Isla Calavera · Festival De Cine Fantástico De Canarias Ciudad de La Laguna (10)

Festival Start: 06 November 2026      Festival Ende: 15 November 2026

The Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival City of La Laguba - Isla Calavera opens the call for entries for feature and short films, fiction and documentary in real image and animation.

The awards of the Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival City of La Laguna– Isla Calavera are non-economic.

· Jury Awards. A jury composed of professionals in cinema, performing arts, or media will select the winners in the Official Competitive Section. The Jury will present the following awards:

1. Isla Calavera Award for Best Feature Film

2. Isla Calavera Award for Best Short Film

3. Isla Calavera Award for Best Feature Film Director

4. Isla Calavera Award for Best Feature Film Screenplay

5. ‘Jack Taylor’ Award for Best Feature Film Actor

6. Isla Calavera Award for Best Feature Film Actress

7. ‘Deborah Nadoolman Landis’ Award for Best Costume Design

8. ‘Colin Arthur’ Award for Best Special Effects in a Feature Film

9. “Fantástico Solidario” Award for Best Short Film with Social and/or Civic Content (may be declared void depending on submitted content)

10. Méliès d’Argent for Best European Fantastic Short Film, qualifying for the Méliès d’Or of the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation (www.melies.org).

As of 2025, Isla Calavera is a member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) and as such, awards a Méliès d’Argent each year to a European fantastic short film in the official section, qualifying it for the Méliès d’Or competition. Rules for the Méliès d’Or are governed by MIFF.

The Jury’s decision will not be open to appeal.

The jury will undertake to not express publicly the deliberations of the awards. The Festival Management could be present at the deliberation of the jury, with the right to speak but not to vote.

The Jury may also grant special mentions for technical or artistic aspects.

Awards may be shared (ex aequo).

· Audience Awards: Festival attendees may vote to grant the Audience Award for Best Short Film and Best Feature Film via ballot voting.

1. Submission

The Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival City of La Laguna – Isla Calavera opens call for submissions for its 2026 edition to short films and feature films of the fantasy genre (horror, science fiction, fantasy, thriller...), both animation and live action. Films of all nationalities can be submitted, in any language.

The Festival will take place from November 6 to 15 in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.

There are two ways to submit feature-length films or short films for consideration by the Festival’s Programming Committee:

1) Via the platform FESTHOME (festhome.com)

The submission deadline is October 1, 2026.

2. Terms for the Short Films Official Section (competition) and Panorama (out of competition)

The Program Committee will only take into consideration short films satisfying the following conditions:

- Production date: all short films must be fantastic genre with a production date between 2025 and 2026 that have not been selected in previous editions and remain unpublished on digital platforms.
- Runtime: the maximum runtime accepted for short films is 20 minutes.
- Format: to reduce carbon footprint, the Festival requests screening files that can be sent via Internet (DCP, MOV, MP4, etc.). In particular cases, other formats can be accepted.
- subtitles: if necessary, Spanish subtitles or a list of dialogue must be submitted. If the film already has distribution in the Spanish territory, the distribution company must provide a subtitled screening copy to the Festival.

The organization reserves the right to make justified exceptions to the conditions regarding production date, duration, formats and subtitles in this section.

3. Terms for the Feature Films Official Section (competition) and Panorama (out of competition)

- Production date: all feature films must be fantastic genre with a production date between 2025 and 2026, preferably unreleased in Spain.
- The Festival may schedule, out of competition, feature-length films from previous years.
- Runtime: the minimum runtime accepted for feature films is 70 minutes. There are no restrictions on maximum duration.
- Format: to reduce carbon footprint, the Festival requests screening files that can be sent via Internet (DCP, MOV, MP4, etc.). In particular cases, other formats can be accepted.
- subtitles: if necessary, Spanish subtitles or a list of dialogue must be submitted. If the film already has distribution in the Spanish territory, the distribution company must provide a subtitled screening copy to the Festival.

The organization reserves the right to make justified exceptions to the conditions outlined in this section.

4. Conditions for participation in the Official "Made in the Canary Islands" Panorama Section (out of competition) for feature and short films

- Production date: feature and short films produced between 2024 and 2026 (live action or animation).
- The Festival may include works from previous years shown at this or other festivals.
- Runtime: no minimum or maximum duration limit.
- Special participation conditions: eligible works must meet at least one of the following:
- National and/or international productions filmed entirely or partially in the Canary Islands.
- Directed, written or starring Canary Islands residents.
- Produced by individuals or production companies based in the Canary Islands.
- With at least 50% of the filming and production crew residing in the Canary Islands.

- Format: to reduce carbon footprint, the Festival requests screening files that can be sent via Internet (DCP, MOV, MP4, etc.). In particular cases, other formats can be accepted.
- subtitles: if necessary, Spanish subtitles or a list of dialogue must be submitted. If the film already has distribution in the Spanish territory, the distribution company must provide a subtitled screening copy to the Festival.

The organization reserves the right to make justified exceptions to the conditions in this section.

5. Participation

Those selected titles will receive confirmation from The Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival City of La Laguna – Isla Calavera to formalize their participation.

The no-selection of the work will not be individually communicated by the Festival. Those works not mentioned in the official releases or that did not receive communication from the Festival will be understood as non-selected.

The company or individual submitting the feature film/short film must provide the Festival with promotional material: stills, posters, pressbooks, trailers, clips, etc., so the Festival can promote the film correctly. To reduce carbon footprint, these materials should be sent digitally. The Festival reserves the right not to return these promotional materials.

The producers and/or distributors of the selected films (short and feature films) authorize, by accepting their participation, the use of one or several fragments of their title for its diffusion as informative material in any media or institutional presentation. For this purpose, the production and/or distribution companies will provide the Festival’s Press Department with selected sequences of a maximum of three minutes.

Selected short films and feature films may have more than one screening, according to the needs of the program and the criteria of the organization.

Submitting a film to the Festival implies full and unreserved acceptance of all of the provisions included in these Terms and Conditions.

Once the Festival has made and communicated the selection of a film for any of its sections, and once its participation has been confirmed by the production/distribution company that submitted it, participants will not be able to withdraw their films from the selection.

6. Selected feature films and short films can participate in the following sections of the Festival

- Isla Calavera Short Films Official Section. In competition.
- Isla Calavera Feature Films Official Section. In competition.
- Isla Calavera Short Films Official Section. Panorama. Out of competition.
- Isla Calavera Feature Films Official Section. Panorama. Out of competition.
- Isla Calavera Documentary Films Official Section. Panorama. Out of competition.
- Official "Made in the Canary Islands" Feature and Short Film Section (Fiction and Documentary). Out of competition.

7. Official selection for Competition

The Selection Committee will announce, by October 20, 2026, the short and feature films selected to be part of the tenth edition of the Festival. In exceptional cases, this date may be extended by the organization.

Selection of a feature or short film in any section does not imply an invitation (travel, accommodation, or per diem) for the representative of the distributor, the director, or members of the artistic or technical team, which remains at the discretion of the Festival.

Receiving an award also does not imply an invitation to the Festival.

The Festival organization reserves the right to extend invitations to any participant.

8. Dispatch

The screening copies of selected feature films and short films must be available for the organization before October 31, 2026.

To reduce carbon footprint, the Festival requests screening files that can be sent via Internet (DCP, MOV, MP4, etc.).

In particular cases, other formats can be accepted. In these exceptional cases, the Festival will not assume any cost regarding transport or insurance policy of the material.

The Festival reserves the right to reject files that, after the due technical analysis, do not meet the minimum screening requirements. A new screening copy could be requested from the production/distribution company.

In case a screening copy could not arrive on time, the organization may replace the film/short with another that guarantees its availability for the necessary tests.

The only cost the Festival will cover is the shipping costs generated by the return of physical media to be screened (hard drive or similar) to the distributor that provided the feature film and/or short film. If a third party is interested in any of the selected and/or awarded films (another festival, etc.), either the distributor or that third party will assume the shipping costs, under the terms they agree upon.

Screening copies will not be returned immediately. Return method and timing will be agreed upon between the parties.

9. Festival Program

Isla Calavera, Fantastic Film Festival of the Canary Islands – City of La Laguna, will screen the selected short and feature films during the 2026 edition.

The organization will determine the start and end dates of the event, as well as screening days and times, which may be modified if necessary. Any changes will be communicated.

The Festival may be postponed or screening dates extended due to scheduling issues or force majeure.

The number of screenings and times for each title will be determined by the Festival.

10. awards

The awards of the Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival City of La Laguna – Isla Calavera are non-economic.

Jury awards. A jury composed of professionals in cinema, performing arts or media will select the winners in the Official Competitive Section. The Jury will present the following awards:

1) Isla Calavera Award for Best Feature Film.
2) Isla Calavera Award for Best Short Film.
3) Isla Calavera Award for Best Feature Film Director.
4) Isla Calavera Award for Best Feature Film Screenplay.
5) "Jack Taylor" Award for Best Feature Film Actor.
6) Isla Calavera Award for Best Feature Film Actress.
7) "Deborah Nadoolman Landis" Award for Best Costume Design.
8) "Colin Arthur" Award for Best Special Effects in a Feature Film.
9) "Fantástico Solidario" Award for Best Short Film with Social and/or Civic Content (may be declared void depending on submitted content).
10) Méliès d’Argent for Best European Fantastic Short Film, qualifying for the Méliès d’Or of the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation (www.melies.org).

Isla Calavera is a member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) and, as such, awards a Méliès d’Argent each year to a European fantastic short film in the official section, qualifying it for the Méliès d’Or competition. Rules for the Méliès d’Or are governed by MIFF.

The Jury’s decision will not be open to appeal.

The Jury will undertake not to express publicly the deliberations of the awards. The Festival Management may be present at jury deliberations, with the right to speak but not to vote.

The Jury may also grant special mentions for technical or artistic aspects.

awards may be shared (ex aequo).

Audience awards. Festival attendees may vote to grant the Audience Award for Best Short Film and Best Feature Film using the voting system provided by the organization.

11. Legal responsibilities

The participant will be solely responsible for their short or feature film regarding copyright and/or any civil, criminal, or other legal or administrative liabilities arising from its content.

12. Acceptance of these rules

Participation in Isla Calavera, Fantastic Film Festival of the Canary Islands – City of La Laguna implies acceptance of these Rules and any possible Annexes.

Any unforeseen circumstances that arise during the Festival and are not addressed in these Rules will be resolved by the Festival organization. In case of discrepancy, the organization’s criteria will prevail.

The Rules may be supplemented or modified before the start date of the current edition of Isla Calavera, with prior notification to the interested parties, through any additional annexes deemed necessary by the organization members.

Interpretation of these rules will be the exclusive responsibility of the Festival Management.

13. Special terms in case of force majeure

If, by cause of force majeure, the Festival could not take place on-site, the registration fee paid through the platform will not be refunded, since this fee covers the expenses of the selection process.

14. language, applicable law, and jurisdiction

These Rules have been written in Spanish (Spain) as the primary language. Although they may be translated into other languages, the Spanish version will be the official one and will prevail in case of discrepancies.

These Rules shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with Spanish law. For the resolution of any dispute arising from their interpretation or application, the parties expressly agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts and Tribunals of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, waiving any other jurisdiction that might correspond to them.

15. Data protection

In compliance with current regulations on personal data protection — Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of April 27, 2016 (GDPR), and Organic Law 3/2018 of December 5 on the Protection of Personal Data and Guarantee of Digital Rights — you are hereby informed that the personal data provided by participants in the Rules for participation in Isla Calavera, Fantastic Film Festival of the Canary Islands – City of La Laguna 2025, will be processed, as the data controller, by the ASOCIACIÓN CULTURAL DE AMIGOS PARA LA DIFUSIÓN Y EL RECONOCIMIENTO DEL CINE, DEL TEATRO Y LA LITERATURA CHARLAS DE CINE DE TENERIFE (hereinafter Asociación Charlas de Cine), headquartered at Calle Juan Dorta Ávila, No. 13, 1º, Barranco Grande, 38600, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, CIF G-76721430, email: info@festivalislacalavera.com.

The data collected will be used solely to manage participation in the selection process. The information will not be used for purposes incompatible with those described and authorized. No international data transfers or transfers to third parties will be made (unless legally required), and the data will be retained only for the duration necessary to manage the selection process and any related appeals or claims.

Personal data processed include: identifying data (name, surname, ID), contact details (phone, email, address), academic and professional data (CV, artistic biography or professional background). Participants are informed of their right to access, rectify, oppose, erase, limit processing, request data portability, object to automated decision-making, and withdraw consent at any time. These rights may be exercised by contacting the data controller via email. Participants are also informed of their right to file a complaint with the competent Data Protection Authority (AEPD).