Tenerife’s Fimucité Marks 20th Anniversary with John Williams Tribute
Tenerife’s 20th International Film Music Festival (Fimucité) will celebrate its anniversary this July with a star-studded program featuring a tribute to John Williams and a series of high-profile concerts designed to promote the island’s cultural and tourism profile.
Tenerife has cemented its status as a key player in the European cultural scene, as highlighted this week in Madrid during the announcement of the 20th International Film Music Festival (Fimucité). Held at the Hotel Emperador, the presentation revealed that this year’s festival—running from July 3 to 19—aims to be more than just a musical event; it is a strategic tool to promote Tenerife’s tourism brand globally.
The program features an ambitious tribute to legendary composer John Williams. The centerpiece will be a live performance of the Star Wars: A New Hope soundtrack by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, led by Eímear Noone, the first woman to conduct the orchestra at the Oscars. This performance takes place on July 17 and 18. Additionally, Robert Townson’s production, John Williams Reimagined, will be staged at the Auditorio de Tenerife and the Teatro Guiniguada in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The festival concludes on July 19 with a red-carpet gala directed by Diego Navarro. The event will celebrate iconic, Oscar-winning scores from films such as Dune, Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings. Lope Afonso and Dimple Melwani of the Cabildo de Tenerife emphasized that the festival is a vital asset, elevating the island’s cultural profile by highlighting film music as a top-tier art form.
The festival also features a diverse range of events, including pianist Aleksander Debicz’s Golden Piano Stories at the Teatro Leal on July 11, and an open-air concert, And The Winner is…, on June 6 in the Plaza de la Candelaria. Organizers also confirmed that Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck, known for Shakespeare in Love, will return to the festival for the first time in 15 years.
Supported by the Cabildo de Tenerife, the Government of the Canary Islands, and the city councils of Santa Cruz and La Laguna, the festival continues to grow while maintaining its artistic prestige. As it marks its 20th anniversary, festival director Diego Navarro describes this edition as a celebration of collective memory, designed to honor the emotional power of film scores in modern cinema.