Europe’s Biggest Science Fiction Festival, UTOPIALES, took place in Nantes (France) between the 31st of October – 4th of November 2018.
Last year, Utopiales’s attendance was over 80.000 participants, making the Festival the biggest Europe’s science fiction event.
Utopiales is not only the biggest European SF Festival, it’s one of the largest SF events on Earth.
As a comparison, the “World” Anglophone conventions have between 6 to 8,000 participants at maximum.
By the way, the so-called “Dragon Con” isn’t a science fiction event, is just a mercantile&consumeristic – fantasy&comic books – anglo marketing&advertising tool.
The Utopiales model, to open the gates of science fiction to the general public, to gather writers, scholars, scientists, artists plus fans and readers and gamers, it’s functioning and is generating audience and awareness.
Since its creation, in 2000, Les Utopiales, The Nantes International Science Fiction Festival, has tried, as its objective, to offer works of quality to the greatest number of people, and to enable them to discover the world of futurology, of new technologies and of the fantastic. As every year, a theme was developed, while at the same time treating the yearly developments in the science fiction world.
The Nantes International Science Fiction Festival, The Utopiales, are organizing The European Utopiales Prize, in order to reward European authors in the genre known as the “Speculative fiction”.
This award rewards a novel, or a collection, published in French, during the literary season preceding the festival, whose author is a citizen of a country belonging to the European Community. The prize has a cash value of 2000 euros.
The 19th edition of Utopiales, the International SF Festival in Nantes, ended after 4 days of events and festivities.
The complete List of Prizes awarded during this 2018 edition has been unveiled, with some fifteen awards, from comics to feature films to video games …
Prix Utopiales Européen (Utopiales European Awards)
- WINNER: L’âme des horloges/The Bone Clocks, David Mitchell (UK)
- Nominations:
- L’Or du diable/Teufelsgold/Devil’s Gold, Andreas Eschbach (Germany)
- Espace Lointain/Far Space, Jaroslav Melnik (Ukraine/France)
- Station: La chute/Crashing Heaven: The Station Series, Al Robertson (UK)
- Amatka, Karin Tidbeck (Sweden)
Prix Utopiales Européen Jeunesse (Utopiales European Youth Awards)
- WINNER: Les Puissants, tome 1: Esclaves/Gilded Cage, Vic James (UK)
- Nominations:
- The Rain, Virginia Bergin (UK)
- Nouvelle Sparte, Erik L’Homme (France)
- Star Trip, Éric Senabre (France)
- Le Mort du Temps, Aurélie Wellenstein (France)
Award for best roleplaying scenario
Ex aequo
Tolkraft for his script “Make Oneida Great Again”
Sébastien Mège for his scenario “Seul un fou ne sait pas qu’il l’est” (Only a mad man doesn’t know he’s mad)
Award for the best video game
“Arena Spirit” by Argann Bonneau, Yuri Bossus, Étienne Cassin, Rémi Laot, François Mauxion
Comics Utopiales Awards
“Ces jours qui disparaissent“ (These days that disappear), Thimoté Le Boucher, Ed. Glénat, 2017
Special Mention – Utopiales Comics Awards
“Alt-Life” , by Joseph Falzon and Thomas Cadène, Le Lombard, 2018
Jury Prize – International Short Film Competition
“Edge of Alchemy“, Stacey Steers, USA, 2017
Jury Special Mention – International Short Film Competition
“Rust in peace“, Will Welles, United States, 2018
Canal Plus Jury Prize – International Short Film Competition
“The Replacement” , Sean Miller, United States, 2018
Audience Award – International Short Film Competition
“Irony“, Radheya Jegatheva, Australia, 2017
Grand Jury Prize – International Feature Film Competition
“Assassination Nation“, Sam Levinson, United States, 2018
Jury Special Mention – International Feature Film Competition
“The Man With the Magic Box“, Bodo Kox, Italy-Poland, 2017
Audience Award – International Feature Film Competition
“Freaks“, Zach Lipovsky & Adam B. Stein, United States, 2018
Julia Verlanger Prize (prize hosted by Les Utopiales)
“L’Enfant de poussière” (The Child of Dust), Patrick K. Dewdney, Au Diable Vauvert, 2018
Les Utopiales took place at :
La Cité, le Centre des Congrès de Nantes
5 rue de Valmy
44000 Nantes
Les Utopiales Festival took place at La Cité, le Centre des Congrès de Nantes / Nantes Events Center, 5 rue de Valmy/5 Valmy Street, 44000 Nantes, France.
Nantes is the largest city in Brittany, France, with 800,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area and is located 342 kilometers southwest of Paris, at the confluence of the Loire, Edre and Sèvre rivers, 50 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean.
Since 2000, the Utopiales venue is the Congress Palace in Nantes, always fall in late October or early November.
The Utopiales Festival is an event of great magnitude and the most important SF international event dedicated to the European SF and it’a managed to gather together thousands of genre fans and professionals (38,000 participants in 2006, 40,000 in 2008, 41,000 in 2010, 46,000 in 2012, over 60.000 in 2013, 80.000 in 2017.).
The Utopiales name was suggested by Christian Grenier, a SF writer in 1997 and the Utopiales Festival was created in 1998 by Bruno della Chiesa (an Italian-born French, linguist, diplomat, researcher, SF editor) in Futuroscope (Poitiers), a huge theme park dedicated to the future.
Bruno della Chiesa coordinated the Utopiales between 1998 and 2000, and was succeeded between 2001-2005 by the historian Patrick Gyger (Maison d’Ailleurs/House of the Elsewhere’s manager ; La Maison d’Ailleurs is the only public world museum of science fiction, utopia and extraordinary journeys, in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland).
Utopiales is a manifestation of the general public, the fans and the professionals. The Utopiales Festival is celebrating and exploring all means of expression of science fiction, literature, film (international competition and European contest of short films), theater, comics (best album contest, exhibitions), art exhibitions, concerts, games videos, a role playing site, plus panels, discussions and debates on scientific topics.
The Festival’s tracks are literatures, sciences, cinema, comics, expos, asian pole, video games, games, children and schools, evening events.
Since its creation, in 2000, Les Utopiales, The Nantes International Science Fiction Festival, has tried, as its objective, to offer works of quality to the greatest number of people, and to enable them to discover the world of futurology, of new technologies and of the fantastic.
