The Future is Fantastic: Trieste Science+Fiction Festival Announces Stellar Lineup for 26th Edition

As the autumn leaves settle over the Adriatic, the city of Trieste is once again preparing to transform into the global epicenter of speculative cinema. The Trieste Science+Fiction Festival (TS+FF), Italy’s premier destination for all things fantastic, has unveiled the initial slate of programming for its highly anticipated 26th edition. Running from November 3rd to 8th, the festival promises a deep dive into the anxieties, aspirations, and artificial frontiers of the human condition.

A Visionary Program: Exploring the Contemporary Frontier

The 26th edition of the TS+FF arrives at a pivotal moment in global cinema. This year’s selection reflects a world in flux, grappling with the rapid integration of artificial intelligence, the erosion of ecological stability, and the haunting persistence of social alienation.

Artistic Director Alan Jones characterizes this year’s selection as a mirror held up to our unstable reality. "Through the cosmic perspective of science fiction, the titles we are announcing today reflect the social changes we are experiencing," Jones stated. "In an increasingly unstable world, we look towards the epic, the celestial, and the primordial forces. Our audience will find what they are looking for: emotion, adventure, and new ways of understanding the world around us."

The Opening Act: The Squirrel

The festival will kick off with the Italian premiere of Markus Lehmusruusu’s The Squirrel (Finland, 2026). A dystopian comedy with a profound ecological heartbeat, the film depicts a future where the natural world has been entirely supplanted by synthetic facsimiles. When Pasi, a designer of artificial fauna, discovers a living, breathing squirrel in his apartment, the film pivots from a melancholic fable into an act of quiet, radical rebellion. Having already earned its status as Finland’s official entry for the 2027 Academy Awards, The Squirrel sets a high bar for the festival’s exploration of the fragility of the human-nature bond.

Global Genre Heavyweights

The lineup continues with a robust selection of international talent, including:

• Colony (South Korea, 2026): Directed by Yeon Sang-ho, the visionary behind Train to Busan, this high-octane outbreak horror film explores the collapse of social order within a sealed biotechnology conference.
• Exit 8 (Japan, 2025): Based on the cult-classic independent video game, Genki Kawamura’s psychological thriller utilizes the "liminal space" aesthetic to explore paranoia and the terrifying potential of repetitive, enclosed environments.
• Freaks II (Canada, 2026): Directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein return to the world they built in their 2018 award-winning hit. This gritty, anti-superhero sequel follows a mother and daughter on the run from a paramilitary organization, blending visceral action with a deeply personal tale of survival.
• Crawlers (USA, 2026): Helmed by Ángel Gómez Hernández and starring Matilda Lutz, this creature feature turns a quarantined residential complex into a claustrophobic web of terror, proving once again that the most frightening monsters are often those hidden within our own domestic spaces.

Jury Appointments and Academic Rigor

The integrity of the festival’s competitive sections is bolstered by an impressive roster of international industry leaders.

The Asteroide Award

The Asteroide Award, reserved for the best feature-length film by an emerging director, will be adjudicated by a jury chaired by Paolo Strippoli, whose own work, L’estranea, is currently representing Italy in the 2027 Oscar race. Joining him are writer/director Emma Braslavsky and Morten Haagensen, Artistic Director of the Ramaskrik Film Festival.

The Méliès d’argent and Critics’ Awards

The Méliès d’argent competition—a prestigious nod to the best in European genre filmmaking—will be overseen by a panel consisting of Valentina Ariete, David Cox (Film4), and Martin Unsworth (STARBURST Magazine). Meanwhile, the Stars War Critics’ Award for Best First Feature will be determined by the discerning eyes of Marco Lovisato, Beatrice Pagan, and Simone Soranna.

The Corman Centenary: Honoring a Cinematic Titan

Perhaps the most significant component of the 26th TS+FF is the comprehensive tribute to the late, legendary Roger Corman. Born one hundred years ago, Corman’s influence on the landscape of fantastic cinema is immeasurable. The festival’s connection to Corman is historic; in 1963, during the inaugural edition of the precursor to the modern TS+FF, Corman’s X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes took home the top prize, cementing a lifelong bond between the filmmaker and the city of Trieste.

A Two-Part Retrospective

The tribute is divided into two distinct phases, acknowledging the dual nature of Corman’s career: the talent scout and the visionary director.

Phase I: The Talent Scout (October 9–30)
Before the main event, the Cinema Ariston will host a series of screenings showcasing the careers of directors Corman mentored. This pre-festival program includes:

• October 9: Martin Scorsese’s Boxcar Bertha
• October 16: Joe Dante’s Piranha
• October 30: Francis Ford Coppola’s Dementia 13

These films serve as a masterclass in how Corman’s "B-movie" school—characterized by tight budgets and creative autonomy—became the training ground for the titans of New Hollywood.

Phase II: The Director (November 3–8)
During the festival proper, the tribute turns to Corman’s own directorial efforts, including his definitive Edgar Allan Poe adaptation, The Masque of the Red Death, the satirical counterculture piece Gas-s-s-s, and his late-career science fiction exploration of the Frankenstein myth, Frankenstein Unbound.

The presence of Julie Corman, the producer and widow of Roger Corman, as a guest of honor will provide an intimate, expert perspective on the man who turned low-budget constraint into a high-art laboratory.

Implications for the Future of Genre Cinema

The Trieste Science+Fiction Festival does more than just screen movies; it serves as a critical junction for the evolution of the genre. By juxtaposing modern, high-stakes thrillers with the retrospective of a foundational pioneer like Corman, the festival illustrates the cyclical nature of creative innovation.

The emphasis on films like The Squirrel and Colony suggests that the industry is currently obsessed with the theme of "containment"—whether it be physical, as seen in the subway tunnels of Exit 8, or biological, as seen in the laboratories of Colony. These stories resonate because they mirror the modern feeling of being trapped by the very systems—technological, social, and political—that we have constructed to keep ourselves safe.

As the festival looks ahead, the commitment to both the emerging voices of the Asteroide competition and the historical legacy of the Corman era ensures that Trieste remains a destination for those who view science fiction not merely as entertainment, but as an essential tool for interpreting the complexity of our changing world.

Festival Details

• Dates: November 3rd – 8th, 2026
• Location: Trieste, Italy
• Official Website: sciencefictionfestival.org/en/

With a program that balances the adrenaline of contemporary body horror with the intellectual weight of ecological dystopianism, the 26th edition of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival is poised to once again prove that the most profound insights into humanity often come from our most imaginative, speculative nightmares.