Tenerife to Host DOCanarias International Documentary Film Festival
Tenerife will host the Canary Islands International Reality Film Festival (DOCanarias) from September 8 to 12, featuring a diverse program of non-fiction films, international premieres, and a special focus on Cape Verdean cinema.
Tenerife is once again cementing its status as a key destination for international documentary filmmaking as it prepares to host the latest edition of the Canary Islands International Reality Film Festival (DOCanarias). The event will run from September 8 to 12 at the Sala Timanfaya in Puerto de la Cruz, offering a space that blends national and regional premieres with a focus on cultural exchange.
The festival’s program features a dozen non-fiction films, divided between an official competition and informative showcases. The Cabildo de Tenerife’s Department of Culture has highlighted the event’s role in placing the island on the global festival circuit, noting the high technical and thematic standards of the selected works.
This year’s lineup includes four Spanish premieres. Highlights include Maite Alberdi’s Un hijo propio, which examines the social pressures of motherhood; El partido by Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco, a historical look at the 1986 football match between Argentina and England; Kikuyu Land by Bea Wangondu and Andrew H. Brown, which explores legal battles against the British Crown in Kenya; and Christophe Dimitri Réveille’s Che Guevara: The Last Companions, which investigates the end of Che Guevara’s guerrilla movement in Bolivia.
Cape Verde is the festival’s guest country this year, with September 9 dedicated to the legacy of Amílcar Cabral and contemporary Cape Verdean cinema. Local talent will also be in the spotlight with the Canary Islands premieres of Agustín Domínguez’s La Berma, a film about demining in Western Sahara, and Mercedes Afonso’s El mapa para tocarte, which explores neurodivergence.
The jury—comprising Johanné Gómez Terrero, Noé Pineda, and Vanessa Cuervo—will judge the entries, including those in the Canary Islands reality cinema category. The festival concludes on September 12 with a special appearance by director Tatiana Huezo, who will receive the Personal Narrative Award. Her films Tempestad and El eco will be screened as part of the ceremony.
Tickets are available via the Tickety platform, with prices ranging from two to three euros. To encourage discussion and learning, the festival will host Q&A sessions with filmmakers and producers following the screenings.