ZINEBI – International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao, organised by Bilbao Town Hall, is still working to give the disabled access to culture. The 65th Festival, due to be staged from 10 to 17 November, is also drawing up a programme schedule specially designed for people with impaired hearing.

With the title “The reflected gesture. Seeing, hearing and perceiving cinema”, and in association with the Basque Federation of Deaf People’s Associations Euskal Gorrak, filmmaker and curator of the cycle Aitor Gametxo has selected five short films which were produced between 2000 and 2022 and seek to point out the reality of deaf people in our society, featuring various approaches to sign language, with respect to the discursive, formal and aesthetic possibilities.

The session, scheduled for 11 November at twelve noon in the Golem Alhóndiga Cinemas, will be presented by the cycle’s curator and a sign language interpreter, with the following

  • Mira el silencio (Regard Silence) de Santiago Zermeño (Mexico, 2022) [29 min]
  • Out of the Water (Dzieci i ryby) de Gracjana Piechula (Poland, 2022) [14 min]
  • Sorda (Deaf) de Nuria Muñoz-Ortín y Eva Libertad (Spain, 2021) [18 min]
  • The Drop of Water (La Goutte d’eau) de Carole Sionnet (France, 2003) [9 min]
  • The Sense of Touch (Le Sens du toucher) de Jean-Charles Mbotti Maiolo (France-Switzerland, 2014) [15 min]

ARRIAGA THEATRE

For the Festival’s opening and closing gala ceremonies at the Arriaga Theatre, ZINEBI will have two systems for people with impaired hearing: an amplified sound system and an individual magnetic loop system, to help them enjoy the events and screenings in total clarity. In association with Eskuaire Komunikazio Bitartekaritza, there will also be a sign language interpreter on stage at the closing ceremony so that people with hearing difficulties can understand what is being said on stage.

Also, at the opening ceremony on 10 November (19:30), in association with La ONCE, ZINEBI will provide a simultaneous interpreting team to provide people with impaired vision with individual audio information on what is to be seen on stage.