What does the festival offer visitors in Vecindario?
The Teatro Víctor Jara in Vecindario hosts the festival from 7 to 13 November 2026, the organisers say. Vecindario lies in the municipality of Santa Lucía de Tirajana on Gran Canaria.
The organiser plans more than ten sessions. The mix: public screenings, school screenings, exhibitions, talks with invited directors and DJ sessions.
Gran Angular is the organiser. Check times and prices with them before you travel.
The postal address in the call for entries is the Ateneo Municipal de Santa Lucía, Colón 18, 35110 Vecindario. The venue itself is the Teatro Víctor Jara, so check beforehand which room is used in 2026.
What is the theme Cine y No a la Guerra about?
This year's theme is “Cine y No a la Guerra”, meaning Cinema and No to War. It changes every year: in 2024 it was Cine y Cambio Climático, in 2025 Cine y Migración.
According to the organiser, there are two official competition sections, one Canarian and one international. The festival aims to showcase Canarian cinema and support new directors.
Genres run wide, according to the selection committee: fiction, thriller, animation, comedy, video art and documentary. Experimental work and human rights themes also appear.
According to the call for entries, films run between 30 seconds and 6 minutes. Anything not in Spanish needs Spanish subtitles, and the call does not mention German or English ones.
How many films were entered, and where do they come from?
Entries came in from Afghanistan to New Zealand: the selection committee received 269 short films, 189 from abroad and 80 from Canarian filmmakers. The international entries come from around 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Western Sahara, South Korea, New Zealand, China, the Dominican Republic, the USA, Brazil, Poland, Mexico and Spain.
Reports put last year's 21st edition at 329 entries, 254 international and 75 Canarian. For 2024, reports give around 400.
Reports say 104 films ran in 12 sessions in 2024, and 105 in 14 sessions in 2025. How many of the 269 films made the 2026 programme is still unclear.
Who is behind the festival?
The Asociación Cultural Canaria Gran Angular organises the festival, directed by Agustín Domínguez. He says: “Over time the Teatro Víctor Jara became the meeting place for Canarian cinema.”
According to Domínguez, the festival began as a film forum during the Fiestas de San Rafael in Santa Lucía de Tirajana. The first edition showed twelve short films.
In 2024 the Gobierno de Canarias (regional government), the Cabildo de Gran Canaria (island government), the Santa Lucía de Tirajana town council and Canary Islands Film backed the festival. No amounts were published, and the 2026 backers are not confirmed.
At the 19th edition, tickets cost 2 euros and the proceeds went to the Spanish UNRWA committee. It is not known whether a similar price or cause applies in 2026.
What is still open, and what comes next?
The 2026 winners are not known yet. The audience awards are likely to come at the close on 13 November or afterwards.
According to the call for entries, only the audience judges the films, apart from the Domingo Socorro Distribution Award. That prize offers a year of festival distribution, and no document names cash prizes.
In 2025 the audience awards went to Lo que ahora ven mis ojos by Bright Martins, Marea by Laura Cristini and Cristian López, and Toma tierra by Yon Bengoechea. Marine Discazeaux won the Domingo Socorro award for Lejos.
On 14 January 2026 the Teatro Guiniguada in Las Palmas screened 16 films from the winners’ list free of charge at 19:30, organised by the Filmoteca Canaria. A similar screening in 2026 is possible but not announced.