Elena S. Sánchez to Receive Isla Calavera Award for Fantastic Cinema Advocacy

Elena S. Sánchez will be honored at the upcoming Isla Calavera Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival for her twenty-year career in public broadcasting. During the festival’s opening ceremony, held in San Cristóbal de La Laguna from November 6 to 15, 2026, the journalist will receive the Isla Calavera Award for the Dissemination of Fantastic Cinema.

This award recognizes Sánchez’s vital role in championing a genre that has often been overlooked in Spanish film history. Through her work as director and presenter of Historia de nuestro cine since 2015, and her earlier tenure at Días de cine, she has successfully brought Spanish horror and fantasy into the mainstream cultural conversation. Her approach goes beyond simple broadcasting; she has encouraged critical analysis by hosting discussions with experts like Jesús Palacios, Javier Ocaña, and Desirée de Fez, while facilitating conversations with acclaimed directors such as Alejandro Amenábar, Daniel Monzón, and Rodrigo Cortés.

The award celebrates her ability to rescue classic genre films from obscurity. Under her guidance, audiences have rediscovered essential works, from the mastery of Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s The House That Screamed and Who Can Kill a Child? to Bigas Luna’s Anguish and the atmospheric horror of León Klimovsky’s The Werewolf vs. the Vampire Woman. She has also been instrumental in highlighting modern genre milestones, including the early work of Jaume Balagueró and Agustí Villaronga’s 99.9.

By presenting this award, the Tenerife-based festival honors not only a distinguished career but also the importance of media figures who bridge the gap between film archives and new audiences. Sánchez’s appearance at Isla Calavera reinforces the festival’s commitment to promoting fantastic cinema as a core part of our audiovisual heritage.