The winners of the annual Trieste Science+Fiction Festival awards have been revealed in a packed closing ceremony at the stunning Politeama Rossetti in the Italian town.

The Asteroid Prize, which honours the best sci-fi, horror, and fantasy film, is reserved for emerging directors with their first, second, or third film. The jury – comprised of director Gabriele Mainetti (Freaks Out), producer and Film4 co-creator Julia Wrigley, and festival programmer for Francine, the Fantastic Film Festival of Málaga, Rocio Moreno – awarded the honour to Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus’ Redux Redux. Having already won fans at 2025’s FrightFest, the movie impressed the jury with its bold fusion of science fiction and emotion. The honorary Special Mention Asteroide Award was given to the stunning animated film Arco, directed by Ugo Bienvenu.

The Méliès d’Argent Award jury was made up of British distributor Martin Myers, film critic and writer Ann Billson, and Mark Moore, musician, DJ, and frontman of the band S’Express. They awarded the Silver Méliès Award to Jan Kounen’s L’Homme qui rétrécit (The Shrinking Man), which brings Richard Matheson’s classic 1956 novel to a new generation. The fans were polled for the short film Silver Méliès, and they chose Marius Rolfsvåg’s Animalia, a Norwegian entry set in the future where the world has been reclaimed by nature, with humans having evolved into animals. The only untouched community is hidden away in an airtight city.   

The audience award, also voted for by those in attendance, went to Arco. There was also an award presented by the festival’s media partner Rai Cultura. The Wonderland Award is presented to the best overall movie of the event. They chose Redux Redux, making it a double celebration for the MacManus brothers’ impressive time travel thriller.  The SNCCI Critics’ Award was voted for by three members of the National Union of Italian Film Critics, Martina Barone, Andrea Chimento, and Sara D’Ascenzo. They chose the Australian animated sci-fi comedy Lesbian Space Princess. The story has a shy princess attempting to rescue her ex-girlfriend from the Straight White Maliens. The fun romp has already won over audiences worldwide, and the win will undoubtedly enhance its reputation.

The honour for best Italian short film, the Cinelab Spazio Corto Award, went to Nicolò Folin’s The Other Lives, in which the memory of dead people is able to be preserved, allowing the living the chance to interact with those who have passed.

Finally, the Event Horizon Award (National Institute for Astrophysics Award) went to author Ted Chiang, celebrating the way he captured the real way scientists think about understanding the universe. His bibliography includes work such as Exhalation, The Lifecycle of Software Objects, and Story of Your Life, which was adapted into the film Arrival. Chiang was on hand to introduce a screening of Denis Villeneuve’s classic, as well as taking part in an enlightening discussion on AI.  

Find out more about the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival at sciencefictionfestival.org