‘Negu hurbilak’ selected to compete in Cineasti del Presente at the Locarno Film Festival

The Locarno Film Festival, running from August 2-12, has announced the line-up for the Cineasti del Presente competition. ´Negu Hurbilak´ is among the selected titles. Locarno is one of the most significant film festivals in Europe. ´Negu Hurbilak´ will have its world premiere at the 76th edition of this A-list festival. The festival features eleven sections, including two in competition: the Official Selection and Cineasti del Presente, the latter dedicated to up-and-coming filmmakers.  
 
´Negu Hurbilak´ is directed by Colectivo Negu (Ekain Albit, Adrià Roca, Nicolau Mallofré and Mikel Ibarguren), produced jointly by Maluta Films and Cornelius Films, and made entirely in Basque. Set in 2010 in the village of Zubieta against the backdrop of the Basque conflict, the film tells the story of an escape. It is a dark, slow-moving film about loneliness. The main character is a young woman driven by persecution and wrapped in uncertainty. ´Negu Hurbilak´ strives to provide a window and a voice to individuals who have, until this point, been unable to articulate the pain of their experiences and consequently have not been heard. The leading actress is Jone Laspiur, while the rest of the cast is made up of local, non-professional actors. As for the filmmaking process, ´Negu Hurbilak´ was scripted but also embraced improvisation. The film was shot using analog techniques on 16mm film. 
 
After the short films ‘Erroitz’, ‘Uhara’ and ‘Rabassa morta’, ‘Negu Hurbilak’ is the Negu collective’s first feature film. Before coming to the Locarno Festival, ´Negu Hurbilak´ was presented at different festivals aimed at promoting WiP (Work in Progress) and helping to finish films in the post-production stage. Last July the first cut was shown at the Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest, in the Talent Lab section of WiP. It was later presented at L ´Alternativa Fest – the 29th Barcelona Independent Film Festival (WiP). The film was also present at the International Film Festival of Xixón in the Semilleru Lab section (WiP), at the REC Festival Internacional de Cinema de Tarragona and at the  D’A Festival Cine Barcelona in the D´ A Film Lab section (WiP). 
 
In an interview with Zineuskadi, Mikel Ibarguren, one of the directors of ´Negu Hurbilak´, explained that the aim of the Negu collective is to make the film known, and to this end they have a unique opportunity to participate in festivals to get the film out to audiences, for people to see it and for it to have significant impact. Ibarguren said that in the future they want to screen their latest work at a leading festival in Spain, and that there will also be a premiere in Catalonia. They would also like to see ´Negu Hurbilak´ come to cinemas.