Canary Islands Environmental Film Festival Explores Climate Crisis and Global Power Structures
The 28th Canary Islands International Environmental Film Festival is hosting a series of screenings, workshops, and academic forums in Garachico and Icod de los Vinos to explore the intersection of climate change, social exploitation, and sustainable living.
The connection between the climate crisis and global power structures is taking center stage in the Canary Islands this weekend. As part of the 28th Canary Islands International Environmental Film Festival (Ficmec), researcher Sofija Stefanovic—this year’s Young Sprout Award winner—will explore how environmental decay is being used to maintain historical patterns of exploitation. Her research will anchor the festival’s eighth Youth Forum, where the Cambridge academic will join representatives from across the islands to discuss collective solutions to ecological challenges.
The festival in Garachico goes beyond academic debate, featuring a lineup of socially conscious films. The former Convent of San Francisco will host the regional premiere of Ghost Elephants, the latest documentary from Werner Herzog. Competing in the official section, the film follows biologist Steve Boyes on an expedition into the Angolan forests to track a herd of elephants he has studied for over a decade. The screening highlights Herzog’s long-standing interest in the tension between human ambition and the wild.
The festival also bridges the gap between cinema and sustainable food. Sunday’s program in Garachico features an organic beer tasting from the brand Tierra de Perros at the San Francisco gazebo, along with a sustainable cooking workshop paired with a screening of Aisha’s Story by Elizabeth Vibert and Chen Wang. While the Garachico session is fully booked, an encore event has been scheduled for June 7 at Drago Park in Icod de los Vinos.
For the Icod event, the festival is partnering with IES San Marcos to present Jota Urondo, un cocinero impertinente, a documentary by Mariana Erijimovich and Juan Villegas. The film profiles chef Javier Urondo, whose approach to cooking goes beyond the kitchen to focus on the spirit of hospitality. Tickets for this film and tasting event are available through the festival’s website.