Winners of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival 21th edition

The 21st edition of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, the main science-fiction event in Italy, came to a close on Monday, November 3rd with the award ceremony held at the Politeama Rossetti. 1:

Asteroide Award
The Award is given to the best science fiction, horror or fantasy movie by emerging directors in the Neon | Competition section. The winner of the competition has been chosen by an international jury of world renowned movie professionals and experts of the fantastic genre. Members of the Asteroide award jury this year were Sabina Guzzanti, Dianne Leenders e Timo Vuorensola.

TS+FF2021 Asteroide Award winner
“Gaia” by Jaco Bouwer (SOUTH AFRICA, 2021)

Motivation
With its raw animalistic power and earth-bound energy, Gaia shows a strong directional vision and actuality towards environmental topics that concerns us all.

Special Mention Asteroide TS+FF2021
“Night Raiders” by Danis Goulet (CANADA / NEW ZELAND, 2021)

Special Mention
Night Raiders raises the topic of oppression towards idigenous people and speaks touchingly about the relationship between the parents and the children in a world where propaganda and fascism are re-emerging.

Special Mention Asteroide TS+FF2021
“Witch Hunt” by Elle Callahan (USA, 2021)

Motivation
Witch Hunt reaches its target audience and uses the fantastic elements to empower the young women.

Méliès d’argent Award – Feature Films
The competition is organized in collaboration with the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) and the award goes to the best European feature film. The winner of the competition has been chosen by an international jury of world renowned movie professionals and experts of the fantastic genre. Members of the Méliès d’argent jury this year were Franco Dassisti, radio host and journalist, Romeo Toffanetti, cartoonist, and Adelmo Togliani, actor and director.

TS+FF2021 Méliès d’argent Award winner – Feature Films
“Warning” by Agata Alexander (USA / POLAND, 2021)

Motivation
Through the tale of the relation between humans and sense-altering machines, the movie admonishes us all, so completely taken by virtual reality and voice AIs to possibly be unable to feel comfortable in our own skin. The movie dares to define the present through a tale about the future interchanging stories and characters on the lookout for its own place in the realm of the fantastic and science fiction genres.

Special Mention
Rupert Everett in “Warning” by Agata Alexander
For giving substance – despite being confined to a few scenes – to the ironic, fun and at the same time incredibly gloomy role of a robot. This very conflict allows us to find a forgotten human quality within ourselves, a restless soul not unlike that of a human being. An intense portrayal – Charlie’s – the result of a precise and seamless acting process: from movement to gesture to the tone of voice a memorable acting performance we will not be able to forget easily.

Méliès d’argent Award – Short Films
The competition is organized in collaboration with the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) and the award goes to the best European short film. The winner of the competition is chosen by the theatre audience votes and also wins the nomination to the Méliès d’or annual competition.

VTS+FF2021 Méliès d’argent Award winner – Short Films
“The Exit Plan” by Angus Wilkinson (AUSTRALIA / UK, 2020)

Rai 4 Award
The award is given by the Rai 4 channel of Italian television, media partner of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, to one of the movies of the Neon section.

TS+FF2021 Rai 4 Award winner
“Lamb” by Valdimar Johannsson (ISLAND / SWEDEN / POLAND, 2021)

Motivation
An unusual pastoral elegy interrupted by sudden flashes of fear, a new approach to the powerful tradition of Scandinavian folklore, the slow rhythm of life far from the chaos of the modern world coupled with the insanity of lost motherhood, an allegorical tale about the arrogance of humans who forget how strongly Nature is able to react.

TS+FF2021 Nocturno Nuove Visioni Award

TS+FF2021 Nocturno Nuove Visioni Award winner
“Mad God” by Phil Tippett (USA, 2020)

Motivation
34 years in the making, chasing a vision of perfection, We’re able to see on the big screen the masterpiece of a true genius. A work of art that is hellish, scary and lyrically beautiful at the same time, reinventing the boundaries of genre with a technique that is almost as ancient as cinema itself.

CineLab Spazio Corto Award
The CineLab Spazio Corto Award is organized in collaboration with DAMS (Arts, Music and Entertainment department) of the Universities of Udine and Trieste. The award is given by a jury of students to the best Italian short film in the Spazio Italia | Spazio Corto section.

TS+FF2021 MYmovies Award

TS+FF2021 MYmovies Award winner
“Junk Head” by Takahide Hori (JAPAN, 2021)

“Junk Head” by Kahide Hori won the MYmovies Audience Award for the best online movie with a rating of 4,47 out of 5 stars. “Junk Head” is an award-winning Japanese stop motion animation reminiscent of the Brothers Quay, Jan Švankmajer and Terry Gilliam: a visionary work with dystopian tones.

TS+FF2021 CineLab Spazio Corto Award

TS+FF2021 CineLab Spazio Corto Award winner
“Dorothy non deve morire” by Andrea Simonetti (ITALY, 2021)

Motivation
Faced with death, the Oz family meets one last time to deal with facts far from their heroic past. The Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow, humanised and corrupted by today’s world, discover their true nature again when saying goodbye to their friend Dorothy. The film leads us to join the three friends in their journey of atonement thanks to the impressive direction and set design.. Costume design and makeup are even more striking as they define the details of each character. The film successfully brings a new and unknown chapter of a well-known story to the screen, showing a completely new side of a universe we all gave for granted.

TS+FF2021 Stars’ War Award winner

Stars’ War – Premio della Critica Web TS+FF2021
“Lamb” by Valdimar Johannsson (ISLAND / SWEDEN / POLAND, 2021)