Helher Escribano (director, founder, and driving force behind IBICINE) explains that the first editions of this Ibiza Film Festival were funded by weddings. She tells me this after wrapping up a press conference that nearly derailed the efforts of a team that dreams of Ibiza one day becoming the next Cannes. Although it doesn’t need it, because the Balearic island has earned its place on the list of film festivals to keep on your radar. Not only because the island is filled with stars of the silver screen in the summer seeking the sea, the sun, and aioli, but also because even in the off-season, cinema is discussed and celebrated.
It’s 1:30 p.m. on April 11, 2026, and although the Ibiza frenzy hasn’t quite kicked off yet, the rooftop of Ocean Drive Talamanca—Ibicine’s headquarters—is packed to the brim. Actors, directors, cinematographers, film industry insiders, and journalists mingle during a post-press conference chat where we discuss cinema, the views, and that wind that has turned the gathering into a “mini” drama in equal measure. Nothing that Helher’s energy, Antonia San Juan’s professionalism, and the Ibicine team’s hard work couldn’t fix. Perhaps Astarté, the Phoenician goddess of the Moon and Life who lends her name to these awards, had something to do with it as well. In a few hours, we’ll swap the hotel rooftop for the stage at Can Ventosa, in the heart of Ibiza.
“This year we’ve tried to trim down the gala to make it more streamlined, because handing out 33 awards isn’t easy,” Herlher says with a laugh. “We won’t be showing videos, and we’ve asked the winners to keep their speeches brief,” she explains as she kicks off her heels and recalls that this festival—which was born from the savings she accumulated working as a wedding photographer on the island—has grown through courage, hard work, enthusiasm, and knocking on many doors. One need only look at the long list of sponsors to understand that over the course of a decade she has managed to inspire a host of public and private organizations to believe in a project she herself championed from the very beginning. “And for next year, when we celebrate our tenth anniversary, we have a surprise I can’t reveal.” Helher’s vitality is contagious. Ibicine is her and all the people she has recruited to form a team that has put Ibiza on the global film map. Perhaps that’s why this year’s gala is out of this world.
Highlights from the 9th edition of Ibicine
Seeing Eva Soriano (cover of the April issue of Forbes) dressed as an astronaut, suspended by cables to simulate zero gravity, already gives you a clue as to where things are headed. Before the ship takes off for this 9th edition of Ibicine, comedian Bianca Kovacs has taken charge of preparing the crew—that is, those of us in the seats. Audience seated, check! Photocall complete, check! Lights dimmed, check! Spaceship ready. The countdown begins: 3, 2, 1…
Eva Soriano, who has more experience than the entire IKEA wardrobe section, takes the helm of Ibicine 9, whose mission is to present more than thirty awards. And she’ll do so in an entertaining, lively way, with an interplanetary band providing the soundtrack and a voice-over (somewhere between HAL 9000 from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ and Wall-E) that will help her host a gala where four women have shone: Elena, Antonia, María, and Belinda.
Actress, film director, screenwriter, and producer Antonia San Juan has been awarded the 2026 Astarté National Honor Award in recognition of her unique, courageous, and indispensable career in the Spanish audiovisual sector; María Adánez, patron of the ninth edition of IBICINE, received the 2026 Astarté Lifetime Achievement Award in tribute to her entire career; and journalist and television host Elena Sánchez accepted the Astarté Award for the Promotion of Spanish Cinema. Belinda Washington did not accept any award, but she is an award in herself.
The host and actress was tasked with presenting the award to Antonia San Juan from the Canary Islands. But who wants to read a script when you can say it while singing? Who dares to cover Gloria Gaynor’s iconic “I Love You Baby” and turn it into “Te quiero Antonia”? With the audience and crew on their feet, chanting that wildly catchy “na, na na naaaaa” and applauding, San Juan took the stage, in tears, surprised (not by the award, which she expected, but by the presentation) and visibly moved. Thankfully, Belinda Gaynor helped dry her tears a little.
Antonia, who, as she herself admits, owes a great deal to the character of Agrado in *All About My Mother*, has managed to carve out a career that goes beyond simply being an “Almodóvar girl.” She has become a “San Juan girl.” And yes, she’s also ventured into the world of short films, or “los cortitos,” as she calls them: “When I have money, instead of treating myself to a handbag, I treat myself to a short film.”
Recognizing journalism that celebrates cinema
Elena Sánchez has been championing Spanish cinema for years. That cinema—as one of this year’s award winners noted when accepting his statuette—will have three films in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and a fourth out of competition.
She, who has made room for industry professionals on TVE’s sets through programs such as “Días de cine” and “Historia de nuestro cine,” was the recipient of the award this time. Just like actress María Adánez (2026 Astarté Lifetime Achievement Award), filmmaker Toni Bestard (2026 Astarté Honorary Award for Balearic Talent), and Barbara Gasser, a member of the board of directors of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who has won the 2026 Astarté Award for International Film Communication.
The awards ceremony honored Juan Manuel Montilla’s “Ganas de Vivir” with two Astarté Awards (Best Documentary Film and Best Director), and also recognized the work of Jodie Foster, who won the Astarté Award for Best Actress for her role in “Private Life.”
In addition, the animated film ‘ARCO’, directed by Ugo Bienvenu and co-produced by actress Natalie Portman, was the big winner at the ninth edition of the Ibiza Film Festival, IBICINE, taking home the Isasi-Isasmendi Award for Best Film and the Astarté Award for Best Screenplay. This film, which premiered in Ibiza at this festival, has won these two awards following its nominations for the 2026 Oscars and the Golden Globes.
In the audience, familiar faces from the industry—including Jon Plazaola, Angy Fernández, Javier Pereira, and Paula Prendes—watched the gala, which concluded with remarks from the festival’s founder and words of thanks to everyone who helps make it possible for this festival, in partnership with Ibiza Travel, to further promote the island as a cultural and artistic destination.