The 5th edition of IsLABentura Canarias, the international script writing lab of the Government of the Canary Islands, has broken its application record with 356 projects submitted.
Screenwriters from different countries—77 more than last year—have submitted proposals to compete for one of the 16 available spots, all featuring ideas for film or series scripts linked to the Canary Islands.
Of the applications received this year, 297 come from Spain at national and local levels (more than a hundred from the Canary Islands), and 59 come from other countries. Additionally, 257 correspond to feature-length fiction films, 79 to fiction series, and 20 to animation projects, most of which are intended as feature film scripts.
Selected projects for 2026:
- Feature films: Cachalote, by Emmanuelle Kesh; Gonsalvus, by Pablo Borges; Chirla, by Sofía Martín; La siervita, by Nerea Guitart; El bi-aje de Lucas, by Raquel Herrera; Will You Marry T.N.?, by Cristina Naranjo; and Yesenia, by Pedro Ayose Reyes.
- Television series: Bony and Yay, by Isaí Escalada; Las primas, by Laura Reviejo; Beat (Pulse), by Juanjo Durán; La huésped, by Jorge Laguna; Cleaners, by Antonio Rojano; Barlovento, by Juan Pedro Vera; and El fracaso, by Marta Ambel.
- Animated films: El velorio de los angelitos, by Rubén Manzanera; and Mi hija, by Fran Casanova.
The selection has been carried out by the mentoring team, which in this edition includes: Sara Bamba, Yolanda Barrasa, Borja Santaolalla, Curro Royo, Gianmarco Serra, Isabel Herguera, Pablo Bartolomé, Arantxa Cuesta, and Alba Lucío.From this point on, work begins in the laboratory, with three in-person sessions and online mentoring. The first is now taking place in Tenerife, focusing on training and travel to the island on which each story is based for research purposes. The second, from July 20 to 26 in La Gomera, will be centered on the training component, and the third, from October 19 to 25 in Gran Canaria, where the projects will be presented to local, national, and international production companies. The awards ceremony will also be held there.
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