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 worlds 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 dOr 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