For more than a decade, Basque cinemas have increased reach, mainly in San Sebastian, which is behind auder drama and robust local support. This year, Sidges has unspooled four Basque films, from animation to folk horror to high concept science fiction, all rooted in genres.
Four movies, four directions
Sitges audiences will get the first taste of Paul Urquijo’s “Gaua,” which is his third Basque character, after a successful breakout of “Errementari.” Produced by Ilsoin, Iksgari and Villaut films, the film plunges into nocturnal folklore and 17th century superstitions, just as Kattalin, played by Yune Nogueiras, ventures into a forest haunted by mythological presence. “At Gaua, we continue with a series of work that we started many years ago. It produces Basque productions, producing strong genre elements, but from the start, I believe that films have to cross borders,” Ilsoin’s Xabi Berzosa told Variety.
Alberto Vasquez returns to “Decorad” following the “Unicorn War” which won Goya. Produced by Abano Producións, Uniko Estudio Creativo, Glow Animation, Sardinha em Lata, and María Y Arnold Aie.s Spanish-Portuguese Partnership. This adult animation zigs the jig towards Arnold, a middle-aged mouse. As his crisis accumulates, emotional, professional, and even romantic, he suspects his reality is artificial. What begins as paranoia becomes an iconic journey to loosen the foothold of fantasy and find the real thing.
Ion de Sosa offers a variety of fantasy competitions for “Baleiric” in “Baleiric” in Sidge, which was world premiered at Locarno. The film is co-produced with Labrakura Nokruna Cinema and is produced by Ambrak Cine, Aperaniz y de Sosa and Jaibo Films. The poolside party poses a threat as a group of young people are trapped in the villa’s swimming pool and the party of John Eve next door gets furious next door while the Black Dog is circling outside. Some of the survival thrillers, a social allegory, told Variety earlier this year that the species came from seeing how young and older people communicate, and also trying to be critical of themselves and wondering what I was doing, making the world a better place.
Finally, “Single” from Alberto Gastesi, produced by a film by Whiteleaf Producion and Vidania, bringing Patricia Lopez Arnuise and Javier Ley to his home on the lakeside. It combines sad drama with speculative science fiction and utilizes open, enthusiastic questions about where technology is taking us.
Why Basque filmmakers look to genres
Berzosa has kept the trend straight with the director. “I don’t think it’s that important for producers to light these projects green. It’s more of a director and the creator’s appeal to the genre. Fortunately, it’s also a genre that’s been highly demanded these days. So, as a producer, it’s great to be involved and participate in it.”
One of Spain’s most exciting young genres, Auterpaul Urquijo, embodies that change. “Paul is a very special case. He is an absolute genre enthusiast, but at the same time his imagination is rooted in Basque culture. The combination is rare and his films are very different,” observed Belzosa.
The “Gauer” funding reflects the new internationalism of Basque production. “We were fortunate to assemble Ilsoin, Ixgari and Villaut, and we involved film axes from the start. Even before filming, we gave the film an international frame.”
Uniko’s executive producer Iván Miñambres believes that both tradition and market opportunities are driving the surge. “The Basque Land has a strong mythologically rooted tradition of storytelling, lies in the duality of everyday life and extraordinary things. The background is naturally lending to genre films,” he told Variety. “At the same time, in recent years, we want new generations of producers and filmmakers to take risks, experiment visually and thematically, and connect with international audiences through universal themes surrounded by genre and surreal stories.
For Miñambres, the trend is just beginning. “The international market has increasingly embraced the inventive and bold voices of cinemas. As a producer, we must take advantage of this moment,” he says, “not only is this global openness, but it’s also more ambitious and connected than ever, and more powerful than ever.
Compared to the Basque Festival breakouts of the past decade, including Estivalis Ulresora Solagren’s debut, “20,000 Bees” and David Perez Sanyudo’s “Ane is Lost,” the drama has been filmed with regional idiosyncraticity, and these films look louder, perhaps darker, and perhaps darker. But they advance the same DNA of bold aesthetics and cultural consciousness.
“We’re talking about very local, very Basque mythology, which connects how every country approaches storytelling. Each country has its own, but you can understand each other through the story. It always comes down to the drama and the characters.”
Citis has long served as Europe’s best launchpad for great movies. Alongside exposure, it offers entry into a network of buyers and fans who treat genres as serious films. The four films articulate the constant diversification of Basque Productions and the genre as a powerful calling card.
