Finnish-German-Australia science fiction action spoof Iron Sky was awarded at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival with Silver Méliès award, and with the Audience Award. Silver Méliès award is a highly appreciated Europen genre film award, and the winners of the award end up competing each other for the Golden Méliès award, later this year in October in Sitges Film Festival.

Director Timo Vuorensola was surprised of the reactions of the crowd at Brussels:

“I didn't know what to expect when I arrived to Brussels. I soon learned the screening was sold out really fast, and the house was packed! Over 1400 people flooded the room, and there were not even enough seats for everyone. But the most interesting thing I found out about the festival is that the reactions of the crowd are a part of the whole movie experience. The crowd cheered, laughed, applauded, booed and screamed jokes and comments during the screening. It was a unique experience, and winning an audience price at such a festival is a great honor.”

Producer Tero Kaukomaa is equally happy about the prices: “In Texas, at South by Southwest, we were among the three best films, and now we grabbed the main audience award”, he rejoices. “Silver Méliès -prize is a wonderful and important one, and feels great after so many years of hard work on the film.”

The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF) is one of the most appreciated genre film festivals in the world, and is now celebrating it's 30th anniversary. This year the guests of honor were director legends William Friedkin (The Excorsist and The French Connection) and Terry Gilliam (Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).

Iron Sky is currently rolling out on the big screens across Europe. The film opened with a blast during the Easter, gaining over 250000 admissions and making more than 2,3 million dollars in box office in under a week. This week the film opens in Sweden, Denmark and Croatia, and later during the spring and summer among many other countries, the long-awaited cinema releases in UK and United States are to follow, with Japan as a cherry-on-the-top in the fall.