Seven short films selected for the Kimuak 2024 catalogue

After considering the 47 entries submitted to the 25th edition of the Kimuak programme, the following seven short films were selected for the Kimuak 2024 catalogue: ‘Dinosaurioak’ (Koldo Almandoz), ‘Errotatiba’ (Iratxe Fresneda), ‘Etorriko da (Eta zure begiak izango ditu)’ (Izibene Oñederra), ‘Exergo’ (Jorge Moneo Quintana), ‘Patrimonio’ (Aitor Abio), ‘Todo lo cubre la sal’ (Joana Moya Blanco) and ‘Utländsk’ (Alba Lozano).

Aimed at promoting Basque films, the KIMUAK programme is organised by the Etxepare Basque Institute and Zineuskadi. From today, this selection of Basque short films will be sent to the most important international film festivals and audiovisual initiatives around the world.

This year´s selection committee comprised the following members: Alaitz Arenzana, artistic director of Zinegoak (International LGTBIQ+ Film and Performing Arts Festival of Bilbao), member of the artistic collective Sra. Polaroiska, teacher and director of art projects and audiovisual works including the short film ´Exhibition 19´, selected for the Kimuak 2010 catalogue; Claudio Zilleruelo Acra, founder and artistic director of Black Canvas Contemporary Film Festival, producer at Taller Tritón, independent film programmer and director; and Xavi Herrero, director and programmer of Ibizacinefestival, the Ibiza International Independent Film Festival, and director and producer of cinéma verité.

The new catalogue includes fiction, non-fiction, essay, documentary and animation. One of the films is entirely in Basque, another in Basque and Spanish and another in Basque, Spanish and English. Two are primarily in Spanish and two contain no dialogue. Four of the seven short films are directed by women and three are the first or second films made by their respective authors.

Here are the details for the seven selected short films:

‘Dinosaurioak’

Over the last 25 years, Koldo Almandoz (1973) has written and directed films spanning various genres and formats. His work has been selected and awarded at numerous international festivals, including the Cannes Semaine de la Critique, the Rotterdam Film Festival, the San Sebastian Festival, BAFICI, Festival dei Popoli and the Seattle International Film Festival. He also created and directed the TV series ´Hondar Ahoak´ and ´Intimidad´. His short film ´Razielen itzulera´ (1998) featured in the first Kimuak catalogue, and ´Quebrantos´, co-directed by Maria Elorza, was included in the 2020 catalogue.

Almandoz was a member of the selection committee for Punto de Vista, the international documentary film festival in Pamplona. He has also served as the director of the art and culture magazine ´The Balde´, created and curated various cultural projects and exhibitions, and worked as a scriptwriter and director of radio drama. He has taught at the Larrotxene and Dinamoa cultural centres, and at the film school Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola, as well as authoring several books and founding the Farmazia Beltza publishing house. He is also a producer at Garabi Films.

Starring Iñaki Beraetxe, Sara Cózar, Iñigo Aranbarri, María del Amor Zubiaur, Laura Villanueva and Martin Almandoz, ´Dinosaurioak’ (Dinosaurs) presents the viewer with the bitter end of an era.

‘Errotatiba (La rotativa)’

‘Errotatiba (La rotativa)´ is a non-fiction film about the fragility of memory and the places we create to preserve it. People disappear, just like the buildings they lived in and the places where they worked and found happiness. Those faces and lives were once part of the written memory, a memory that will disappear because nothing lasts forever. As the saying goes, easy come, easy go.

Iratxe Fresneda (Arrigorriaga, 1974) is part of a new generation of directors who have honed their craft through a combination of audiovisual research and industry practice. Her work has achieved wide national and international impact in recent years. She has been Associate Professor in the Department of Audiovisual Communication at the University of the Basque Country since 2004 and has been a visiting researcher at the University of Nevada (USA), at CUNY in New York (USA), at Lund University (Sweden) and in Toulouse II – Le Mirail (France).

Her films, inspired by ‘forgotten archives’, are a personal take on true stories. Her first feature film, ´Irrintziaren oihartzunak´ (2016), which premiered at the 64th San Sebastian Festival, was the first of what she called her ´Record Trilogy’, together with ´Lurralde hotzak-Cold Lands´ (2018) and ´Tetuán´ (2022). Her films have been screened at international festivals and film clubs around the world (Berlin, Warsaw, Madrid, Genoa, Seoul, Porto, Lima, Lugano, Montevideo, Barcelona...) and have garnered numerous awards and accolades. She is currently working on the development of the feature film ‘Bide guztiak’. ‘Errotatiba’ is her first short film.

‘Etorriko da (eta zure begiak izango ditu)’

In her new animated film, Azkoitia-born director Izibene Oñederra (1979) traces the fears faced by today´s society. ‘Etorriko da (eta zure begiak izango ditu)’ – ‘It´s coming (and will have your eyes)´ The film portrays a small community that has plunged into a state of collapse amid an environmental crisis and strives to adapt to the new reality as best as it can. The privileged inhabitants lead a hedonistic life centered on ‘carpe diem’, while others, with no alternative, struggle simply to survive. What lies ahead? If there is nothing else, is there any hope for salvation?

PhD in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country, Izibene Oñederra was resident artist at Arteleku, where she founded the audiovisual group Cine Mapa and organises days dedicated to Rare Cinema. She currently teaches Painting in the Department of Art and Technology at the UPV-EHU Faculty of Fine Arts.

She has a well-established track record in animation and has been featured in the Kimuak catalogue on multiple occasions. In addition to her own films – ‘Hezurbeltzak, una fosa común’ (Kimuak 2007), ‘Hotzanak, For Your Own Safety’ (Kimuak 2013) and ‘Lursaguak’ (Kimuak 2019) – she has also worked together with other filmmakers on ‘Beti bezperako koplak’ (Kimuak 2016), ‘Areka´ (Kimuak 2017) and ‘Ehiza’ (Kimuak 2020).

‘Exergo’

Jorge Moneo Quintana (Vitoria-Gasteiz, 1988) holds a degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country and has studied film and visual arts at Universitatea de Arta si Design din Cluj-Napoca (Romania), the University of Vigo (UVigo) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). His work has been awarded and screened at international festivals such as DOK Leipzig, IDFA, Punto de Vista, Festival de Málaga, Tirana International Film Festival, FICG-Festival Internacional de Cine de Guadalajara, Oberhausen, Beijing International Short Film Festival and Filmadrid.

Parallel to his own work as a director, Moneo Quintana also worked as assistant director on ‘Where is the jungle?’ by Iván Castiñeiras and as editor on ´Medusak´ by Irati Cano and ´Quando a Terra Foge´ by Frederico Lobo, the latter slated to premiere at the next Quinzaine des Cinéastes in Cannes. He has also collaborated with other filmmakers including Érik Bullot, Orsolya Gàl, Miren Barrena and with the 2018 documentary ‘The Sound We See’.

‘Exergo’ focuses on the peripheral or hidden details of some paintings in the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, as a female narrator relates several stories linked to the social, economic and psychological conditions of the artists, both past and present.

‘Patrimonio’

This social fiction is the first short film by Aitor Abio, a native of Durango born in 2000. A graduate in audiovisual communication from Mondragon Unibertsitatea, he is currently studying Film Direction at the ECPV (Basque Country Film School).

In ‘Patrimonio’, Mikel works in his father Carlos´ company. When the company decides to sell and lay off half of the workforce, Mikel takes a stand in support of his colleagues. Despite their good intentions, the workers conceal their sabotage plan from him. The cast includes Xabier Elizalde, Mikel Laskurain, Iñigo Aranburu, Eder Marcos, Gonzalo Solla-Landa and Juan Zuluaga.

‘Todo lo cubre la sal’

Fifty-seven is the count of net menders who labor along the coasts of the Basque Country, diligently carrying out a traditional craft as if untouched by the passage of time. With their hands covered in salt, they weave non-stop and in silence. They are part of the sea and its mystery. The sound of a boat breaks the night, a lighthouse illuminates everything with its light, a sailor drifts through the thoughts of the water, while hands dance and dance until they meld seamlessly into the nets.

Joana Moya (Bilbao, 1985) studied geology and contemporary dance. Since 2010 she has been working with image, incorporating these disciplines in her audiovisual projects. ‘Todo lo cubre la sal,´ her first short film, and has featured in festivals such as Doclisboa, ZINEBI, Malaga, and Hot Docs.

The connection with geology is the seed of her first feature film, ‘La Koreana, un poema ferromagnético de luz y memoria’. This project, currently in the development stage, has been selected by the Matadero artist-in-residence  centre, together with Cineteca, Noka Mentoring, Noka Ekoizpena and Dirdira Lab.

‘Utländask’

Esti, the protagonist of ´Utländsk´, returns to Oiartzun after six years of living in Sweden. Despite her vow never to return, economic instability and job insecurity force her to return. She realises that the town remains unchanged, and Esti is unwilling to adapt.

Alba Lozano (Barakaldo, 1996) directs Izaro Nieto and Dorleta Urretabizkaia in her second short film. She studied Audiovisual Communication and Film Directing at the ECPV (Basque Country Film School) and ESCAC (Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya). In 2022 she wrote and directed ‘Non Grata’, which was selected in over 50 festivals and garnered a dozen awards, including Best Short Film at the Alicante Festival. In her stories, Alba Lozano immerses herself in naturalism, exploring conflicts that resonate with her, and she executes them by seeking synergy between professional and non-professional actors.