CIIF Market Concludes in Tenerife, Awards Presented; William Levy Attends

The 21st Canary Islands International Film Market (CIIF Market) wrapped up this Friday in Tenerife. The week-long event featured professional activities, pitching sessions, and international meetings, all aimed at making the Canary Islands a key location for global film and TV co-productions.

The closing ceremony took place at Espacio Price in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Dignitaries present included José Manuel Bermúdez, Mayor of Santa Cruz; José Carlos Acha, Councillor for Culture, Museums and Sports for the Tenerife Island Council; and Pablo Martín Carbajal, CEO of the regional development agency Proexca.

A highlight of the evening was a screening of the film Bajo un volcán. Its star, William Levy, was there. Levy also leads the cast of the sequel, Bajo un fuego, which had just finished filming in Tenerife that same week.

William Levy was joined by the film's team, including Hugo Martín Cuervo, who directed both movies; actress Claudia Álvarez, co-star of Bajo un fuego; and Guillermo Ríos, the production director who also runs the CIIF Market.

Guillermo Ríos spoke about this year's market, mentioning that over 500 meetings took place. He thanked all the organizations, participants, and professionals for their contributions.

The market concluded a week of professional gatherings, pitching sessions, panel discussions, project showcases, and networking. It brought together producers, distributors, sales agents, and investors from Europe and Latin America in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

During the closing ceremony, the CIIF Market 2025 Awards were handed out. These awards honored projects that showed strong international appeal, co-production potential, a commitment to sustainability, and outstanding musical and technical creativity.

The CIIF Market Santa Cruz de Tenerife Award for the project with the most international potential, which included a €3,000 travel grant to attend an international market, went to the animated film Huayo from Audiovisual Films (Peru). The Tenerife Island Council Award for the most promising Canary Islands project, offering free entry to a European or international film market, was given to the feature film Mansa by Digital 104.

The Music Library & SFX Award, which provides free professional music synchronization from their catalogs, recognized three projects. The award for the best European project was shared (ex aequo) by the feature film El dolor del miembro fantasma (Tourmalet Films, Spain/Canary Islands) and the documentary feature Puntales (Faro Cine and Bidiro Films, Spain/Canary Islands). The award for the best Latin American project went to the feature film Menarquía (Infocus Video Factory Cine & TV; Panama, Chile, Peru).

The MAFIZ (Málaga Festival Industry Zone) Award, given to the European and Latin American projects with the strongest co-production potential, included two passes per project to attend MAFIZ 2026, the industry section of the Málaga Festival. This award went to the feature film 5 días con Ana (Naif Films, Spain/Canary Islands) and Todo va bien (Sin Sentido Films, Mexico/Spain), respectively.

The Blurr Stories Award, which offers professional lab services to help two projects—one European and one Latin American—meet distribution quality standards, was given to the feature films El derrumbe (Damita Joe, Spain, Argentina, Luxembourg) and Un bolero para Ita (Red Collision Studios; Colombia, Spain).

The Térrea Award, for the best European and Latin American projects, provides a sustainability plan to help reduce emissions and improve social impact. It was presented to the feature film Rocasanta (Dexiderius Producciones Audiovisuales, Spain) and the previously mentioned Huayo.

Finally, Bolero Films, one of this year's host companies, offered free consultancy services to Puntales.