Call of entries open for the XII edition

The Hell Chess Film festival is an event celebrated in Campo de Gibraltar and Madrid, Spain.

 THE ONLY FILM FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD THAT SENDS A CUSTOMISED REVIEW TO ALL THE SUBMITTERS

This year we got a special Festival with a final surprise of our mission in cinema life.

We celebrate our screening and Awards Festival.

We celebrate the commemoration of the great Hell Chess film made by From the ruin to Paradise society. 

This is our 12th Edition .

This year you´ll receive a philosophical welcoming!

We invite all artists from the whole world to participate.

But this year the thing is going to be completed with your artistic works.

Including films and music.

Make a better place to live with the best of your souls!

And be elegant to express it!

2026 winners

 

These are the winners for the XI HELL CHESS FESTIVAL 2026

BEST FILM ----------- DREAM THEATRE .............. By Daniel Limmer 

BEST MUSIC ---------- WARAO OF THE WATERS ------------- By Rodrigo Volponi

BEST ACTING ---------------  ALICE  KREMELBERG --------- The Wanderer

SPECIAL AWARD --------- CUANDO LA GUITARRA CALLA -------- by Roberto Janacua

RUY LÓPEZ AWARD -------- LA AMBICIÓN DE MARIE ------------ by Manu Fernández

AUDIENCE AWARD ----------   DREAM THEATRE .............. By Daniel Limmer 

FINALISTS.

WAKE -------------- Created by Celine Egan

THE FLIP-FLOW ---------------- Directed by Brad Condie

ARASPEL ------------ Performed by Laura Farré Rozada

SEMI-FINALIST:

AMERICAN MOTH ------------- By Alan Shope

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

 

These are the Selected Films for the XI HELL CHESS FESTIVAL 2026

CUANDO LA GUITARRA CALLA .---------- Directed by Roberto Janacua --------- MÉXICO

When a good man who loves crafting musical instruments, after a long career devoted to excellence in this art, feels lost in his own workshop due to the heartbreaking helplessness of Alzheimer's disease. This drama is well interpreted by its lead actor.

THE FLIP-FLOW ----------------  Directed by Brad Condie ---------------  USA

Another short visual essay where animated images form a beautiful modern poem of visual design, from geometries to other images that could easily be part of a TV intro. The perfect union between images and music makes it delightful.

THE WANDERER   ------------ directed by Michael Lavine ------------- USA

We watch a black-and-white short film about the arrival of an angel girl on the eve of the death of a wounded boy. Nothing is as expected in this story, nor does what faith believes exist, but the film has an accurate interpretive presence in that tragic angel.

WARAO OF THE WATERS ------------ created by Rodrigo Volponi -------------BRAZIL

This epic song transports us through evocative atmospheres. From the very beginning, it conveys a seriousness in its approach and then leads us to indigenous songs and perhaps to the trembling emotion of the natural struggle for life. Best music nomination.

LA AMBICIÓN DE MARIE -------------- directed by Manu Fernández ---------- SPAIN

This chess story combines what some critics referred to in “The Seventh Seal”—the idea that the devil is in the chess piece—with a modern approach in this visually well-crafted fable with elegant settings. 

WAKE -------------- Created by Celine Egan ---------------- UK

This piece of music is part of a film soundtrack and is truly epic, with the piano and violins soaring skyward, undoubtedly to transport us to a great story.

The sound quality is first-rate. Best music nomination.

DREAM THEATRE .--------- directed by Daniel Limmer  ---------- AUSTRIA

The virtue of this feature film is not about an enterprise that records your dreams to heal, in a way

we have seen this thing before, the main merit is creating this out of the line plot using a principal

actress so natural and without any impression of self-importance. But the idea performs well.

ARASPEL ------------ Performed by Laura Farré Rozada ----------- ESPAÑA

This complex  armenian music is performed by a master pianist able to carry away places

we never think we can live. The power of her fingers and the strange beauty of the lands that

she wishes to introduce us.

---------------

All those plays and films will be showed where and when our poster tells:

SPAIN.

Call of entries for the XI Hell Chess Edition

 

The Hell Chess Film festival is an event celebrated in Campo de Gibraltar and Madrid, Spain. THE ONLY FILM FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD THAT SENDS A CUSTOMISED REVIEW TO ALL THE SUBMITTERS This year we got a special Festival with a final surprise of our mission in cinema life. We celebrate our screening and Awards Festival. We celebrate the commemoration of the great Hell Chess film made by From the ruin to Paradise society. This is our fifth Edition . This year you´ll receive a philosophical welcoming! We invite all artists from the whole world to participate. Every year since 2013, we project our Hell Chess film and we play chess in a tournament. But this year the thing is going to be completed with your artistic works. Including films and music. Make a better place to live with the best of your souls! And be elegant to express it!

2025 WINNERS

 These are the winners:

BEST FILM ---------- SACRIFFICIOUS ------ Director Stephen Shelton ------ UK

BEST DIRECTION -----------  DAVID DURÁN .----------- Llegó tu hora---  SPAIN

BEST SONG ------------- VAMPIROS ------  Martín Del Carpio-------  USA

                                  The President´s speech.

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS 2025

 This is the program to this season festival:

SACRIFFICIUS ------ DIRECTED BY STEPHEN SHELTON ---------- UK

This music video is a real artistic animation. Special design of the chess pieces, an important story to tell and guitar music to introduce us in a world entirely created by its author.

VAMPIROS ------------ DIRECTED BY MARTÍN DEL CARPIO ---------  USA

This song is an accurate reminder of what we do to the world. We are dark creatures, vampires, in fact. Just to suck blood with no remorse. The song got interesting music arrangements, too. 

I DO NOT LOVE MY MOTHER--------- DIRECTED BY GERAD CUQ --------- FRANCE

This music video performed by MARIE DAUPHIN is original. It sounds as the good french music sounds and it is intrepid for being shot and sung in the swimming pool depths.

LLEGÓ TU HORA ----  DIRECTED BY DAVID DURÁN  ------------- SPAIN

This short film is almost just a fiction TV interview but it outcomes an ironic exercise of the world we live. In the context of a Science Fiction tale, we see many faults of our society. Well performed.

BEYOND ----------- DIRECTED BY RAQUEL SALVATELLA ---------- SPAIN

This animation piece is told using simple ways, delicate moments of horror and hope. Minimalistic black and white animations with music. We can see not just one but all dictatorship tragedies at it. Sensitive.

---------

SEMI-FINALISTS:

Sunny Side Up ----  Director Satvik Bhatt

El Capitán Paco ---- Director Rodrigo Oliva

DAYDREAMERS ---- Director Joey 西侧龙

Saturday Dream .------ Director Zhenqian Li

The Path of Stones ----- Director Dian Wang

----------

OUT OF COMPETITION:

INCITATUS --------- Director Jorjesus.

Call of Entries for 2025

The Hell Chess Film festival is an event celebrated in Campo de Gibraltar and Madrid, Spain. THE ONLY FILM FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD THAT SENDS A CUSTOMISED REVIEW TO ALL THE SUBMITTERS This year we got a special Festival with a final surprise of our mission in cinema life. We celebrate our screening and Awards Festival. We celebrate the commemoration of the great Hell Chess film made by From the ruin to Paradise society. This is our fifth Edition . This year you´ll receive a philosophical welcoming! We invite all artists from the whole world to participate. Every year since 2013, we project our Hell Chess film and we play chess in a tournament. But this year the thing is going to be completed with your artistic works. Including films and music. Make a better place to live with the best of your souls! And be elegant to express it!

Official Selections and winners 2024

 These films are the finalist works for the Hell Chess Film festival 2024:

HUNKY DORY ------ WINNER AND BEST FILM OF THE YEAR. ----- STEVEN VANDER MEER

THORSTEN FRENZEL  ---------- BEST DIRECTOR FOR THE FILM ULTIMA

MOONSON MELODY ---------   BEST SONG ------------ JAGAN JAZZ

EFFIGY HOUSE   ------------ BEST EDITOR ------ DEB ETHIER

PLACENTA --------- SPECIAL AWARD ------------- MJ GOLZARI

------

SEMI-FINALISTS:

LUCY directed by Roberto Pill 

EVADIR HACHURA directed by Mehran Hajihashemi 

QUARTER- FINALISTS:

PODER DEL PUEBLO directed by Héctor Eduardo Rivera

THE DOUBLE ROOM directed by Martín Del Carpio

HAIRY DREAMS directed by Lina Cruz.

PARIS-BREATHLESSWEEKEND directed by Neil Harvey, & Jon Hammerbeck

PLACENTA .--------------- Directed by MJ Golzari -------------------------  IRAN 

This film got inside its inner simplicity, (one actress, few minutes, no dialogues) a deep

suggestion about life, motherhood or the power to overcome circumstances.

HUNKY DORY ----------------- Directed by Steven Vander Merr ------------ USA

This animation piece is made in a very traditional way, funny, plenty of animal details, almost

a music video with funny transitions plenty of liberty.

EFFIGY HOUSE ---------- Directed by Deb Ethier ----------------- CANADA

The Deb Ethier´s  animation world is always tasteful, solitary and plenty of aesthetic mystery able to be interpreted in many ways.  A classic inside the Hell Chess imaginary.

MOONSON MELODY --------------  Directed by Jagan Jazz ------------------- INDIA

This song is plenty of the traditional quality of the indian music. It is a video with almost no movement

but good enough to be the support of this sweet song sung by Nipuni Herath.

ULTIMA ----------------- Directed by Thorsten Frenzel -------------------- GERMANY

Our selection recovers the final 7 minutes of the original film. This trip to the purgatory got many elements adequate with our vision of the spiritual world.

.------------------ ALL THE FILMS WILL BE SCREENED IN DELARUINALPARAISO HEADQUARTERS, AT MIDNIGHT  JULY 5 ------------------------------ Los Barrios, Spain.

Call of entries 2024

 

The Hell Chess Film festival is an event celebrated in Campo de Gibraltar and Madrid, Spain. THE ONLY FILM FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD THAT SENDS A CUSTOMISED REVIEW TO ALL THE SUBMITTERS
This year we got a special Festival with a final surprise of our mission in cinema life.
We celebrate our screening and Awards Festival.
We celebrate the commemoration of the great Hell Chess film made by From the ruin to Paradise society. This is our fifth Edition .
This year you´ll receive a philosophical welcoming!
We invite all artists from the whole world to participate.
Every year since 2013, we project our Hell Chess film and we play chess in a tournament.
But this year the thing is going to be completed with your artistic works.
Including films and music.
Make a better place to live with the best of your souls!
And be elegant to express it!

Official Selections and winners

 The WINNERS are:

BEST FILM: Yusss -- Directed by Roma Linares --- Spain

BEST DIRECTOR: Epycicle --- Directed by Deb Ethier ---- Canada

BEST ANIMATION: No leaders please ---- Directed  by Joan Gratz --- USA

BEST SONG: Wasteland ----  Ilysa Spencer -- Georgia

(We are still waiting some answer of our new venue, and some changings can be happen)

The FINALISTS  for the 2023 season are:

Rasperry Man ------------------ Directed by Slawomir Milewski ----------- Poland

We see different nuances about what we visually see in social life and what social life is all about. Images plenty of dark beauty.

Epycicle ------------ Directed by Deb Ethier ----------- Canada

This animation film has vision of how our human community works, just like birds  renouncing to fly becoming figures of a dead machine. Hope is in the failure of that machine.

Yusss --------------- Directed by Roma Linares --------------- Spain

This is an interesting monologue about what is great in the deepest  sides of ourselves, using the climbing spiritual side of what is behind of this reality.

No leaders, please ------------------------- Directed  by Joan Gratz ---------- USA

This is a poem very well narrated by very good animated paintings, A rebel vision of ourselves.

Ilysa Spencer (Georgia)  sent us an  interesting song called Wasteland with an evocative percussion on it.

El caballo español. El orígen -------------- Directed by Fco Javier Fernández -------- Spain

This is a good revelation of the qualities of the spanish horse narrated in a documentary form.

.........................

The physical screenings will be in Delaruinalparaiso headquarters, December 9th. 0:00 am.

And the online screening at the same hour at this website.

New call of entries to the 2023 edition

 

Submit your films and music in here

   

    

The Hell Chess Film festival is an event celebrated in Campo de Gibraltar and Madrid, Spain. THE ONLY FILM FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD THAT SENDS A CUSTOMISED REVIEW TO ALL THE SUBMITTERS
This year we got a special Festival with a final surprise of our mission in cinema life.

                                     

  We already have a preview session in August the first. for the films:

EL HOMBRE NADA ---------- Directed by P. Dízas ----- SPAIN

THE WAITERS ----------------- Directed by Rose Cameron --------- IRELAND

THE NEXT TIME -------------- Directed by Lilian Gray ------------ CANADA

Delaruinalparaiso Cinema Headquarters,  at 7:00 PM, on July 9.

The winners in 2022

 

Official Selections 2022

 These are the films and Official Selections of this 2022 season.

ASCENDER-------------Directed by Leonardo Barranco (México)

The simplicity and beautifully photographically shot of an ascent to a mountain.

EL NIÑO Y LA MONTAÑA------------ Directed by Santiago Aguilera and David Monreal (Chile)

A well done animation short from the mountaneer passion.

LEGACY----------- Directed by Pamela Falkenberg and Jack Cochran (Canada)

A short sweet piece of the gastronomy poetic culture.

IN SEARCH OF A P-I-G (Song)-Directed by Pasquialini, Stribling,Gault, Takeda & Szarabajka (USA)

The parodic final song of this funny parody of a nonsense pandemic universe.

FALLEN ANGLE.....Directed by Yan Lagoutte --------- (France)

An experimental exercise of broken images plenty of poetic beauty.

THE TRAIL  BEYOND HIGLAND ROAD------- Directed by Eli Copperman.........(USA)

This is an ecological piece of animation with great meaningful values.

NUMBER 37-------- Directed by Alejandro Chab---------(Argentina)

An interesting combination of reality and animation about the battle in the inner world from childhood.

PAN DE CADA DÍA--------- Directed by Manuel Sirgo ------------ (Spain)

An excuse to see Madrid in animation format with a beautiful scenary.

THE HITCHHIKER ........... Writen and performed by Karen Braysher---------- (UK)

This song is like a road movie with sparkling country energy

........... And the program will be completed with the work of our awarded filmmaker David King.

He offers us his majestic film MANSIONS OF ETERNITY and his work as curator with a selection of little magic pieces called  ABODE SILENCE created by the Abodecollective and dedicated to the Ukranian refugees. (OUT OF COMPETITION)

The screening venue, day and time:0:00 hours. Pico del Aljibe. 36°31′03″N 5°36′30″O. This is the peak of Los Alcornocales park. The Open Air ambience will make a wonderful cinema night.

Call of entries open to 2022

 

The winners

 

These are the winners of the Hell Chess Film Festival 2021:

Best Film Winner  ..... Once there was a girl----- By Deb Ethier (Canada).....

Best Director .....  Alberto Nacci ...... by Symbiosis  (Italy)

Best Song ....Murmur of the heart ..... by Martin del Carpio & Jamie Muffet ---- (USA)

----

Nomination: 

Dark or light..... by Sharon Hudson (Angel & The Muse) ..... (Canada)

Finalist:

Absurd Man ---- by Burak Kum ----- (Turkey)

Semi-finalists:

The Meeting ( the interpreter )-------- by Catherine Gropper ----- (USA)

I Want to Breathe Sweet Air --------- by  Pamela Falkenberg & Jack Cochran  ..... (USA)

Pawn -------  by Elliott Hinojos -----------  (USA)

..........................................

The Festival Streaming is open only until 23:59 hours in November 1.

Official Selections 2021

 These are the finalist films, the Official Selections 2021.

HELL CHESS FILM FESTIVAL INTRO----- (Turkey) ----- Directed by BURAK KUM 

This is a little piece, a gift and an homage from this director to our Festival

It will be included in the beginning from the screening session. And it will be out of competition.

IMAGINARIUM OF THE UNKNOWN TRAVELLER----(AUSTRALIA) --- DAVID KING.

This awarded artist always submerges us inside his hallucinant world where everything is possible. For us, this piece of art is like  cinematic synesthesia... interior life and exterior traveling are all united in a magical way. This film plays out of competition.

 

ONCE THERE WAS A GIRL  ----------- (CANADA) --------------- Directed by Deb Ethier

This animation film got a very good taste and it represents all kind of childhood tales, books, and imaginative adventures. This film got a vague plot but the real point consists in reflecting all those suggestions:-Entering in the book door, woods, dreams, animals, mysteries...beautiful done.

SYMBIOSIS   ---------------- (Italy) ------------   Directed by Alberto Nacci.

This dancing videoclip has a black and white photography which is frankly well done, with an original song and a real personality to use shadows and a hard simplicity and pureness. The song got a nomination for the best song in the  Festival.

ABSURD MAN ------------------ (TURKEY) ---------------  Directed by Burak Kum

This fantasy comedy of a man in the mid of nowhere, listening his favourite music in the car using old tapes and living fantastic events is plenty of humour. The images are well lit. The actor enjoys the experience. We all live in an absurd world.

MURMUR OF THE HEART ---- (USA) --- Created by Martin del Carpio (performer)  & Jamie Muffet

This song is included in our new category and represents a melancholic view of the pieces we need to find love and happiness. Always searching in the disorder of life... a union. The notes of the piano are powerful and the voice got a punching quality. Nominated for the best song of the year.

DARK OR LIGHT --------------  (CANADA) -------- Created by Shazz Hudson (Angel & the Muse)

This song mixes different music syles (from rap to chill out) in a way that works. The voice is penetrating and probably it sounds like "a déjá vu" from decades ago when the music was real music. Congratulations. This song is nominated for the best song of this season.

ISOLDA DREAMS ------------- (GREENLAND) ------------------ Directed by Genevere Black

This beautiful short film will be the home of the songs that had no images. The philosophy of the silvery cat, the reaching of Heavens, the ethical goal of joy. All is shot with harmony. The capacity of telling many things with few paint brushes...

......... The date and real venue to screen the Hell Chess Festival 2021 will be at Viralata, calle del Olivar 17, Madrid. And in Delaruinalparaiso headquarters (Geranios st, Los Barrios -Spain-) at 11:00pm in October 31. Plus you will have an online screening summation at this website-----------