220551 / F +39 040 9673002
info@sciencefictionfestival.org
www.sciencefictionfestival.org

Art. 3 — Dates and sections

The 24th Trieste Science+Fiction Festival is scheduled to run October 29 – November 3, 2024 in Trieste, while a selection of films (from the current and the past editions of the festival) will be available nationwide on the streaming platform “Sci-Fi Club”(hosted by Mymovies.it).
The Festival features the following competitive sections:
• Asteroid Award – competition for best international science-fiction and fantasy feature-length film;
• Méliès d’argent Award – competition for best European feature-length and short film from the fantastic genre;
and the following non-competitive sections:
• Spazio Italia – selection of Italian productions from the fantastic genre open to both feature-lenght films and short films (Spazio Corto);
• Fantastic Shorts – selection of international short films from the fantastic genre;
• Mondofuturo – selection of international science(-fiction) documentaries, public meetings and lectures.
• Education Program – selection of international feature-length and short films from the fantastic genre. Programmes are targeted according to audience’s age, from 3 years old on. The section features educational activities and workshops open to students of schools and universities, educators and families.
• Artificial Universe – selection of short films incorporating Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) tools.
• premières and special events;
• retrospectives and special programs.
The Selection Committee of the Festival selects and invites the films, and assigns them to the competitive and non-competitive sections of the Festival.

Art. 4 — Competition for best international science-fiction and fantasy feature-length film – Asteroid award

The International Competition is restricted to feature-length films (running time: 70 minutes min.), completed in the 18 months prior to the Festival, shot in any format, and classified as science fiction and fantasy genres in their broadest sense. The competition is only for first, second or third feature-length films by emerging directors; the films must not have been released in Italy yet. The Board of the Festival shall appoint an International Jury of at least three movie professionals with the task of conferring the Asteroid Award to the best film.
The film awarded the Asteroid Award shall include the mention of the award in all promotional materials and in all forms of distribution (theatrical, home video and VOD), in accordance with the official graphic design provided by the Festival.

Art. 5 — Competition for best European feature-length film from the fantastic genre – Méliès d’argent award

The Méliès d’argent competition is organized in collaboration with the Méliès International Festivals Federation, and is restricted to recently produced European feature-length films (running time: 59 minutes min.) from the fantastic genre in its broadest sense. All films must be qualified as a European Production, according to the rules of the M.I.F.F. [1]. The final selection features at least six films; the films must not have been released in Italy yet. The Board of the Festival shall appoint a Jury of movie professionals with the task of awarding the Méliès d’argent to one of the films in competition. The same film may be selected at various M.I.F.F. festivals. A film that has won an award at one of the festivals of the Federation, however, cannot be screened in competition at the ensuing member festivals. The films awarded a Méliès d’argent participate in the yearly competition for the Méliès d’or (www.melies.org).
The film awarded the Méliès d’argent shall include the mention of the award in all promotional materials and in all forms of distribution (theatrical, home video and VOD), in accordance with the official graphic design provided by the Festival.

Art. 6 — Competition for best European short film from the fantastic genre – Méliès d’argent award

Admission to the Méliès d’argent award is restricted to short films (running time: 25 minutes max.), completed in the 18 months before the Festival, shot in any format, classified as science-fiction and fantasy genres in their broadest sense. All films must be qualified as a European Production, according to the rules of the M.I.F.F. [1]. The final selection features at least ten films; the films must not have been released in Italy yet. The Méliès d’argent will be awarded to the short film that gets the highest marks by the Festival’s audience. The same film may be selected at various M.I.F.F. festivals. A film that has won an award at one of the festivals of the Federation, however, cannot be screened in competition at the ensuing member festivals. The films awarded a Méliès d’argent participate in the yearly competition for the Méliès d’or (www.melies.org).
The film awarded the Méliès d’argent shall include the mention of the award in all promotional materials and in all forms of distribution (theatrical, home video and VOD), in accordance with the official graphic design provided by the Festival.

Art. 7 — Artificial Universe

The section is restricted to short films (running time: 12 minutes max.) incorporating contents (text, audio, video) generated through Artificial Intelligence tools. By submitting their works, film’s presenters shall provide a detailed description on what contents have been created by Artificial Intelligence. The Board of the Festival, at their discretion, may ask film’s presenters for additional information.

Art. 8 — Audience Award, Golden Asteroid Award and collateral awards

All the feature-length fiction films screened at the Festival participate in the Audience Award.
Moreover, the Festival confers the Golden Asteroid Award to a leading personality of the ‘fantastic’ world.
Collateral awards are conferred by the Festival’s partners.

Art. 9 — Participation in the selection process

In order to participate in the selection process, film presenters shall submit their films through the FilmFreeway platform, accessible via the Festival’s website (www.sciencefictionfestival.org). The deadline for submissions is August 18, 2024. By the same date, film presenters shall grant the members of the Selection Committee access to a digital copy of the film.
All decisions concerning the selection and the programming are at the Selection Committee’s sole discretion. The Selection Committee is entitled to derogate from the provisions of the foregoing articles. The members of the Selection Committee are not obliged to provide any clarification on the criteria applied to the selection of the submitted films.

Art. 10 — Participation in the Festival: screening copies and requested materials

All copies of the invited films shall be in their original version (with English subtitles, if not in English). The Festival’s accepted format for theatrical screenings is DCP; for online screenings, an .mp4 or .mov file shall be provided. All copies of the selected films are requested to be uploaded on the Festival’s Filemail at the following link https://lcu-tssplusf.filemail.com/ by October 7, 2024.
Exceptions to this clause may be considered by the Festival and shall be agreed upon with its technical staff.
Film presenters shall also provide the Festival with the following materials:
• full and detailed technical sheet;
• synopsis, director’s bio-filmography and statement on the film;
• stills of film scenes, a picture of the director, and the film poster;
• dialogue list in the original language of the film;
• time-coded file of the English subtitles (for films whose original language is neither English nor Italian)
• a video file of the film for electronic subtitling in Italian (for films whose original language is not Italian);
• trailer or video clips for promotional purposes.

The above materials shall be delivered to the Festival no later than September 30, 2024.
The Festival’s offices will promptly provide film presenters with detailed instructions on the requested materials, together with the shipment guidelines, following the acceptance of the invitation to participate in the Festival.

Art. 11 — Shipping

The costs of the shipment and/or delivery of the film copies are at the Festival’s charge, except when film presenters explicitly ask for the return shipment of a physical media (if any) to an address other than their headquarter’s.

Art. 12 — General provisions and challenges

Entry to, and participation in, the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival shall imply fully acceptance of the present regulations.
The Board of the Festival also reserves the right to take final decisions to any exception not envisaged in the present regulations. The present regulations are laid down both in Italian and in English. In case of interpretation problems, the Italian version shall prevail.

[1] — (a)If the director is not a European national, the production must be entirely European (even a minor non-European contribution is eliminatory); (b) if the director is a European national, a non-European co-production will be considered. The Board of the Mèliès International Festivals Federation will make the final decision on the line up.