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.
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!

Awards & Prizes

The spirit of the Hell Chess Festival is so mysterious that you could feel a victory sensation even before starting. So, be sensitive now!

Sterling Silver Trophy to the best film.

Diplomas to:
Best Music/song
Best Director (filmmaker of the year)
Best Acting (women and men compete against each other in a single category)
Audience Award
Best Chess film (Ruy López Award)
One Honorable Mention.

This is a festival where a short film could win a feature because all compete in the same category.

We got a very special communication with the filmmakers, so all your films will be revised in a very complete way and you will receive our review to improve future projects. You will feel this festival is the festival all filmmakers needed to have.
If you cannot attend the festival in person, we ship the best film prize by traditional maiL.

Rules & Terms

The rules are quite simple.
You can submit all kind of films and all kind of music without any limit.The artistic freedom is complete. You can submit short films, feature films, documentaries, video clips, trailers, Video Art or whatever digital sight and sound form. Films got no length required. Music neither.
But the risk, a deep colorful philosophy and the new forms of cinema language are better for us to be selected. As well as synthesis and capacity of being brief.
If you are already a Hell Chess winner, send us an email and we can provide you a free code to submit your new works. But only if you have been a winner in any of the past editions. This year we want to invite the uppermost films on Earth to be WONDERFUL. So this festival is almost a secret garden to drink the eternal water. So, be aware because we are almost a private castle! If you are here you got lucky.

No limits in languages, but ALL NON SPANISH OR NON SILENT MOVIES MUST HAVE SPANISH SUBTITLES. Anyway, we can provide you a certain help to make those subtitles if you are eager to make them. As the same time we are open to photos and music, so you can submit them in our contest.
28 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Nepenthes Sloth

    I wish to thank the Hell Chess Festival for awarding my short animated film 'Sacrifficious' the overall winner of the festival 2025. I was absolutely thrilled and such an honour and my very first overall festival win, I was very interested as a keen chess player and my video was about chess pieces coming to life in a surreal world - so it was a good fit for the festival. Without doubt this was the most supportive and communicative festival I have experience to date. Jorge from the festival was so friendly and sent lots of emails explaining the process and updates. It couldn't have been better. I'd mark them 11/10 if I could!! Thank you so much Jorge! (so sorry this review is so late, I thought I has done it and so I was shocked to see I hadn't - you deserved better given all your hard work)

    December 2025
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thanks dear Nepenthes Sloth for this unexpected Christmas gift. You make our audience smile with your acceptance video that has been the best one in our history as festival since 2016. We hope cinema, life and chess bring you a great year.

  • ROBERTO PILI

    We are really proud to parteciped with our project "LUCY - A pioneer destiny"!!!

    July 2024
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thanks Roberto, your project has been one of the most interesting projects this year.

  • Mj Golzari

    It was a refreshing showcase of emerging talents to share their unique visions. Wonderfull experience.

    July 2024
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thanks for your support. Your film cautivated the audience. It shiined on the big screen. Best regards.

  • Lina Cruz

    We were thrilled that our film Hairy Dreams was considered in the Quarter Finals of Hell Chess Festival, thank you! Communication with the festival's team was great, everything about this festival is inspiring, they have a unique soulful approach. We much appreciated their comments!

    July 2024
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thanks for your choreographist work. Classy and different as the same time. We appreciate very much your presence in our Festival. All the best for the future.

  • Hector Eduardo Rivera

    Solid Festival. Very professional. Our feature film was honored with a Quarter-Finalist status.

    They took the time to provide us with a very valuable and insightful critic

    Definitely worth the submission

    July 2024
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thnaks for your words and your film. It´s in the line of vindicative films we need to improve the world. Go on fighting.