The Festival de Cine Fantástico de Canarias Isla Calavera has offered between December 10 and 13 the program of screenings of its fourth edition, held in person at Multicines Tenerife, in La Laguna, thanks to the sponsorship of the Government of the Canary Islands, Canarias Cultura en Red, the Department of Culture of the City Council of La Laguna and the Development Society of the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, among other public and private collaborators. The awards were very well distributed in this special and different edition motivated by the pandemic, in which the audience enjoyed the best fantastic cinema with masks and limited seating.
Cosmética del enemigo (A perfect enemy)', by Kike Maíllo, swept the board, winning the Isla Calavera Award for Best Feature Film, "for its perfect ensemble". In the Jury's opinion, "it doses the tension with a duo of antagonists in tune, all on a well-constructed and circular script". It also won the Best Actress Award for Athena Strates, "for her ability to structure the development of the story, making it evolve in a versatile way"; as well as the Audience Award for Best Feature Film, determined by the vote of those attending the different sessions of the program.
The film 'Alone' won the Best Director Award for John Hyams, "who makes a sensational use of exteriors through a very well constructed rhythm". Its leading actress, Jules Willcox, received a special mention from the Jury "for her performance, physical dedication and for having given her all on the set, as well as for her representation of the terror that thousands of women suffer every day as a result of gender violence".
Ex aequo award for best actor
The Jury has decided to award the Isla Calavera "Jack Taylor" Award for Best Actor ex aequo to Sylvester McCoy, from 'The Owners', "for showing the wickedness of human beings in a traditionalist environment", and on the other hand, to Saturnino García for making in the anthology film 'Vampus Horror Tales' "a masterful equation between horror and humor, providing the experience and charisma that serves as a point of union for five different stories".
Other awards
The Isla Calavera Award for Best Screenplay went to 'Unearth', by Kelsey Goldberg and John C. Lyons, "for conveying a great mix of an ecological message in deep America and a desperate economic situation".
The Korean zombie film 'Peninsula' has been awarded the "Colin Arthur" Skull Island Award for Best Special Effects, "for its excellent recreation of a post-apocalyptic society". In the Jury's opinion, "this is a film built on its effects".
Awards of the Official Short Film Competition Section
The Isla Calavera Award for Best Short Film went to 'Dar-Dar', "a beautifully macabre tale, with incredible special effects and atmosphere. Paul Urkijo fuses horror and lyricism to perfection, as he did in 'Errementari'".
The Jury of short films has agreed to award a special mention to 'Whence comes the rain', by Elio Quiroga, "because it expresses in a masterful way through animation, the anguish and oppression to which those who want to be free are subjected. It narrates a multi-layered universe and reflections on freedom".
The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to the 14-minute science fiction film 'Eco', by Aitor de Miguel Gutiérrez.
Jury Members
The Jury of the Official Competition Feature Film Section of the fourth edition of the Festival de Cine Fantástico de Canarias Isla Calavera was made up this year by former members of the Aula de Cine of the University of La Laguna: Juan Antonio Ribas (as president), Jorge Félix González, Rita María Vera García, Juan Jesús Pérez Matos, Alicia Beatriz Mujica Dorta, Rosendo Jesús González Texeira and Sabino Álvarez Álvarez. The Jury of the Official Short Film Competition Section was formed by Adrián Gómez, from the Culturamanía website, as president, and the journalists from Televisión Canaria, also specialized in the cultural sector, Raquel Toste and Benjamín Santana.
