The winners of Trieste Science+Fiction Festival 2024

The 24th edition of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival concluded with an awards ceremony at the Politeama Rossetti on Sunday, November 3. As Italy’s premier event dedicated to science fiction, the festival took place across Rossetti, the Miela Theater, and the Sci-Fi Dome structure in Piazza della Borsa.

Organized by the La Cappella Underground Center for Film and Audiovisual Research and Experimentation, the 2024 festival once again brought the best of the fantastic genre to the big screen, showcasing over 50 world, international, and national premieres. The event featured three competitions and hosted directors, actors, and creators from around the globe.

And the Melies d’argent winners of the ​Trieste Science+Fiction Festival are…

The winner of the Méliès d’Argent Award for Best Fantastic Genre Feature Film at the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival is “After Us, The Flood” by Arto Halonen (Finland, 2024).

In 2064 the post climate change world is on the verge of destruction. The UN has developed a form of time travel: a person’s memories and their personality along with them can be transmitted to the past, to the person themselves in the moment of birth. Henrik, a brilliant but narcissistic physicist, has been chosen for a mission to publish the blueprint of the fusion reactor – based on his invention – to the entire world and thus prevent climate change from ever happening. But something goes wrong: Henrik is born in the wrong body and must learn humility while living his new life. After Us, The Flood is a science fiction drama about relationships, identity, greed and the reasons why humans are unable to stop climate change.

Jury Statement:
“We loved it for its inventive and original take on a familiar genre device. For its humanity, and the universal questions it raises. We especially valued the fullness of the story and character development and the way that it makes you feel and reflect long after viewing. All in all this added up to a highly satisfying, enjoyable and thought provoking film.”

The winner of the Méliès d’Argent Award for Best European Fantastic Genre Short Film at the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival is “Où va le monde” by Mickaël Dupré (France, 2024).

In outer space, the captain of a crew, accompanied by his faithful robot, decides to abandon his duties to follow a creature called “Intuition”. The creature takes him to a strange, mysterious desert planet where he hopes to find the meaning of existence.