The Isla Calavera Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival presented this Saturday, September 9, within the framework of the Sitges 2021 International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, an important preview of the lineup for its fifth edition, to be held in Tenerife from November 19 to 27. The event was hosted by Ángel Sala, director of the Sitges Festival, who celebrated the synergies with the Canary Islands event and sent a message of support to the people of La Palma who are suffering the consequences of the volcanic crisis.
Actress and film producer Carolina Bang, born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, will receive the S.S. Venture 2021 Award, an award that seeks to recognize the trajectory of those Canary Islanders who have taken their talent from the Archipelago to the frontiers of the genre. For his part, film writer, documentary filmmaker, screenwriter and film and theater director Víctor Matellano will receive the Isla Calavera Award for the Dissemination of Fantastic.
Trained in acting and dance, Tenerife-born Carolina Bang was nominated for a Goya for Best New Actress in 2010 for 'Balada triste de trompeta', by Álex de la Iglesia, with whom she founded Pokeepsie Films, producer of titles such as 'Pieles' (Eduardo Casanova, 2017), 'Errementari. El herrero y el diablo' (Paul Urkijo, 2017), '70 Binladens' (Koldo Serra, 2018) or the series '30 monedas', for HBO. Together with Sony Pictures International Productions and Amazon Prime Video, they have created the film label The Fear Collection, whose first film is 'Veneciafrenia', the new feature film by Álex de la Iglesia; and they are currently involved in the Spanish-Argentine co-production 'La piedad', Eduardo Casanova's second feature film.
Víctor Matellano, born in Madrid, is the author of more than 30 books on cinema, both individual and collective, including 'Diseñado por... Yvonne Blake, figurinista de cine', 'Decorados, Gil Parrondo', 'Clint dispara. The trilogy of Sergio Leone's dollar', 'Spanish Horror', 'Colin Arthur, creatures, make-up and special effects' or 'El Cid. Special 60th anniversary edition'. After numerous short films, he debuted in feature films with the documentary '¡Zarpazos! Un viaje por el Spanish Horror', which has been followed by 'Regresa el Cepa', about the circumstances of the film 'El crimen de Cuenca', by Pilar Miró, and 'Mi adorado Monster', which will be screened at Multicines Tenerife, La Laguna, the screening venue of the Isla Calavera Festival, within the Documentary Section.
Produced by Enrique López Lavigne for El Estudio, 'Mi adorado Monster' creatively narrates in a comedic tone the gestation of one of the cursed films of Spanish cinema: 'Los resucitados', a film by Arturo de Bobadilla, of tortuous and chaotic production, which took 23 years to be released. The story is told by Manuel Tallafé, accompanied by an important cast headed by Javier Botet, Millán Salcedo and Arturo de Bobadilla himself, along with Santiago Segura, Álex de la Iglesia, Alaska and Carlos Areces.
Wild Room
With the help of Multicines Tenerife, the Isla Calavera Festival continues to grow and on reaching its first five years has expanded its offer to three movie theaters: two will offer the programming of the official sections of feature films and short films in competition, Panorama, Classics and Documentary, and the third will be dedicated to new and alternative proposals and will be called "Sala Salvaje" (Wild Room).
Agreement with AXN
Monsterland', inspired by Nathan Ballingrud's short story collection 'North American Lake Monsters', soon to premiere on AXN Now. Each episode centers on an American town, with a new protagonist facing monsters, some that come across as traditional gothic beasts and others that more closely resemble a version of themselves or their own darkness.
