November 7, 2025.- The Festival de Cine Fantástico de Canarias Ciudad de La Laguna Isla Calavera opens its doors this Friday, November 7, at the Teatro Leal, with the Grand Opening Gala of its ninth edition, the starting signal for an attractive program adapted to different generations and spectator profiles.
The Festival program was presented by the Mayor of La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez; the Councilman of Culture, Adrián del Castillo; the Director of Institutional Relations of Promotur Turismo de Canarias, Javier Prieto, who reiterated his support for a cultural event "that has established itself as one of the most important of its kind in the country"; and the co-directors of the Festival, Ramón González Trujillo and Daniel Fumero, along with several of the protagonists of this edition.
Among the guest stars honored at the opening ceremony with the Honorary Skull Island Award is the legendary director and producer Randal Kleiser, responsible for such iconic titles as 'Grease' (1979), one of the highest-grossing musical films of all time, or the teen sci-fi adventure 'Flight of the Navigator' (1986), which has a legion of fans around the world. Both films will be shown at Multicines Tenerife, the screening venue of the Isla Calavera Festival, with the participation of the author. In addition, the documentary 'Life After the Navigator' (2020), by Lisa Downs, which explores the life of child actor Joey Cramer, star of the film produced by Disney, will be shown.
British actress Veronica Cartwright, known for her participation in such sci-fi classics as 'Alien, the Eighth Passenger' (1979) and 'Invasion of the Ultra-Bodies' (1978), will also receive the honorary award, a title that will be part of a long-awaited meeting with the artist.
In addition, Isla Calavera celebrates the 15th anniversary of the film 'Buried' (2010), a milestone of Spanish fantastic cinema, which revolutionized the genre for its originality, with a special event with the participation of its director Rodrigo Cortés, who will receive the Honorary Isla Calavera Award in recognition of his multifaceted career. The Galician filmmaker has continued to explore the fantasy and thriller genre with titles such as 'Red Lights' (2012), where he tackles themes related to parapsychology and mystery, 'Blackwood' (2018) or his most recent work, 'Escape' (2024), backed by the executive production of Martin Scorsese.
On the other hand, the filmmaker born in Palma de Mallorca, winner of the Goya Award, Daniel Monzón, will also be honored for his solid career in both realistic fiction and fantastic cinema. His debut feature, 'El corazón del guerrero' (1999), propelled him as a benchmark in the genre, and he has subsequently directed titles such as 'La caja Kovak' (2006) or the prison thriller 'Celda 211' (2009), around which the meeting with the filmmaker will revolve. The creator will receive an honorary award from the Isla Calavera Festival.
With a brilliant and versatile career in film, television and theater, the Tenerife-born Sara Sálamo receives the S. S. Venture Award to the Canarian talent, for her career both in acting, under the direction of Asghar Farhadi or Pedro Almodóvar, and in writing and directing. Her short film 'Yaya' will be screened this Friday at the end of the festival's Opening Gala.
It should be noted that in this edition the Festival Isla Calavera premieres the Award to the Most Fantastic Series, with the presentation of the award to 'Furia' (HBO), by Félix Sabroso. Producer Tedy Villalba collects the award at the opening ceremony.
Also visiting the city of La Laguna is the outstanding set designer, visual effects specialist and prop designer Simon Weisse. Trained in Fine Arts in Montpellier, he has specialized in the creation of miniatures and models for film, working from his workshop in Berlin for big budget international productions such as 'V for Vendetta', 'Cloud Atlas', 'Matrix Resurrections' and, regularly, in Wes Anderson's films such as 'The Grand Budapest Hotel', 'Isle of Dogs', 'The French Chronicle', 'Asteroid City' and the short films 'The Wonderful Story' by Henry Sugar and 'The Swan'. Weisse will offer a master class on his creative process, which includes everything from model design to the modeling of elements essential to the visual narrative of fantastic and auteur cinema.
METROPOLIS
The poster of the Festival de Cine Fantástico de Canarias Ciudad de La Laguna Isla Calavera 2025 is inspired by the film 'Metropolis' (1927), a masterpiece of silent films and one of the pillars of science fiction cinema and German expressionism.
In addition, 'Metropolis' will be shown at Multicines Tenerife, the festival's headquarters, in an original Isla Calavera production that combines silent films with live music and acting by Jonay Armas. Under the direction of Camilo García, famous for dubbing Anthony Hopkins and Harrison Ford into Spanish, it will also feature the participation of Luis Posada (voice of Johnny Depp, Jim Carrey, Leonardo DiCaprio), Graciela Molina (voice of Natalie Portman, Christina Ricci, Kirsten Dunst), and other dubbing talents.
Three theaters to enjoy the most awaited fantastic cinema and classic films
The most eagerly awaited genre films of the moment will be shown in three theaters of Multicines Tenerife, the official screening venue of the Isla Calavera Festival. The program includes a total of 56 films (30 feature films, 36 short films) and a series, divided into Official Competition Section, Panorama, Classics, Documentaries and Special Events.
