The 22nd edition of Trieste Science + Fiction Festival, the main Italian event dedicated to science fiction, ended with the award ceremony, Sunday 6 November 2022, at the Politeama Rossetti, at the Miela Theater and at the DoubleTree by Hilton Trieste.
On the 22nd edition of Trieste Science + Fiction Festival, the director Alan Jones himself spends a few words, making his debut as follows:
I couldn’t be more excited about my first year as artistic director of the Trieste Science + Fiction Festival. An edition that culminated with our juries made up of professional experts who chose as the winning films those they consider the best of science fiction productions of 2022.
From the provocative and captivating “THE ARTIFICE GIRL”, which conquered the jury of the Festival with its stunning screenplay, the special mention went to “THE VISITOR FROM THE FUTURE”, and again the fabulous and full of imagination “LOLA”, up to masterful construction of an alternative world that we saw in “VESPER”, the Trieste event has been able to establish itself as a festival of international breath. And now we can begin to prepare for our event dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the event that we will celebrate in 2023 and which is already taking on epic proportions “.
Premi: Trieste Science+Fiction Festival
Here we list all the prizes awarded at the Trieste Science + Fiction Festival award ceremony:
- Asteroid;
- Méliés d’argent-Feature films;
- Méliés d’argent-Short films;
- Wonderland-Rai 4;
- CineLab Spazio Corto;
- of the Audience.
Trieste Science + Fiction Festival: Asteroide Award
The Asteroide Award was awarded for the best science fiction, horror and fantasy film reserved for first, second or third works by emerging directors, all grouped in the Neon section of the Festival: “The Artifice Girl”. Assigned by an international jury composed of the director: Neil Marshall, the author and director Buddy Giovinazzo and the general director of the Sitges Foundation as well as teacher Monica Garcia Massague.
The Artifice girl, by Franklin Ritch (United States of America) 2022, is the story of two special agents, Dena Helms, and Amos McCullough who enlist another person named Gareth, who turns out to be a revolutionary wizard. technology has become vigilant of the Internet, and their lives take a very important turn in the future of the digital age.
The original system with which Gareth fights online predators by managing to lure pedophiles turns out to be an Artificial Intelligence, and its rapid development over the decades will lead to profound reflections on the subject of autonomy, of suffocating the true meaning of being. “human”.
And these are the exact words expressed by the jury, for the choice of the film: The Artifice girl:
We believe the film tells an intelligent, well-acted and truly challenging story. This film shows a positive use of technology in a future full of questions about the human race and its coexistence with Artificial Intelligence.
Trieste Science + Fiction Festival: Mèliés d’argent-Feature Films Award
This award was organized in collaboration with the Mèliés International Festivals Federation (MIFF) and is reserved for feature films of the fantastic genre of European production. The 2022 jury of the Mèliés d’argent award is made up of film industry veteran Giles Edwards, producer, screenwriter and actor Loris Curci and writer Maura McHugh.
Which awarded the Mèliés award to the Feature Film: “LOLA”. (Film by Andrew Legge, UK / Ireland) 2022. A film told in 1940. The story of two sisters: Thom and Mars who build a car named LOLA, which intercepts radio and TV programs from the future, allowing them to listen big hits before they are even composed, place foolproof bets and embrace their punk souls.
With the arrival of the Second World War, the two sisters decide to use information from the future to help the military intelligence that manages to change the fate of the Nazi rise. But meanwhile, Thom becomes intoxicated by LOLA, and Mars realizes the dire consequences of her power. In fact, Thom and Mars quarrel, leading Thom to make a fatal mistake that leads everyone into a nightmare future.
Will their love be able to save the world they are about to lose?
Here is the explanation of the jury:
We discussed all the films in competition, picked the winner on the basis of inventiveness and original vision, engaging acting and playful affirmation of the essential need for music as a form of expression, especially in difficult times. We were impressed by the quality and value of the entries submitted for this year’s competition.
After all, who could live in the future without David Bowie? Therefore the winner of the Mèliés d’Argento is the feature film: LOLA, by Andrew Legge.
Trieste Science + Fiction Festival: Mèliés d’argent-Short Films Award
As with the Feature Film mentioned in the previous chapter, the Corto di Mèliés d’argent is also organized in collaboration with the Mèliés International Festivals Federation (MIFF). But in this case the prize is awarded to the short film that receives the most votes from the audience.
That is: 68,415 by Antonella Sabatino and Stefano Blasi (Italy) 2022.
The story of this short film begins with a world without food and invaded by plastic, where the Zigle clinic experiments with a new method of food re-education, coveted by many but reserved for the few, and Giulia the protagonist is one of the chosen ones.
Trieste Science + Fiction Festival: Wonderland-Rai 4 Award
And here we totally change genre, the film that received the Wonderland award is “Piove” by Paolo Strippoli (Italy) 2022, and it is an exciting and extreme horror. Extreme as the madness that runs through history is extreme. Set in a Rome on the brink of implosion. The canons of horror are applied here to a family drama, exploring a modern society that, increasingly hateful, finds itself face to face with even greater pressure.
In recent days, Rome has been the stage for a curious event, namely: when it rains, the manholes exhale a dense vapor of unknown origin and composition. Nobody imagines that anyone who breathes this mysterious fog will then have to deal with something repressed within each of them, for example with their darkest instincts, with their repressed anger, with their own inner demons. The Morel family is no exception to all this.
Here is the jury’s comment:
We reward Piove, for having been able to rework the classic horror canon outlined by the archetypes of Romero and Cronenberg, mastering the genre as a functional tool for the representation of a profound discomfort of civilization, and for the ability to witness the growing and frightening deficit of humanity that it hits our disintegrating societies, while the terrifying black slime gushes up from the underground, overwhelming the capital. But also for the choice of a visionary, harsh and geometric gaze at the service of the allegorical structure of the narrative.
Trieste Science + Fiction Festival: CineLab Spazio Corto Award
CineLab Spazio Corto, is organized in collaboration with the Dams (Disciplines of the arts of music and entertainment), Inter-university study course, University of Udine and University of Trieste, and is reserved for the best Italian short film presented in the Space section. Italy ¦ Short Space. The prize in question is awarded by a jury made up of some students: Alessandra Nider, Manuel Fincato and Emmanuel Cuccu.
This award was won by the film: “The island of the resurrected dead” by Domenico Montixi (Italy) 2022
Set in the 1970s, a band of crude mercenaries led by a provocative yet ambiguous Doctor, along with a tenacious journalist, and a stubborn girl, take turns on a tropical island in search of a famous missing scientist. But from there to the conclusion of the film, they will find themselves in a hilarious adventure.
This is what the student jury said:
Laughter in the hall! The audience pervaded by a script and staging devoted to the irony of 80s pop culture. This satirical spirit overshadows the plot, emphasizing contemporary issues. The author condemns humanity with an explosive freeze frame
Trieste Science + Fiction Festival: Audience Award
The winning film awarded by the public of the 22nd edition of the Trieste Science + Fiction Festival goes to “Mad Heidi” by Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein (Switzerland) 2022.
It comes directly from the producers of Iron Sky, an action comedy, the first Swissploitation in history. Developed in despotic Switzerland under the command of a cheese-making fascist, Heidi lives a quiet life in the mountains, protected by his grandfather. That after being kidnapped by the government’s brutal storm troops, her desire for freedom triggers a revolution.
Escaped from prison with stalwart eyes, the naive girl from the Alps will face lactose intolerance, Toblerone mutilations, Swiss army knives, torture with fondue and deadly traps like cuckoo clocks, battling a cheese-fed machine of human hatred.
But in addition to the prizes, in this Trieste Science + Fiction Festival, we also find special mentions:
Trieste Science + Fiction Festival: Asteroide Special Mention
This special mention goes to the film: “The Visitor From the Future” by François Descraques (France) 2022. Based on a compelling, hilarious and disturbing web series that caused a huge sensation in France.
Narrated in the year 2555: civilization is collapsing due to an ecological disaster and the few remaining humans survive in the Underground. The Visitor travels back in time to find Alice, whose father is building the nuclear power plant responsible for the impending catastrophe. Man must die, or the world will end, and time is running out! Led by ferocious Constance, the Time Brigade hunts down our heroes to ward off temporal paradoxes. Will Alice choose to save the world… or her father?
Trieste Science + Fiction Festival: Special Mention Mèliés d’argent – feature films
The jury also wants to award a special mention to Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper’s film “Vesper” for the effective construction of the world and the grace of acting.
The film also focuses on the future, after the collapse of the earth’s ecosystem, 13-year-old Vesper must use all her resources to survive, together with her ailing father Darius, among the decaying remains of a destroyed world. When Vesper finds her mysterious Camelia, alone and lost after an accident with her jet, and agrees to help her find her mate only if he takes her to the Citadel.
Nerve center of the oligarchs who reign by exploiting genetics. Finding herself in this dangerous adventure, the girl will have to rely on her wit and on her skills as a biological hacker to open the door …