The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within those genres were never given the appreciation they deserved at that time. The physical award is a representation of the planet Saturn, surrounded with a ring of film. The award was initially and is still sometimes loosely referred to as a Golden Scroll.
Similar to other awards, like the
Oscars, the
Emmys and the
Grammys, the Saturn Awards are voted on by members of the presenting Academy. The academy is a non-profit organization with membership open to the public. The first awards were presented in 1972 by
William Shatner.
Although the awards still primarily nominate films and TV in the science fiction, fantasy and horror categories, the Saturns have also recognized productions in standard dramatic genres. The 35th annual awards, presented in 2009, for example, included nominations for films ranging from the 1940s wartime classic
Casablanca to the 2008 film
Slumdog Millionaire. There are also special awards for lifetime achievement in the field.
