ZINEBI –International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao, organised by Bilbao Town Hall, has revealed the 12 projects shortlisted for the 6th ZINEBI Networking: Dokumentalen Sorgunea. This Bilbao Professional Forum of Documentary Films is organised by the Festival and financed by the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA) with funds from NextGenerationEU, EITB MEDIA S.A.U. (EITB), the Zineuskadi Association and Europa Creativa Desk MEDIA Euskadi, with collaboration from Cannes Docs, the Scottish Documentary institute and the School of Cinematography and Audiovisual of the Community of Madrid (ECAM).

As on the previous occasion, the event features emerging projects from all over the Spanish State. Therefore, ZINEBI Networking: Dokumentalen Sorgunea has two cash prizes of 10,000 euros each to be awarded during the ZINEBI closing ceremony at the Arriaga Theatre on 17 November: the prize for the best Basque documentary feature film (ZINEBI Networking EITB 2023 Award), and the prize for the best entry from elsewhere in the State (ZINEBI Networking 2023 Award).

ZINEBI wishes to take this opportunity to boost the regional audiovisual fabric, and streamline the relationship between agents operating in the sector and local and international institutions working in the filmmaking and audiovisual industry.

Also, as a new feature this year, ZINEBI Networking is bolstering its links to the ECAM school with a number of activities and the Impulso ECAM prize, a personalised advisory package for each project taking part.

  • Cuatro días (Itxaso Díaz).
  • Inmersas en el Imserso (Aitor Arruti).
  • La isla sumergida (Lucía Malandro y Daniel Saucedo), producido por Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola – EQZE.
  • La maleta de Álex (Alejandro Cortés), de la productora Larrua Creaciones.

The following will compete for the ZINEBI Networking 2023 Award, open to documentary feature films from all over the State:

  • ¿Es usted secuestrable? (Charli Bujosa Cortés), de la productora Mansalva Films.
  • Artefactos de guerra (Jorge Caballero Ramos), de la productora GusanoFilms.
  • Atlas de la desaparición (Manuel Correa), de las productoras Artefacto Fílmico y GusanoFilms.
  • Infiltrada (Ione Monje Martínez y Paco Martínez-Abarca Sánchez).
  • Jo Sóc (Patricia M. Félix), de las productoras Diana Toucedo Films y WKND.
  • La maleta de Centelles (Pilar Pérez Solano), de la productora Estrela Audiovisual.
  • La Pietà (Rafael Molés Vilar y Pepe Andreu), de las productoras SUICAfilms, AXfilms y Studio Nominum.
  • Se eu morrer (si me muero) (Esther Vital García).

JURY PANEL

The two 10,000 € prizes will be awarded by a jury panel composed of fifteen professionals operating in the audiovisual sector:

Cecilia Barrionuevo, head of seminars and international relations at ECAM, programmer at Large for Film in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (New York), and lecturer at the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE) film school; Luca D’Introno, programmer at the Doclisboa International Film Festival; advisor for film festivals, markets and audiovisual commercial distribution Anette Dujisin-Muharay; head of marketing, communication and international development at Basque.Audiovisual, Ione Feijoo; Luis Ferrón (LAZONA), producer of films such as El año del descubrimiento (Luis López Carrasco, 2020) and those still awaiting completion Tardes de soledad (Albert Serra, 2024) and Elena dio a luz un hermoso niño (Chiara Marañón and Juan Soto Taborda, 2024), winner of the 2022 ZINEBI Networking Award; director, scriptwriter and producer Fernando Franco, who took the 2014 Goya Award for best new director with La herida (2013) and was nominated on five occasions for a Goya for Best Editing; the coordinator of Europa Creativa MEDIA Desk Euskadi Ainhoa González Sanchiz; the head of Factual and Non-fiction at Movistar Plus+ Marijo Larrañaga; programmer and editorial coordinator at FILMIN Elodie Mellado; University of Edinburgh professor and director of the Scottish Documentary Institute, Noé Mendelle; head of marketing and sales at distributor Treeline, Elena Mera; executive producer of Co-Production of Documentaries at RTVE, Ana Peláez; head of co-productions at EITB, Aintzane Pérez del Palomar; film producer Ainhoa Ramírez Lucendo; and producer and performer Montse Triola, who is currently producing Albert Serra’s upcoming film and the historical feature film Beatriz, la mujer, by Philippines director Lav Diaz.

By way of an activity prior to the Forum, in the next few days the projects selected have several personalised tutoring sessions with Virginia García del Pino. As of 13 November the representatives of the projects selected (for production or directing) will attend the encounters established by ZINEBI, conduct a public presentation of their project, and will also attend individual tutoring sessions. After the event, ZINEBI Networking undertakes to set up online monitoring encounters this year and in 2024, to assist and advise the projects selected.