On All Fronts, Ramón Barea
In 2018, the 60th ZINEBI awarded a Special Mikeldi to those people who kept the film industry in Bilbao alive in the 1970s onwards. Ramón Barea was one of them. Eight years on, the festival wishes to recognise him individually with the Mikeldi of Honour and to give his career the attention it deserves.
Born in Bilbao in 1949, Barea left his job as a clerk to work in the theatre. In the 1970s, he founded and was an actor in Cómicos de la Legua and Karraka, two pivotal companies in the development of Basque independent theatre. This actor, director and author was awarded the National Theatre Prize in 2013 and his career has also involved in creating theatre venues. Pabellón 6, in Zorrotzaurre and which he spearheaded, carries on that calling and has brought together and trained new generations of performers and creators.
He made his film debut in La fuga de Segovia (Imanol Uribe, 1981) and has performed in over a hundred films, working with filmmakers of the ilk of Enrique Urbizu, Julio Medem, Álex de la Iglesia, Juanma Bajo Ulloa, Icíar Bollaín, Montxo Armendáriz and Pablo Berger. Cinco lobitos (Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, 2022) led to his first nomination for a Goya at the age of 73. His career is defined by his steady flow of work and the great range of characters and genres.
He has also carved out his own path as a filmmaker. He directed the short films Adiós, Toby, adiós (1996) and Muerto de amor (1997), and the feature-length films Pecata minuta (1998) and El coche de pedales (2004), both written by Felipe Loza.
ZINEBI is now presenting him the Mikeldi of Honour in Bilbao, the city where he began a career that has spanned virtually every area of theatre and film; a city to which he – always open to collaborating and and making new initiatives happen – has given so much.
Joseba Lopezortega
