SYRIACARTOON: Winners of the 34th International Festival of Satire and Humor “City of Trento”, Italy

The 34th International Festival of Satire and Humor “City of Trento” in Italy has officially announced its 2026 winners and selected exhibition artists. Under the fascinating theme of "Optical Illusions," this prestigious edition celebrates outstanding creative mastery, visual wit, and brilliant satirical perspectives from world-class cartoonists.

RESULTS/ PDF

Theme: Optical illusions

1. PRIZES AND AWARDS

CATEGORY: SATIRE AND HUMOR

• FIRST PRIZE: Tošo Borković (Serbia)

Cinema has always been the art of enchantment and illusion. Through a minimalist composition, three faces illuminated in close-up against a black background, Tošo Borković places his very unique viewers in what we sense is a movie theater. But for these poor cyclopses, the three-dimensional effect is a true illusion!

• SECOND PRIZE: Mikhail Zlatkovsky (Russia)

With skillful brushwork and masterful color composition, Mikhail Zlatkovsky depicts what appears to be a wild race between two sport cars. The cars and houses have certainly seen better days, but there is no melancholy in this lush landscape. The wind blows through ribbons and hair; it lifts and tugs at the balloon: while the cars' speed is illusory, the young people's happiness is, in contrast, real.

• THIRD PRIZE: Edwin Perales Gonzalez (Peru)

Edwin Perales Gonzalez's allusion to the famous optical illusion "My Wife and My Mother-in-Law" (1915), also known as "The Young Woman and the Old Woman", by the British artist William Ely Hill is simple, clear, and ironic. The suitors for both ladies are perfect!

• SPECIAL PRIZE ALESSANDRO ALFONSI: Amin Montazeri (Iran)

Simplicity and graphic elegance characterize the work of Iranian artist Amin Montazeri. Against the evocative blue of the night, a dark shadow floats, seemingly playing strings of fire and light. A dreamlike vision, both unsettling and poetic at the same time.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (SATIRE AND HUMOR):

- Bilig Ba - China

- Didie Sri Widiyanto - Indonesia

- Mohammad Raei - Iran

- Oleksiy Kustovsky - Ukraine

- Pol Leurs - Luxembourg

- Roman Sika - Slovakia

- Valeriu Kurtu - Germany

CATEGORY: COMICS

• FIRST PRIZE: Andrey Selivanov (Russia)

In Andrey Selivanov's work, the topos of the castaway alone on an island coexists with that of the optical illusion par excellence: the mirage. The narrative sequence is flawless: the castaway and the rescuer spot each other, greet one another, and approach each other with a joy that will soon prove fleeting. The illusion of rescue vanishes, and with it, the castaway also vanishes. There is no mirage without desire.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (COMICS):

- Anna Formilan - Italy

- Ettore Basciano - Italy

- Serpil Kar - Turkey

SATIRE AND HUMOR