The International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao – ZINEBI, organised by Bilbao Town Hall, will be awarding prizes at the 66th festival in the amount of 83,000 euros at the gala closing ceremony this evening, at 19:30 h in the Arriaga Theatre.
Short animation film The Eggregores’ Theory (2024, Italy), directed by Andrea Gatopoulos, won the Grand Prix at ZINEBI 66, 7,000 euros.
The jury homed in on its “creative and original use of techniques such as artificial intelligence, which are generally used to replace artistes. Also for a solid dystopic narration pointing out how censorship kills creativity and isolates people”.
The main prizes in the Official Section – International Short Film Competition include the Basque Cinema Grand Prix, awarded to Ehiza (Hunt) by Aitzol Saratxaga, for “its reflection of the tradition and idiosyncrasy of Basque culture by means of solid interpretations in a mythological tale which continues to reverberate in today’s society”.
The Spanish Cinema Grand Prix went to Horizontal by Alex Reynolds (Basque Country, 2024), for its qualities as a disturbing, intimate dystopic tale brimming over with cinematographic values such as successful use of tempo and the solvent relationship between the two main characters”.
As in previous festivals, the Mikeldi Awards were also made by genre: best short fiction film award to 2006 by Gabriella Choueifaty (France, Lebanon, 2024), with Honourable Mention for Morî by Yakup Tekintangaç (Turkey, 2024); for best short documentary film for Nepalese-Belgium co-production Songs of Love and Hate (2024) by Saurav Ghimire; and best short animation film for Ashen Sun (Soleil gris) (France, 2024) by Camille Monnier.
The names of the short film prizewinners were announced by the members of this year’s Jury Panel, composed of Argentinian director Anahí Berneri, producer Esther García Rodríguez, Swiss filmmaker Claudius Gentinetta, Basque actress Olatz Ganboa.. and Nebojša Slijepčević.
ZINEBI is also one of the two State festivals on the list of European festivals which select a short film each year to compete in the EFA (European Film Awards). The International Jury at this year’s ZINEBI festival chose the Italian short film The Eggregores’ Theory by Andrea Gatopoulos as the candidate for the 2024 EFA Award for Best Short Film.
OFFICIAL SECTION – INTERNATIONAL ZIFF ZINEBI FIRST FILM COMPETITION
Turning to the Official Section’s largest prize – 12,000 euros – for the best first film in the International ZIFF – ZINEBI First Film Competition, the winner was Una sombra oscilante (An Oscillating Shadow) by Celeste Rojas Mugica.
The Jury Panel, composed of Basque documentary maker resident in Ireland, Teresa Lavina, artistic director Veton Nurkollari and Iranian visual artist and filmmaker Myriam Tafakory, unanimously decided to award the prize to this Franco-Chilean-Argentinian co-production for “an intimate portrayal and a personal journey creating a masterful composition which carefully constructs a country’s turbulent history. For its inventiveness and delicacy in the use of photography, film material and creation of an oneiric soundscape”.
The jury also gave Special Mention to the documentary feature film Rising Up at Night (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium, Germany, Burkina Faso, Qatar) by Nelson Makengo for its “impacting nocturnal observation of a flooded region facing both natural disasters and those created by human beings under the shadow of corruption. For its convincing use of rhythm, editing and music to outline the struggles of a resilient community”.
The Young Jury Prize – ZIFF (UPV/EHU), 2,000 euros, went to German-Iranian film My Stolen Planet (Sayyareye dozdide shodeye man) by Farahnaz Sharifi because “it is a human, brave, vulnerable narration which takes us to her planet by means of personal archives showing us the essence of the daily struggle of Iranian women”.
OTHER AWARDS
The EITB Audience Award, 3,000 euros, went to Bumblebee (Abellón) (Spain, 2024) by Fon Cortizo.
The Cineclub FAS award, 2,000 euros, for the best short films in the Bertoko Begiradak – Miradas desde Euskadi section, went to the short fiction film Los invitados de Amaia (Amaia’s Guests) (Basque Country, Georgia, 2024) by George Todria, “for taking our perspective through a different internal world which is pushed towards others, amid its memories and daydreams, and confusion between both, to other times, other spaces, and even representations of these”.
The Unicef Award, with no cash prize, goes to the short documentary Campolivar (Spain, 2024) by Alicia Moncholí, “because it best reflects the reality of childhood and teenage years from a perspective of rights, since it addresses the superior interest of childhood and shows how the environment in which children grow up is a decisive factor in their development”.
ZINEBI NETWORKING AWARDS
ZINEBI, with funding by the Basque Government’s Department of Culture and Linguistic Policy and the collaboration of Spain’s Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), EITB MEDIA S.A.U. (EITB), Asociación Zineuskadi, Europa Creativa Desk MEDIA Euskadi, Cannes Docs, the Scottish Documentary Institute and the Madrid Community’s Film and Audiovisual School (ECAM), held its seventh ZINEBI NETWORKING: Dokumentalen Sorgunea, the Bilbao Professional Documentary Film Forum, an initiative to promote emerging creativity in documentary cinema in the Basque Country and in the State.
This year the Forum had two cash prizes of 15,000 euros each: the award for best Basque documentary feature film went to Y así seguirán las cosas, directed by Marina Palacio Burgueño and produced by Garazi Elorza Vadillo and Gariza Films; and the award for the best State film went to The Dutchbat, scripted and directed by Guillermo Roqués, Rafael Honrubia and Javier Marín, and produced by Carlota Coloma and 15L Films.
The ECAM – ZINEBI Networking Impulso Award of personalised advisory packages for each film, goes to Sempre insieme by Alberto Baldini.
This year ZINEBI also gave out the Aukera Awards, each worth 3,000 euros, to set up a short film project. The (H)EMEN Award goes to Emakumeak. San Cristobaleko Espetxea, by Beatriz M. Larragueta; the Aukera Creators’ Award goes to Piztiak, by Saioa Miguel Moreno; the Zineuskadi Aukera Internationalisation Award goes to Gaua da luze by Itziar Lamarka and Ane Alvarez; and the Bizkaia Provincial Council Aukera Award for best Basque-language film will go to Itsas-epel by Aroa Fernandez Lazkano.
The Festival’s Gala Closing Ceremony, hosted by María Goiricelaya and Ane Pikaza (La Dramática Errante), will include the prizegiving. Photography director José Luis Alcaine will be collecting his Honorific Mikeldi Award during the event. Tasio by Montxo Armendáriz will be screened after the ceremony.
