The Canary Islands Film Festival will honor the Cine Chico theater with an award for preserving culture.

The Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival "Ciudad de La Laguna Isla Calavera" is gathering film fans for the ninth year in a row. This year, from November 7 to 16, 2025, the festival will present a special award – "Fantástico Social" – to the Cine Chico theater.

Cine Chico is located in the city of Santa Cruz de la Palma. The theater will receive this award for its work in preserving cinema, culture, and bringing people together on the island. The theater's managers, Fernando Tena and Vicente García, will also be recognized.

Teatro Cine Chico is one of the oldest performance venues in the Canary Islands. Its history began in the 16th century as a prayer house attached to a hospital. In 1866, the building was converted into a theater, and in 1997, it was declared a cultural landmark. For over 150 years, it has hosted various artistic and cultural events.

In 2011, all the cinemas in the city closed. Fernando Tena and Vicente García then decided that film screenings should continue in La Palma. They reopened Teatro Cine Chico in 2015, equipping it with modern technology. Now, it is the only place in Santa Cruz de la Palma where films are regularly shown. Here, you can see both popular movies and films from local festivals, social projects, and educational programs. Thanks to this, the theater has become a meeting place for different generations and an important cultural center.

The Isla Calavera festival has held its events at Teatro Cine Chico several times. There have been film screenings, lectures, and exhibitions attended by famous people, such as special effects master Colin Arthur, and actors Carlos Areces and Emilio Gavira.

With this award, Isla Calavera wants to emphasize the importance of preserving cultural heritage. Teatro Cine Chico has not only preserved the building but also defends cinema as an art form, performs an important social function, develops culture, and is a symbol of cultural resilience in times when regular cinemas are experiencing a crisis.

"This award is a recognition of the perseverance of a place that has managed to change without losing itself. It is also a recognition of the efforts of two people who sincerely love cinema and culture. Thanks to their work, Teatro Cine Chico remains a cultural center for La Palma and the Canary Islands," say Ramón González Trujillo and Daniel Fumero, directors of the Isla Calavera festival.

The "Fantástico Social" award will be presented during the festival at a special event that will bring together filmmakers, industry professionals, and government representatives.

The Isla Calavera festival is organized by the cultural associations Charlas de Cine and Isla Calavera, Multicines Tenerife, and the publication TumbaAbierta.com. The festival is supported by the City Council of La Laguna, the Government of the Canary Islands, Promotur, Tourism of the Canary Islands, Cabildo de Tenerife, the Canary Institute for Cultural Development, and Canary Islands Film. The University of La Laguna, La Laguna Zona Comercial, Alda Producciones, Zulay Panaderías, Grupo Fly Luxury, Juan Antonio Ribas Subtítulos y Ediciones Digitales, the Regulatory Council of the Tacoronte-Acentejo Designation of Origin, the Nuestra Señora de África market, Culturamanía, CinemaNext, Flaming Frames, Fundación SGAE, Teatro Leal, Tenerife Film Commission, José Acosta Style, Audi Canarias, Coca-Cola, and Royal Bliss also collaborate. The media partner of the festival is Fundación Diario de Avisos.

Isla Calavera was first held in 2017. In eight years, it has become one of the most important fantastic film festivals in Spain. It is a member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF), which brings together 32 festivals from 22 countries on four continents and attracts over 900,000 viewers each year.

Thanks to the participation of such famous people as Ron Perlman, Henry Thomas, Adrienne Barbeau, John Landis, Joe Dante, Lou Ferrigno, Sam J. Jones, Deborah Nadoolman, Sarah Douglas, Rick Baker, Caroline Munro, David Naughton, Enzo G. Castellari, Mick Garris, Neil Marshall, Charlotte Kirk, Nicholas Rowe, Colin Arthur, Jack Taylor, Amber Heard, and Eduardo Noriega, the festival has become known worldwide. Belén Rueda, Álex de la Iglesia, Manuela Velasco, F. Javier Gutiérrez, Víctor Clavijo, Silvia Tortosa, Paco Plaza, Carolina Bang, Paco Cabezas, Víctor Matellano, Juanma Bajo Ulloa, Eugenio Mira, and Lola Dueñas have also visited Tenerife.