A trajectory of cinematographic excellence
ZINEBI has been the only State festival and one of five worldwide accredited by the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) in the short films and documentary category since 1974. Its international renown may be demonstrated by its acknowledgement as a qualifier festival for the film industry’s biggest awards: the Hollywood Academy Oscars, the European Film Academy’s EFA awards, the British Academy’s BAFTAs, and the Spanish Academy’s Goya Awards.
Origins and history
Founded in 1959 by the Basque Institute of Hispanic Culture – then attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – it first emerged as the Bilbao International Latin American and Philippines Documentary Film Competition. Conceived as the “little brother” of the San Sebastián Film Festival, which had been established six years previously, ZINEBI went on to become Spain’s third oldest festival after San Sebastián and Valladolid, and the longest standing in its speciality.
Decades of consolidation and development
Between 1972 and 1981 ZINEBI became an essential forum for debate on Spanish short films and a leading perspective across a range of cinematography, especially the Latin American variety. A major milestone was reached in 1974, when it was officially recognised by the FIAPF as a top international competition.
Between 1975 and 1980 the festival acquired a further dimension when it became a meeting point for reflection and development of what was already being called Basque cinema. This phase established its early commitment to local and regional filmmaking, which it continues to maintain.
New institutional phase
In 1981 Bilbao Town Hall took over management of the festival, and became its main organiser. Amid some complex processes, the institutional transition succeeded in giving the project stability and continuity, a process culminated when the festival was put under the organisational control of the Arriaga Theatre.
In the year 2000 the festival adopted the ZINEBI brand, ushering in a new phase during which it cemented a position as one of the world’s leading festivals of independent signature short films.
Mission
ZINEBI’s mission nowadays homes in on support for emerging filmmakers – with a particular focus on directors from Euskadi and the rest of the Spanish State – and striving to showcase quality films worldwide.
The festival concentrates on projects that give priority to creative freedom, formal innovation and audiovisual experimentation, with a constant perspective of ethical and aesthetic reflection on contemporary realities.
Prizewinners of international renown
Down through the years ZINEBI has played host to leading independent cinema personalities around the world. Prizewinners include famous names such as the following:
International filmmakers: Jacques Demy, Richard Lester, Pierre Pérrault, Claude Lelouch, Gian Vittorio Baldi, Carroll Ballard, Fernando Birri, Estela Bravo, Santiago Álvarez, Valeria Sarmiento, Robert L. Drew, Felipe Cazals, Peter Watkins, Peter Mullan, Lourdes Portillo, Avi Mograbi, Sergei Loznitsa, László Nemes, Nele Wohlatz and Luise Donschen.
Spanish filmmakers: The festival has been a key platform for the discovery and recognition of several generations of Spanish directors, among whom Carlos Saura, Basilio M. Patino, Pío Caro Baroja, José Val del Omar, Javier Aguirre, Jaime Chávarri, Francesc Betriu, Nadia Werba, Imanol Uribe, Montxo Armendáriz, Pedro Almodóvar, Julio Medem, Fernando León de Aranoa, Juanma Bajo Ulloa, Javier Rebollo, Santiago Segura, Begoña Vicario, Jon Garaño, José Mari Goenaga, Virginia García del Pino, Neus Ballús, Koldo Almandoz, Isabel Herguera, Asier Altuna, Izibene Oñederra and Natalia Marín.
The Honorary Mikeldi and illustrious personages
The Honorary Mikeldi, the festival’s highest distinction, has been awarded to personages of world renown in cinema and the arts. Among the prizewinners, guests and members of jury panels we find illustrious personages such as Peter Greenaway, Ennio Morricone, Jean Rouch, Dino Risi, Luis García Berlanga, Hanna Schygulla, Anna Karina, Jane Birkin, Arturo Ripstein, Elías Querejeta, Richard Lester, Pawel Pawlikowski, Márta Mészáros, Jeanne Moreau, Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Emir Kusturica, Liliana Cavani, Carlos Saura, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, Jean-Claude Carrière, Patrice Chéreau, Cecilia Roth, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Juan Ruiz Anchía, Aki Kaurismäki, Marco Bellocchio, Mariano Llinás, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Wang Bing, Claire Simon, the Dardenne brothers, Margarethe von Trotta, Agnieszka Holland, Albert Serra, Rita Azevedo Gomes, Frederick Wiseman, Laura Poitras and José Luis Alcaine.
Directors’ careers
ZINEBI’s artistic directing has been handled by top personalities in the film industry: Pedro de Ybarra, José Ignacio Uruñuela, Felipe Alfonso Araico and Adolfo Lafarga, Roberto Negro, Manu Pagola, Management Committee with José Julián Bakedano, Ernesto del Río, José Antonio Mingolarra and Santos Zunzunegui, Iñaki Acarregui, Luis Iturri, Ernesto del Río, Vanesa Fernández Guerra and the current director, Joseba Lopezortega, who had already taken charge of two previous events.
Institutional support and collaboration
ZINEBI’s sponsor and main source of funding is Bilbao Town Hall, through the Arriaga Theatre. The festival also enjoys the institutional backing of the Basque Government’s Department of Culture, the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport – through the ICAA (Spain’s Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts) and the Bizkaia Provincial Council.
Collaboration extends to a large number of public and private organisations such as ETB, Azkuna Zentroa, Golem-Alhóndiga Cinemas, the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, Sala BBK, the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Institut Français Bilbao, Goethe-Institut and Cineclub FAS, among other institutions which enrich the festival’s offer of culture.
