November 10, 2023.- The Festival de Cine Fantástico de Canarias Ciudad de La Laguna Isla Calavera, directed by Daniel Fumero and Ramón González Trujillo, celebrates from November 10 to 19 in Tenerife its seventh annual edition, after several pre-festival events, among them the Zombie Walk last Halloween that went through the streets of La Laguna. This edition pays tribute to King Kong, on the 90th anniversary of his first film appearance in the 1933 movie directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack.
During the press conference to present the Festival, the Councilman of Culture of La Laguna and president of the Autonomous Organization of Musical Activities (OAAM), Dailos González, stressed that thanks to the constant dedication of the team "they have managed to position our municipality in the spheres of fantastic cinema", recalling that "bringing together the art that is born in our islands and extolling it as much as that which comes to us from Hollywood is one of the virtues of this event".
The co-directors of the festival, Ramón González and Daniel Fumero, have expressed their gratitude for the support that the City Council gives to Isla Calavera edition after edition. "For the organization it has been an important year and we believe that we are going to enjoy the best programming we have ever done", says González. Fumero agrees, recalling that, in the midst of the celebration of the anniversary of the premiere of King Kong, "we can see again the King Kong that we presented in society in the Tenerife Zombie Walk, as well as an exhibition dedicated to its different stages".
Sam J. Jones, Legend of the Fantastic Award
Tonight will be the Opening Gala at the Teatro Leal, where actor Sam J. Jones, who brought Flash Gordon to life on the big screen in the 1980 classic, will receive the Leyenda del Fantástico Award. Actor Eduardo Noriega, star of cult titles such as 'Tesis' or 'Abre los ojos' by Alejandro Amenábar, will receive the Honorary Skull Island Award in recognition of his career. Actress and screenwriter Marta González de Vega, considered one of the most influential women in the Spanish film industry, will receive the S.S. Venture Award for Canarian talent.
Tomorrow, Saturday, the V Meeting of the Filming in the Canary Islands Industry will be held at Multicines Tenerife, with the participation of prominent local, national and international industry professionals. At this event, there will be an exhibition of the advantages of the Canary Islands as a filming set, by Canary Islands Film and Tenerife Film Commission and a round table with the foreign industry represented by Pascal Borno, producer of 'In the Fire', starring Eduardo Noriega and Amber Heard, which will have its national premiere at the Festival Isla Calavera; the director of animated films, creator of 'Tadeo Jones' and 'Atrapa la bandera', Enrique Gato; and F. Javier Gutiérrez, director of the film 'La Espera', which participates in the Festival's Official Competition Feature Film Section.
Flash Gordon
Also this Saturday afternoon, a special event dedicated to 'Flash Gordon' (1980) will be held, with the presence of the main character. American actor Sam J. Jones, who rose to fame with the adaptation of the comic book character, will take part in a meeting with his fans at Multicines Tenerife, the Festival's screening venue, where the cult film with original music by Queen, in which he starred alongside Max von Sydow, Ornella Muti and Timothy Dalton, will be screened.
In the Fire', starring Amber Heard
The national premiere of the film 'In the Fire' will take place on Sunday at 18.00h at Multicines Tenerife, with the presence of the leading actors Amber Heard and Eduardo Noriega, and the producers Pascal Borno and Alain Gillissen. The American actress, popular for her role as the Atlantean queen Mera in the DC Extended Universe superhero film 'Aquaman', and soon in its sequel 'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom' heads the poster of the supernatural thriller written and directed by Conon Allyn, set in the 1890s.
Other special events
On Monday there will be a screening of Alejandro Amenábar's psychological thriller 'Abre los ojos' (1997) and a meeting after the screening with the participation of the leading actor Eduardo Noriega and the journalist and filmmaker Santiago Tabernero.
On the other hand, dubbing actors Camilo García (Anthony Hopkins), Graciela Molina (Natalie Portman) and Luis Posada (Leonardo DiCaprio) will participate on Wednesday in a special event around the German cult film, a reference of silent cinema, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), by Robert Wiene. Musician José Medina will provide a live soundtrack to the film in this unique and unmissable session. Canarian actress Irene Álvarez will act as master of ceremonies.
In addition, actress, singer and presenter Silvia Tortosa will attend the Festival de Cine Fantástico de Canarias Ciudad de La Laguna to participate in a tribute to director Eugenio Martín, who passed away last January, and which will be dedicated to the Spanish fantasy-horror classic 'Pánico en el Transiberiano' (1972), in which he shared the bill with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. This event, which will also include the participation of filmmaker and genre expert Víctor Matellano, will take place on Thursday, November 16, at 8:30 p.m., at Multicines Tenerife.
On the morning of Saturday, November 18, a meeting will take place at Multicines Tenerife with Gloria Fernández and Enrique Garcelán, specialists in Asian cinema, critics, disseminators and festival programmers. Heads of CineAsia, an initiative created in 2004 with the aim of promoting the knowledge of Oriental cinema, will receive the Isla Calavera 2023 Award for the Dissemination of Fantastic Film at the Closing Gala.
Other national and international guests
The Festival de Cine Fantástico de Canarias Ciudad de La Laguna Isla Calavera receives this year the visit of other real luxury names, from well-known figures to young talents that are part of the future of national and international fantastic cinema.
Thus, the actress Manuela Velasco, icon of Spanish fantastic cinema after giving life to the reporter Ángela Vidal in the film '[REC]', and the mythical filmmaker Joe Dante will also receive honorary awards in the context of the Festival's Closing Gala, next Saturday, November 18th. In addition, on Friday, November 17th, the program will be dedicated to the director of classics of the fantastic genre and will be able to see 'Explorers' (1985), a jewel of adventure and science fiction cinema suitable for all audiences; the cult film 'Piranha' and 'Howling', one of the great references of horror cinema of the eighties, after the viewing of which there will be a meeting with Joe Dante.
The guest list includes other names such as: actor Víctor Clavijo ('La Espera'), actress Llum Barrera ('Cuando los amos duermen'), actress Silvia Tortosa ('Pánico en el Transiberiano'), directors F. Javier Gutiérrez ('La Espera'), Caye Casas ('La mesaita de comedor'),
Official Competition Section
The Official Section of Feature Films in Competition includes 13 productions, 4 national and nine international, including two premieres in Spain, which can be seen from November 10 to 19 in several sessions at Multicines Tenerife: 'Somewhere quiet', 'Vermin. La Plaga', 'UFO Sweden', 'The Childe', 'Os reviento', 'Last Sentinel', 'La Espera', 'It lives inside', 'Fuerza Bruta. Sin salida', 'Blood de Brad Anderson', 'Cuando los amos duermen', 'La mesaita del comedor' and 'Acide'.
The Jury of the Official Feature Film Section is formed by the writer specialized in fantastic literature Víctor Conde (president), the Canarian filmmaker and audiovisual teacher Roberto Chinet, the researcher and film specialist Alicia Hernández and the film critic and essayist Jorge Fonte.
The Official Short Film Competition Section is made up of 18 productions selected from among the nearly 500 international titles received. The program is divided into two sessions. The first includes: 'Affentanz - Hunter' (Germany), 'Nian' (United States), 'Ashkasha' (Spain-Argentina), 'Bookworm', 'Iago Y Tristán', 'Ivania', 'La Fianza', 'Los Cómplices', 'Print The Legend' and 'Psicario', the latter of Spanish production.
Session 2 of short films includes: 'El Festín de las Bestias' (Chile), 'What-If-I' (Italy) and the Spanish productions 'El Cristo de la Calavera', 'Extint', 'La Aldea', 'Lágrimas de Dragón', 'Nubes' and 'Pisanka'. The Canary Islands productions are 'La Fianza', by Eduardo Cubillo, and 'La Aldea', by Joel Rodríguez.
The master of makeup and special effects Colin Arthur presides over the Jury of the Short Film Section together with journalist and screenwriter Fran Villalba, film journalist Sofía Ramos and Antonio Hernández, from Cinedfest.
King Kong Day
As a finishing touch to the seventh edition of the Festival, Sunday, November 19 will be entirely dedicated to the legendary giant gorilla of Skull Island, King Kong, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. The proposal consists of a marathon of screenings that will start with the classic directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, with Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot in the cast. The program will continue with John Guillermin's 1976 adaptation, starring Jessica Lange (Golden Globe for Best Newcomer for her performance) and Jeff Bridges. Peter Jackson's $200 million-plus budget 'King Kong' will close out the triple bill.
The tribute to King Kong will be preceded by the installation of a five-meter high King Kong outside Multicines Tenerife during the Festival and a series of parallel activities, such as the exhibition 'Universo Kong: 90 years of the giant ape', the presentation of the book 'King Kong. El libro del 90 aniversario' by Jesús Palacios, which has just been released, and the launch of the new volume of the 'Crónicas de La Laguna Negra', the youth series of novels written by Víctor Conde, inspired by the Festival de Cine Fantástico de Canarias Ciudad de La Laguna Isla Calavera.
In addition, the Canarian videogame development studio PlayMedusa collaborates again with Isla Calavera through the videogame 'Kong & Little Miss Wray', already available for free to play online on PC, mobiles and tablets.
