Traditionally considered an Anglo-American invention, science fiction literature also has successful branches across Europe as well as in South America. The same, however, cannot be said for science fiction cinema. The economic power and strength of Hollywood has created a certain model of science fiction productions, whose impressive special effects seem to be beyond other countries’ capability (Del Santo 2010). In Italy, science fiction is not considered an appropriate, native genre, especially with regard to cinema. Even though Anglo-American and Russian science fiction literature and cinema have been widely translated and dubbed, it would be hard to claim that there is a flourishing native Italian market. By and large, Italian science fiction cinema, with its more limited budgets, has mostly imitated American films and trends. It has traditionally had such a limited appeal that, in order to be more credible, directors often changed their own names into better-sounding, yet improbable American ones. Thus, directors like Antonio Margheriti signed his films as Anthony Daisies or Anthony Dawson and Alfonso Brescia as Al Bradley (Cozzi 2007, 383).

One way to identify Italian science fiction cinema is by its public. The movies can be divided into two groups. One consists of those made for the domestic market, which are often comedies, farces, and satires. The presence of humor is no doubt derived from the commedia all'italiana genre. The second group comprises those made also for the foreign market, which are more serious, adventurous dramas. The one feature that all films share, however, is that of being low-budget projects.

The two major films that stand out in recent Italian science fiction production are Nirvana (1997) by Academy Award winning director Gabriele Salvatores and Fascisti su Marte (Fascists on Mars, 2006) by comedian Paolo Guzzanti and director Igor Skofic. Set in a typical cyberpunk future city called ‘Northern Agglomeration,’ ruled by corporations and populated by multicultural hybrid subjects, Salvatores's Nirvana centers on the double quest of Jimi Dini, a videogame programmer.