The Canary Islands return this year to the San Sebastian Film Festival, the most important in Spain, and one of the most prestigious in Europe, which will take place from September 19 to 27.
The opening day of its 73rd edition will be the premiere of the island film, ‘La Lucha’, by José Alayón and Viaje Films, selected within the New Directors section, which has subsidies from the Government of the Canary Islands (Development and Production).
Filmed entirely in Fuerteventura, the film delves into the world of Canarian wrestling through the characters of Miguel and his daughter Mariana, who face the loss of their mother in a context marked by this traditional sport. Starring non-professional actors with real ties to wrestling, the film proposes an intimate look at mourning, generational transmission and collective identity.
It is directed by Canarian filmmaker José Alayón, author of Slimane and producer of titles such as ‘Dead Slow Ahead’ or ‘El mar nos mira de lejos’. The script is signed by Marina Alberti and Samuel M. Delgado, with cinematography by Mauro Herce and editing by Emma Tusell. The film is a co-production between El Viaje Films (Spain) and Blond Indian Films (Colombia), with support from Ibermedia, MEDIA Creative Europe, ICAA, Government of the Canary Islands, Cabildo de Tenerife and Canarian Television, as well as the collaboration of Macaronesia Films, the Canarian Wrestling Federation and several municipalities and clubs on the island.
Other films linked to the Canary Islands in San Sebastian
The feature film shot in the Canary Islands ‘Maspalomas’, by Jose Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregi, will compete for the Golden Shell in the official section. Set in the Gran Canaria town that gives it its title and filmed partially in the islands, the film addresses conflicts of identity, social silences and emotional wounds through the character of Vicente, played by Jose Ramon Soroiz. The film is produced by Irusoin, Moriarti and Maspalomas Pelikula AIE.
In the Made in Spain section will be the documentary short film ‘Abril, hoy no es invierno’, directed by Mabel Lozano. produced by Videoreport Canarias and Mafalda Entertainment, filmed in the Canary Islands and Málaga. The film makes visible a real story of sexual violence exerted against a young woman with cerebral palsy, who managed to ask for help through alternative communication systems.
In this same section is ‘En silencio’, a documentary directed by the Canarian Sara Sálamo that narrates the recovery of her husband, the footballer Isco Alarcón, after an injury to the fibula and two operations. The production has been in charge of Montauk Canarias; the feature film ‘Todo lo que no sé’, by Ana Lambarri, from the Canarian production company Naif Films about the decision-making in life that can shake the environment; and ‘Fragmentos’, by Horacio Alcála, from the Canarian La Noria Producciones and filmed in the islands, about conflicts in couple relationships.
On the other hand, in the Culinary Zinema section, ‘Uno de los nuestros: Legado Joan Roca’ will be screened, by Jorge Fernández Mayoral and Virginia Jönas Urigüen, produced by the island company La Caña Sisters; and in the Children's section, the animated film ‘Heidi, el rescate del lince’, from the team of the Canarian 3 Doubles Producciones.
Professional meetings
The Canarian delegation also organizes a networking meeting, in which ‘success stories’ of island companies that have managed to enter as minority co-producers in large national and international productions will be presented.
This professional meeting has been organized by the autonomous Government, through ICDC and Proexca under the umbrella brand Canary Islands Film, and will place the focus especially on one of its most recent lines of support to the sector, the so-called Minority Co-production Fund, which allows island companies to participate as ‘minority co-owners’’ in large budget productions that are promoted in other parts of the world.
The general director of Cultural Innovation and Industries, Cristóbal de la Rosa, points out that “the idea this year is to bring together industry agents who attend the professional market linked to the Festival to present them with the possibilities that this tool opens up if they are looking for partners for their next productions. An event in which they will also be able to listen directly to two Canarian companies that have achieved it as a result of accessing these funds”.
This meeting, which is traditionally presented as ‘Canarias en foco’, will be on Tuesday 23, at 7:30 p.m., in the press room of the Kursaal, within the framework of the Industry area, the market section of the festival where contacts are established and business is closed in this industry. It will feature the participation of Migdalia Machín, Minister of Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture; Pablo Martín Carbajal, CEO of Proexca; and the general director of Innovation and Cultural Industries, Cristóbal de la Rosa.
On behalf of the Canarian companies that will share their experience with these funds will be Jairo López, from El Viaje Films, who will share his experience as a minority co-producer of the project ‘Magallanes’, a film that was selected in the last edition of the Cannes Film Festival, and that will be presented to the 2026 Óscar Awards representing the Philippines; and Elena López, from Mararía Films, who participated in the same way in the project ‘Ameba’, selected at the Toronto International Film Festival 2025. Both will tell their experience throughout the process.