The team responsible for creating new stories for film and television gathers in Fuerteventura before travelling across the Canary Islands to develop their projects.
Accompanied by a distinguished group of nationally renowned screenwriters and mentors, participants will receive guidance as they conduct research and shape their stories.
In addition, Fuerteventura will host two professional workshops open to filmmakers and screenwriters from across the Canary Islands.
Two of the sixteen selected projects are set in Fuerteventura and have been proposed by award-winning screenwriters.
Fuerteventura is the starting point for the 2025 edition of IsLABentura Canarias, the international screenwriting laboratory dedicated to developing film and television projects inspired by the Canary Islands. The first gathering of participants, mentors and organisers takes place in the island’s capital, from where the selected writers will travel to the islands where their stories are set in order to undertake research and gather the documentation needed to develop their future films and television series.
Organised by the Government of the Canary Islands through Canary Islands Film, the programme is also supported by the island councils of the archipelago.
The details of this year’s edition were presented by Cristóbal de la Rosa, Director General for Cultural Innovation and Creative Industries of the Government of the Canary Islands, accompanied by Lola García, President of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura; Nereida Calero, Councillor responsible for the Fuerteventura Film Commission; and María José Manso, Director of IsLABentura Canarias.
Now in its fourth edition, IsLABentura Canarias 2025 has expanded the programme to include sixteen projects, two more than in previous years. For the first time, the laboratory will also support animated feature film projects, alongside seven fiction feature films and seven fiction television series.
Each island will be represented by two projects, with the exception of El Hierro and Lanzarote, which will each host three stories. Of the sixteen selected projects, seven have been submitted by writers from the Canary Islands.
Following this initial meeting, participants will have six months to complete their final screenplay drafts with the support of the mentoring team. Before beginning the online development phase, writers will spend three days conducting research on the islands where their stories take place before returning to Fuerteventura on 25 April for a training session.
The programme will include two workshops: “The Inevitable Pitch”, delivered by Josep Gatell, and “Being a Showrunner: When and Why”, led by Javier Olivares, creator and screenwriter of the acclaimed television series The Ministry of Time.
Filmmakers and screenwriters from any of the Canary Islands may register free of charge to attend these workshops through the official IsLABentura Canarias website.
The programme will then continue online, with participants meeting again in Gran Canaria in July for a further training session, before reconvening in La Palma in October for the final stage of the laboratory. During this closing event, participants will present their completed screenplays to invited local, national and international production companies as part of an industry showcase organised by the Government of the Canary Islands.
Stories Across the Islands
For Fuerteventura, the selected projects include the feature film Island of Lobos, by Yaiza Berrocal — screenwriter of Black Butterflies, which recently won the Goya Award for Best Animated Feature Film. The project is a suspense thriller-drama centred on a group of soldiers arriving on the island.
The second project is the television series Siempreviva, by Gracia Solera, screenwriter of Topuria: Matador, the most-watched documentary in Spain in 2024. The series presents an unusual road movie about a family who make a living by creating post-mortem portraits.
It is worth noting that the projects awarded in the 2024 edition of IsLABentura Canarias were also set in Fuerteventura: the feature film A Victorian Lady in Tindaya, by Esther Fernández Guerra, and the television series Dinamita, by Daute Campos and Sara Molina.
For Tenerife, the selected projects are the feature film April Is Young, by Nacho Peña, an exploration of existentialism and the midlife crisis, and the television series Break a Leg, by Raquel Trujillo, a light-hearted comedy following an amateur theatre company from Tenerife.
Representing Gran Canaria are the feature film Days of July, by Pablo Fajardo, set in Las Palmas in the days leading up to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, and the television series Eight Islands to Say Goodbye, by Pablo Santidrián, screenwriter of Netflix’s The Time It Takes. The series tells an emotional story about a couple facing a relationship crisis.
For La Palma, two feature films have been selected: Kipuka, an Island in a Sea of Lava, by Javi Armas, focusing on people who lost everything during the volcanic eruption, and Lullaby of Lava and Saltpetre, by Helena M. Cabrera, a story addressing gender-based violence.
From Lanzarote, the selected projects include the feature film Goda, by Katia Klein, author of more than twenty books, exploring themes of childhood and family, and the television series Malvasía, by Laura Pérez Gómez. Pérez Gómez previously participated in the laboratory in 2022, when her screenplay Enemy Species received an award and is currently in development. Her new project revolves around the world of wine production.
Lanzarote also hosts a third proposal: the animated project López and the Marine Factor, by Pablo Dávila Castañeda, a family-oriented story aimed at younger audiences.
For La Gomera, two television series have been selected. The first is From Here You Can See the Sea, by Xavi Suárez, a project inspired by a personal experience. The screenplay will be mentored by Pepe Coira, creator and writer of the acclaimed series Hierro. The second is I Don’t Believe It, by Helen Santiago, screenwriter of several successful entertainment programmes including The Comedy Club, which tells the story of a highly unusual and eccentric cult.
For El Hierro, three projects have been selected. These include the feature film Poor Devils, by Diego Zúñiga, screenwriter of the award-winning short film Ice Princess. The project is a coming-of-age comedy that combines humour, friendship and local culture.
Also selected is the television series Tarajal, by Stefi Airoldi, which explores themes surrounding migration and the arrival of migrants to the island.
Completing El Hierro’s selection is the animated project She Died Among the Waves, by Pablo Borges Díaz-Llanos, recipient of the Fundación CajaCanarias Award for Best Young Canarian Artist. The story centres on a 23-year-old artist from the island whose work was inspired by the sea and who mysteriously disappeared in its waters.
Mentors and Project Collaborators
The mentoring team for IsLABentura Canarias 2025 is made up of some of Spain’s most respected screenwriters and audiovisual professionals, including Pepe Coira (Hierro, Rapa), Marta Buchaca (Phenomena), David Muñoz (El Comisario), Teresa Bellón (Looking for Coque), Pablo Bartolomé (HIT), Arantxa Cuesta (The Boarding School: Las Cumbres, The Cook of Castamar), and Alba Lucio (Two Lives).
The animation projects were selected by Isabel Herguera and Gianmarco Serra, co-screenwriters of the acclaimed animated feature film Sultana’s Dream.
It is also worth highlighting that IsLABentura Canarias is an initiative promoted by the Government of the Canary Islands through the Canary Islands Institute for Cultural Development (ICDC), with the collaboration of PROEXCA and the seven island councils of the archipelago.
The programme’s final awards and recognition scheme is supported by a number of leading industry organisations and institutions, including DAMA (Audiovisual Authors’ Rights Management Association), Movistar Plus+, the Canary Islands International Film Market, Fundación Algo en Común (Colombia), CIMA (Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media Professionals), Music Library & SFX, and Laboratorio Audiovisual.
Additional key partners include the Canary Islands Audiovisual Cluster, the Canary Islands Music Cluster, and the Ibero-American Federation of Film and Audiovisual Producers, among others.
Appendix
Further information about the selected projects is available below.
Fiction Series
Mucha mierda (Break a Leg) tells the story of a typical Spanish family, complete with its dramas and conflicts, but approached through sharp humour, dark comedy and a healthy dose of irreverence.
The project will be mentored by Alba Lucio, who highlights that “all of the characters are equally capable of being loved and hated, while the setting of the story — an amateur theatre company in Tenerife — offers enormous comedic potential.”
Lucio will also mentor 8 Islands to Say Goodbye, which follows a couple in crisis as they embark on a final journey across the Canary Islands before ending their relationship.
“In this series, the setting plays a key role and offers tremendous visual appeal. However, what is most interesting is the simplicity and universality of the premise, which could evoke comparisons with The New Years. Written with sensitivity and care, it has the potential to become a series that truly connects with audiences and touches people’s hearts,” explains the screenwriter.
From Here You Can See the Sea will be mentored by Pepe Coira, who notes that it is “a first-person television project, a story built from the lived experiences of its creators. It provides a strong foundation for developing a distinctive piece of fiction with an authentic and original voice.”
The second project selected by Coira, I Don’t Believe It, is, in his words, “a comedy through and through. It seeks to entertain audiences while addressing uncomfortable subjects. The struggle to find your place in the world, questions of purpose and meaning, and simply making ends meet are some of the issues that lead Marta to La Gomera. It is a journey that invites the audience to come along for the ride.”
Siempreviva is an unusual road movie that follows a family who earn their living by creating post-mortem portraits. According to Pablo Bartolomé, mentor of the project, “it is a profession that has largely disappeared, yet it provides the perfect vehicle — quite literally — for reflecting on death (and life) in an uplifting and illuminating way.”
Bartolomé will also mentor El Tarajal, a project centred on the arrival of migrants to the Canary Islands, a subject that he considers “a highly relevant premise on which to build a compelling story that reflects the everyday reality of a situation affecting the entire archipelago.”
He adds that “the author focuses on reception centres where people of different genders, ethnic backgrounds and social classes coexist and interact under extreme circumstances.”
Arantxa Cuesta has selected and will mentor Malvasía, a story set in the world of wine production. According to Cuesta, the project “explores universal themes such as ambition and identity, while also drawing on elements that are unique to Lanzarote, including volcanic eruptions and the cultivation of Malvasía grape varieties. It features compelling female characters and presents an intriguing blend of drama, mystery and magical realism.”
Animated Feature Films
She Died Among the Waves, inspired by real events, tells the story of a writer living in El Hierro who sets out to reconstruct the life of a young woman — an artist whose work was deeply connected to the sea and who disappeared in the island’s waters at the age of twenty-three.
According to Isabel Herguera and Gianmarco Serra, who selected and will mentor the project, “the story unfolds as a journey into the silences and absences that inhabit the island. By revisiting the places frequented by the young artist, the narrative offers a renewed perspective on the sea, on writing, and on life itself.”
Herguera and Serra have also selected López and the Marine Factor, an animated family project set in an underwater world that “is nothing more than a reflection of our own. Being successful, attractive, modern, living an exciting life and emerging victorious are seen as essential goals.”
Part of this social dynamic revolves around participation in an underwater music competition. However, the mask that the protagonist, an amphibian named López, must wear in order to join the artistic cast becomes the source of deep feelings of dissatisfaction and unhappiness, prompting a reflection on identity, self-acceptance and the pressures of conformity.
Fiction Feature Films
Kipuka, an Island in a Sea of Lava is based on real events and tells the story of people who lost everything as a result of the volcanic eruption on La Palma.
The project was selected by David Muñoz, who highlights that “the protagonist refuses to leave the land where her home once stood and where her son lived. When he returns to persuade her to move on, he is forced to confront his own losses and unresolved grief.”
Muñoz will also mentor Goda, a story that, in his words, “beautifully captures the sense of vulnerability experienced by children when the world they know begins to fall apart. It also explores other fascinating themes, such as what truly defines a family and how family bonds are formed.”
Island of Lobos is a suspenseful thriller-drama that follows a group of soldiers stationed on Lobos Island in 1978, where fear and tension gradually consume them within an unforgiving and isolated environment.
Its mentor, Marta Buchaca, highlights that the screenplay “moves between the events on the island and the present day, creating a narrative that maintains constant tension while exploring how fear and guilt reshape memories over time.”
Also selected by Buchaca is Poor Devils, a coming-of-age comedy that blends humour, friendship and local culture to create a fresh and original story.
“With a fun and unconventional premise, the film captures the essence of adolescence: the excitement of attempting the impossible, the desire to belong and the mistakes that help shape our character. Its setting in El Hierro gives it a distinctive atmosphere, moving away from the usual urban environments and offering a rarely seen perspective on youth growing up in an island community,” she explains.
Days of July, set in Las Palmas in the days leading up to 19 July 1936, presents a dramatic retelling of historical events through the eyes of fictional protagonists.
According to mentor Arantxa Cuesta, “the project revisits events that are already familiar to us, but does so through the perspective of three fictional characters who become the true protagonists of the story, while the historical figures remain in the background.”
“With Las Palmas at the centre of what tragically happened — and what might not have happened — this is a story with enormous potential to become a truly outstanding feature film.”
Lullaby of Lava and Saltpetre explores the subject of gender-based violence, “although from a different perspective,” explains Teresa Bellón.
“The story begins twenty years later, when the murderer is released from prison and his daughters — secondary victims who witnessed their mother’s murder at the hands of their father — must come to terms with the fact that he will return to the family home.”
Bellón will also mentor April Is Young, a project that follows in the tradition of filmmakers and writers such as Woody Allen, Nora Ephron and Noah Baumbach, exploring themes of existentialism and the challenges of midlife.
The screenplay examines questions of identity, purpose and personal fulfilment through a contemporary and character-driven narrative, offering a thoughtful reflection on the uncertainties that accompany adulthood.
For further information about IsLABentura Canarias 2025, visit:
www.islabenturacanarias.com
