Trieste 2017: THELMA Takes Méliès d'Or Award As Best European Genre Film Of 2017

A special event capped off Friday November 3 at the Trieste Science + Fiction Festival, namely the 21st Golden Méliès ceremony.

This culmination of the European Fantastic Film Festival Federation's (EFFFF) Méliès competition saw 8 feature films and 17 short films - silver Méliès winners of either affiliated or adherent festivals - compete for the top prize. The jury, comprised of film critics Beatrice Fiorentino, Fabrizio Liberti, and Jean-François Rauger awarded the feature film Méliès d'Or to Joachim Trier's supernatural love story, Thelma, while Magali Magistry's dystopian fantasy Expire took home the short film award.

It's only fitting that the award ceremony was followed by a live piano concert during which famous Méliès shorts like Le Voyage Dans La Lune (1902), Les Quat'cents Farces du Diable (1906), and Le voyage à travers l'impossible (1904) were brought to wonderful new life courtesy of Stefano Bollani's extemporaneous score.

Under the starry sky of the Politeama Rossetti theatre's gorgeous ceiling Méliès' wild sense of invention, humor, and fascination with the moon and lunar landscapes were as evident as his fondness for special effects. His wordless masterpieces rendered the audience speechless once more.

Read on for the full press release below:

Norwegian mystery thriller Thelma wins the Méliès d'Or 2017

Trieste, 3 November, 2017

The European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation (EFFFF) is pleased to announce the winners of the 21st Méliès d'Or competition for European fantastic film.

The Méliès d'Or for feature film was awarded to Thelma by Joachim Trier (Norway). The Méliès d'Or for short film went to Expire by Magali Magistry (France).

This year's Méliès jury was composed of Jean-François Rauger (president), Beatrice Fiorentino and Fabrizio Liberti.

The Méliès d'Or ceremony took place on 3 November in Trieste, and was hosted by the ScienceplusFiction festival. It marked the culmination of a unique cycle of ongoing competitions held by 16 members of the EFFFF in 11 European countries, during 2016/17. The winning films (see below) were awarded a Méliès d'Argent and a nomination for the 21st Méliès d'Or competition.

Founded in 1987, the EFFFF has become the world’s largest festival network with 22 film festivals from 17 countries and a global reach of more than half a million of visitors, making it a vital player in the promotion of European genre cinema, both in Europe and abroad. The goal of the EFFFF is to promote European fantastic film productions by enhancing their visibility and standing with both the public and industry. The Méliès competition was launched in 1996 to help achieve these goals and has been one of the principal activities of the Federation since that date.

The 8 nominees for the feature Méliès d'Or were:

Cold Hell / Die Hölle

Germany/Austria

Stefan Ruzowitzky

Awarded at MOTELX – Lisbon International Horror Film Festival, 2017

Sum of histories /Terug Naar Morgen

Belgium

Lukas Bossuyt

Awarded at ScienceplusFiction – Trieste International Science Fiction Film Festival, 2016

The Bar/El bar

Spain/Argentina

Álex de la Iglesia

Awarded at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, 2017

Small Town Killers/Dræberne fra Nibe

Denmark

Ole Bornedal

Awarded at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, 2017

Pieles/Skins

Spain

Eduardo Casanova

Awarded at the Imagine Film Festival, 2017

Let the corpses tan/Laissez bronzer les cadavres

France/Belgium

Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani

Awarded at the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival, 2017

Snowflake/Schneeflöckchen

Germany

Adolfo Kolmerer

Awarded at the Lund Fantastik Film Festival, 2017

Thelma

Norway/France/Denmark/Sweden

Joachim Trier

Awarded at Sitges – Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya, 2017

The 17 nominees for the short Méliès d'Or were:

Thursday Night

Portugal

Gonçalo Almeida

Awarded at MOTELX – the Lisbon International Horror Film Festival, 2017

Getting Fat in a Healty Way

Bulgaria/Germany

Kevork Aslanyan

Awarded at ScienceplusFiction – Trieste International Science Fiction Film Festival, 2016

Die Brücke über den Fluss

Switzerland

Jadwiga Kowalska

Awarded at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, 2017

Black Ring/Siyah cember

Turkey

Hasan Can Dagli

Awarded at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, 2017

Neck and Neck

United Kingdom

Shaun Clark

Awarded at the Imagine Film Festival, 2017

The Absence of Eddy Table

Norway

Rune Spaans

Awarded at the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival, 2017

Dreamlife

Sweden

Anna Mercedes Bergion

Awarded at the Lund Fantastik Film Festival, 2017

Fucking Bunnies/Saatanan kani

Finland

Teemu Niukkanen

Awarded at the Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, 2017

Under the Apple Tree

Belgium/Netherlands

Erik van Schaaik

Awarded at the Grossmann Fantastic Film and Wine Festival, 2017

The Reflection of Power

France

Mihai Grecu

Awarded at the Court Metrange Festival, 2016

The Problemless Anonimous

United Kingdom

Gary Roberts

Awarded at the Razor Reel Flanders Film Festival, 2016

Decorado

Spain/France

Alberto Vázquez

Awarded at the San Sebastian Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, 2016

Of Shadows and Wings

France

Jelice Meng Elenora Marinoni

Awarded at FanCine Málaga – Festival de Cine Fantástico, 2016

Semper Fidelis

Poland

Maciej Gajewsky

Awarded at the Molins de Rei Horror Film Festival, 2016

Bricks

United Kingdom

Neville Pierce

Awarded at Abertoir Horror Festival, 2016

Expire

France

Magali Magistry

Awarded at Sitges – Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya, 2017

The 22nd Méliès d’Or ceremony will take place in 2018 at Sitges – Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya.

For more information about the EFFFF and the Méliès competitions, please go to www.melies.org For more on the ScienceplusFiction, please go to www.sciencefictionfestival.org