Isla Calavera Festival Honors Genre Legends, Announces Winners

The Canarias Fantastic Film Festival, also known as Isla Calavera, is nearing the end of its ninth year. Three well-known names in international genre films – Michael Paré, Jenette Goldstein, and Marian Salgado – were in town yesterday to receive the 2025 Fantastic Legend Awards. They were joined today, Saturday, by Ornella Muti. The awards will be given out tonight at the closing ceremony at the Leal Theatre.

Yesterday, local officials, including Adrián del Castillo (Councilor for Culture), Cristóbal de la Rosa (Director General of Cultural Innovation and Creative Industries), José Carlos Acha (Minister of Culture and Museums), and Vanesa Bocanegra (deputy director of the festival), welcomed the honorees at the theatre. Besides the awards gala, Ornella Muti will also take part in a public question-and-answer session today at Multicines Tenerife.

The Isla Calavera festival, supported by the La Laguna City Council, the Canary Islands government, and the Cabildo of Tenerife, hosted a masterclass yesterday called "SharkXploitation." It was led by Víctor Matellano, co-director of the documentary "Aquel último tiburón" (2025), which will be shown today at 4:00 PM.

Eduardo Casanova will present his series 'Silencio' at the festival today, followed by a public Q&A.

A Q&A session with Michael Paré also took place yesterday, where he shared stories and thoughts about his career in genre films after a screening of "Streets of Fire." Friday's events wrapped up with screenings of Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" (2008) and films competing in the festival.

Today, Saturday, the winners of this ninth edition will be announced. Awards will be given by the feature film jury, the short film jury, the youth jury, and the audience. The Silver Méliès Award for best short film will also be presented.

After its debut at the Locarno Film Festival and its run at Sitges, Eduardo Casanova will present his series "Silencio" for the first time at Isla Calavera, followed by a Q&A with the director. Additionally, "La endemoniada" (1975) will be screened, with a discussion featuring its star, Marian Salgado, alongside "fantaterror" experts Víctor Matellano and Aída Cordero.

Tonight, starting at 7:15 PM, the festival's red carpet will be laid out before the closing ceremony at the Leal Theatre. Here, Michael Paré, Jenette Goldstein, Marian Salgado, and Ornella Muti will receive their 2025 Fantastic Legend Awards. The 2025 Social Fantastic Award will also be presented to the Teatro Cine Chico of Santa Cruz de La Palma.

The festival officially concludes tomorrow, Sunday, with an afternoon program honoring significant figures in genre cinema. The documentary "El último arrebato" by Marta Medina and Enrique López Lavigne will be shown as a tribute to Iván Zulueta's cult film "Arrebato" (1979) and its lead actor, Eusebio Poncela, who passed away in late August.

Additionally, "Re-Animator" (1985) will be screened to mark the 40th anniversary of the influential horror-comedy. The festival will close with a screening of "Lost Highway" (1997), in memory of David Lynch and his lasting impact on cinema.