The World’s First International Science Fiction Film Festival : Trieste, Italy
Trieste Science + Fiction, Il Festival Internazionale del Film di Fantascienza di Trieste: December 5th to 9th, 2012
The founders of the International Science Fiction Film Festival of Trieste (Il Festival Internazionale del Film di Fantascienza di Trieste, the first SF film festival in the world launched in 1963) were the film critic, screenwriter, novelist and journalist Flavia Paulon (1906-1987), who had the idea of organizing the festival, the film critic Piero Zanotto (born : 1929), the SF writer Giulio Raiola (1927-2006) and the one who became the artistic director of the festival, Gastone Schiavotto (1915-1977). It was ment as a pan-european event and an international one, and it was a great success with critics and audiences both in Italy and, unexpectedly, at the international level.
“At the Festival could participate only long/medium/short films made in the last four months testifying the progress achieved in the field of cinema from various countries. No review, even at the Venice Film Festival, had ever dealt with science fiction films and there were eight hundred reviews in magazines around the world. Flavia Paulon, thanks to her’s experience, organized almost everything from her home in Venice, promoting many events: art exhibitions, thematic panels, exhibitions and retrospectives.”
The jury of first edition of the International SF Film Festival from Trieste, from 1963, was composed of the French writer Jacques Bergier (1912-1978), President’s Jury, the British writer Kingsley Amis (1922-1995), the French director Pierre Kast (1920-1984), the famous semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist Umberto Eco (not so famous then, he was 31 years old) and italian SF writer Luigi Berto (1913-1983).
The “Golden Spaceship” Grand Prize was awarded to the Czechoslovak film, “Ikarie XB1” by the czech director Jindrich Polak and ex aequo to the French film “La Jetée” by Chris Marker, the “Silver Spaceship” was given to Soviet film, “The Amphibious Man” by Vladimir Chebotariov and Gennady Kazanski and to the American film, ” X, the Man with X-Ray Eyes” by Roger Corman, the Czechoslovak animated film, “Cyber Nun” by Jiri Trnka had received the ” Trieste Gold Seal” and the British animated film, “Little Island” by Richard Williams had been awarded with the “Trieste Silver Seal”. The first edition was the theater of confrontation (“A colossal litigation” as stated by Vittorio Curtoni) between competing SF groups, the one of the SF magazines Galassia, Galaxy, SFBC and the rival supporters of the magazines Futuro, Interplanet, Oltre il Cielo, the most vocal being Roberta Rambelli, Sandro Sandrelli, Lino Aldani, Inisero Cremaschi and Luigi Berto.
It’s worth to note the presence and relevance in the period of the Eastern European science fiction films by Czech, Russian, Polish and East German film schools : “Silent Star” by Kurt Maetzig (East Germany,1960), “Ikarie XB1” by Jindrich Polak (Czechoslovakia, 1963), “The Confused Planet” by Pavel Prochazka (Czechoslovakia) , “Solaris” by Andrei Tarkovsky (USSR, 1972), “Test of the Pilot Pirx” by Marek Piestrak (Poland, 1978). It is not at all accidental that in 1972, the first edition of Eurocon (The European Science Fiction Convention) was also organized in Trieste. In 1982 was held the last edition of the first series of the festival: „The Festival ended in 1982 when there were no more funds from the Trieste Tourist Office, which had supported the event.”
The festival was relaunched in 2000 with the title of “Trieste Science + Fiction Festival Internazionale del Film di Il fantascienza di Trieste”. This year edition will take place in a new theater and the program also includes a panel discussion on Philip K. Dick.
Trieste Science + Fiction, the International Festival of Science Fiction, dedicated to the exploration of the worlds of fantasy, experimental languages and new technologies in film, television, visual and performing arts, officially announces the new location and the new dates for the 2012 edition: the event will be held in Trieste on December 5th to 9th at the Tripcovich Hall and the House of Cinema. Organized by La Cappella Underground the research center (with the collaboration and support of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture – Film Board, the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, in the Province of Trieste, Trieste City Council, the Chamber of Commerce Trieste, University of Trieste and the association Casa del Cinema di Trieste), the festival is back this year in the historic center of the city.
The Tripcovich central hall will be used for the first time to host a film festival, in collaboration with the Municipality of Trieste and the Fondazione Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi, the adjacent building of the House of Cinema (a project in collaboration with the Province of Trieste, home of La Cappella Underground and the Teatro Miela Film Association). The film will be as always the heart of the festival, with prestigious national and international previews of the best productions in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres.
The official selection of Trieste Science + Fiction explore the area with three international competitions. Independent filmmakers from around the world will compete for the Asteroid Award for Best Feature Film Fiction, the European competition for the Silver Méliès Award for Best Fantastic Film and the Best Short Film, organized in collaboration with the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation. The audience of the festival will also be involved in the traditional assignment of the Audience Award. Among the first titles in the official selection: „True Love” by Enrico Clerico Nasino, SF drama written and produced by the duo of „Afterville” Fabio & Fabio (Fabio Guaglione and Fabio Resinaro), the post-apocalyptic „The Divide” of France’s Xavier Gens, the hilarious monster Irish movie „Grabbers” by Jon Wright, the first work of the independent American director Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead, the zombie comedy „Cockneys vs London”, director Matthias Hoene.
Other interesting issues, the Unforgettable meetings, sealed by Nocturno New Visions Award for emerging filmmakers from traditional Lifetime Achievement Silver Urania Award for a great artist in the panorama of the fantastic, and the Masterclass organized with the University of Trieste. Even in its twelfth edition, the festival will retain its interdisciplinary dimension, combining the movies other events dedicated to comics, literature and television. Among the events planned, a round table for the 60th anniversary of the magazine Urania and a panel dedicated to Philip K. Dick and the films after thirty years of the death of the famous American novelist.
(Trieste Science+Fiction — Festival Internazionale della Fantascienza) : 5th – 9th of December 2012
http://www.sciencefictionfestival.org/en/ http://www.sciencefictionfestival.org/
