Trieste’s Science+Fiction Festival Celebrates 25 Years of Futuristic Cinema

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by InTrieste

Interview: Francesco Ruzzier, coordinator of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival; Alan Jones, Artistic Director of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival

From October 28 to November 2, Trieste will once again transform into a hub of futuristic imagination as it hosts the 25th edition of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival. Organized by La Cappella Underground, a center for cinematic research and experimentation, the festival has grown into one of Europe’s most distinctive showcases for science fiction and fantasy cinema. This year’s program features more than 50 world, international, and national premieres, alongside appearances by filmmakers, writers, and actors from around the globe.

Screenings and events will take place across the city, including the Politeama Rossetti, which will host the main film competition, the Teatro Miela, and the Sci-Fi Dome in Piazza della Borsa, where audiences can experience panels, talks, and immersive performances. The Sala Xenia will offer programming focused on literature, gaming, and comics.

“The team has worked tirelessly to create an unforgettable program for our 25th anniversary,” said Artistic Director Alan Jones. “Trieste Science+Fiction Festival remains the only film event in the world entirely devoted to fans of the genre. Expect the unexpected: blockbuster premieres, eccentric independents, thought-provoking documentaries, and celebrated guests to mark 25 epic years.”

The opening night at the Politeama Rossetti will feature The Shrinking Man (L’Homme qui rétrécit), directed by Jan Kounen and inspired by Richard Matheson’s classic novel, starring Academy Award winner Jean Dujardin. The evening will continue with Emilie Blichfeldt’s The Ugly Stepsister, a dark reinterpretation of the Brothers Grimm’s Cinderella. Other notable premieres include Toshiaki Toyoda’s Transcending Dimensions from Japan, BT Meza’s Affection and Tommy Savas’s CognAItive from the United States, Chuan Lu’s Bureau 749 from China, and Ben Wheatley’s Bulk from the United Kingdom.

This year’s festival will also expand its Artificial Universe section, dedicated to short films created with artificial intelligence, and will host the IVIPRO Days, a series of panels exploring how video games can serve as tools for cultural storytelling.

Two prominent guests will headline the 25th edition. Italian filmmaker Gabriele Mainetti, known for They Call Me Jeegand Freaks Out, will preside over the Asteroide Award jury and participate in discussions on cinema and gaming. American author Ted Chiang, whose short story “Story of Your Life” inspired Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival, will appear in multiple talks, including Futuri artificiali (“Artificial Futures”), a dialogue on artificial intelligence with journalist Matteo Bordone, and Wor(l)dbuilding, a conversation on language and imagination with linguist Vera Gheno. Chiang will also introduce a special screening of Arrival at the Politeama Rossetti.

Classic films will return to the big screen in the Sci-Fi Classix section, which features William Cameron Menzies’s Things to Come (1936), based on H.G. Wells’s vision of a war-torn future; Peter Watkins’s The War Game (1965); and the 4K restoration of Sideral Cruises (1942) by André Zwobada. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, The Rocky Horror Picture Show will screen alongside the new documentary Sane Inside Insanity: The Phenomenon of Rocky Horror by Andreas Zerr. The 30th anniversary of Jumanji will also be marked with a special screening of the beloved adventure film.

The festival will close with the Italian premiere of Chien 51 by Cédric Jimenez, a dystopian thriller set in a divided Paris where artificial intelligence reshapes the mechanisms of law and order.

Alongside the film screenings, the Mondofuturo program will return to the Sci-Fi Dome with a series of free public talks exploring the intersection of science and imagination. Topics will include environmental sustainability, genetic heritage, and the role of AI in society. Among the featured speakers are science communicators Beatrice Mautino and Roberta Villa, architect Eleonora Ceschin, and biologist Giacomo Moro Mauretto.

Now celebrating its 25th year, the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival continues to strengthen its reputation as one of Europe’s leading forums for visionary cinema—a space where filmmakers, scientists, and dreamers come together to explore the ever-expanding boundaries of human imagination.

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