The Lanzarote International Film Festival (FICL) presented this Friday the program for its 26th edition at an event held on the Islote de Fermina. The new edition of the festival will be held from May 11 to 23 with a program that will once again turn Lanzarote into a meeting point for filmmakers, industry professionals, students, and the general public. For two weeks, the festival will host screenings, meetings, competitions, training activities, and inclusive proposals in different spaces on the island.
The Minister of Culture of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Jesús Machín Tavío, highlighted during the presentation that “the Lanzarote International Film Festival represents one of the most solid and consolidated cultural bets on the island, as twenty-six editions speak of constancy and commitment to culture”. Machín added that the “FICL projects the image of Lanzarote as a territory committed to creativity, critical thinking, and audiovisual talent, and that is one of the main lines of action of the Culture department”.
For his part, the CEO of CACT, Ángel Vázquez, underlined “the importance of continuing to link culture, territory, and tourist experience through quality initiatives such as FICL, which contributes to positioning Lanzarote as a living, dynamic, and internationally projected cultural destination, capable of generating unique experiences for both residents and visitors”.
The director of Institutional Relations of Tourism of the Canary Islands, Javier Prieto, pointed out that the Lanzarote International Film Festival "has consolidated itself as one of the great cultural references of the archipelago, due to its condition as a qualifying festival for the Goya Awards for a decade and for having top-level actors and actresses on its jury each edition". In this regard, Prieto stressed that the sponsorships of Tourism of the Canary Islands constitute "a key tool to continue raising the quality of events in the destination, as well as to reinforce and diversify the tourist offer". The director of Institutional Relations recalled that culture is the area that receives the most support, with almost 33 million euros allocated to nearly 500 cultural events since 2021.
On behalf of SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote and the Lanzarote Film Commission brand, Esther García pointed out that “we support a new edition of the Lanzarote International Film Festival, a strategic event to reinforce the island's positioning as a destination linked to culture, audiovisual creation, and knowledge transfer from innovative and artistic approaches”. She added that the FICL “contributes to projecting Lanzarote's identity internationally, highlighting its landscape, heritage, and ethnography, while at the same time boosting the local audiovisual sector, giving visibility to professionals, producers, and products from the islands, and promoting the professionalization of the industry”.
Finally, the deputy mayor of the Arrecife City Council, Echedey Eugenio, congratulated the organization "for its ability to combine culture, social values, and tourism projection". Eugenio also underlined the importance of the FICL "contributing to positioning Lanzarote and Arrecife as natural settings linked to cinema and to projecting the island's image through the personalities from the film world who visit the festival each year".
A first-class film program
The programming will once again bring together plural and quality proposals, with more than 63 works including nominated short films, special sessions, and works in competition, which will be exhibited in venues such as CIC El Almacén, the Víctor Fernández Gopar “El Salinero” Theater, or Multicines Atlántida.
The core of the festival is made up of the official competition sections, with works in the categories of National Fiction, International Fiction, Animation, Documentary, and Canary Shorts. Screenings will take place at CIC El Almacén on May 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22, with sessions open to the public at a price of 2 euros. As in previous editions, the public will be able to participate by awarding the Audience Award through voting.
The festival will also include special screenings of feature films such as De todos lados un poco (2025), by Álex O’Dogherty, on May 14; La deuda (2025), by Daniel Guzmán, on May 15; and Yo no moriré de amor (2026), by Marta Matute, on May 16. All sessions will be held in the Sala Buñuel of CIC El Almacén and will feature the presence of their directors.
Contests and training
The FICL also maintains its commitment to emerging talent with initiatives such as the Roberto Pérez Toledo Short Film Contest, which challenges participants to create a short film between May 11 and 17, culminating in the awards ceremony at Multicines Atlántida.
Also returning are the School Short Film Competition, aimed at students from different educational centers on the island; the Film Murals Competition, which will once again transform the El Almacén square into an open-air exhibition space; and the Shop Window Competition, which involves the commercial fabric of Arrecife.
Accessible and inclusive culture
The festival will once again develop activities aimed at audiences of different ages and groups. During April, the Children's Shorts sessions were held, with the participation of more than 20 educational centers and around 4,500 schoolchildren.
In addition, screenings will be developed for the elderly, social entities, and inmates of the Tahíche prison center, as well as a new edition of "Mayores Sin Reparo," whose gala will take place on May 13 at the Municipal Theater of Tías. This initiative allows users of residences and day centers to actively participate in the creation of fiction short films alongside professional teams.
Arantxa Echevarría and Carlos Bardem, among the Jury
The 26th edition will feature a jury made up of prominent figures from the national film and cultural scene, including Arantxa Echevarría, Carlos Bardem, Javier Pereira, Tamar Novas, Ruth Gabriel, Susana Castañón or Joel Barrios, in addition to professionals linked to the Canarian cultural and audiovisual field.
On May 23, the presentation of the book Mujeres de Cine, by Ruth Gabriel, will take place, followed by a meeting open to the public with some of the festival's guests and jurors in the Sala Buñuel of CIC El Almacén.
The Closing Gala and awards ceremony will be held that same day, at 7:00 PM, at the Víctor Fernández Gopar “El Salinero” Theater, with musical performances and special guests to be announced soon.
The programming will continue on June 4 with a special session organized together with Sonidos Líquidos, which will combine cinema and live music around Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, in the Buñuel Room of El Almacén.
Add La Voz de Lanzarote as a preferred Google source.
Stay informed with the latest current news.