Among the films that will be presented at this year’s Festival are films that will be presented under the name of Spanish or Basque cinema, but almost all have Spanish nationality. And that is granted by the Spanish Ministry of Culture, looking at the nationality of the investment in production. In addition, and among other things, it distributes the subsidies that make more Spanish. This year I was a member of the committee which has been organised on the pretext of distributing this aid. Representing the Basque Country or.

A total of 330 films were presented. We analyzed them divided into groups of three. So I got 65. In just a month, we read them, analyzed them and forwarded them to us. The objective score could reach 50 points, the subjective one. Of course, the Basque Country Herria who passed through my hands were with a very high score. But not everyone who was passed by me. Back, I received 33 of those who had passed the screening to examine it in four days. Others from the Basque Country. When the Commission met, it was 23 who received the aid. 6 of the Basque film series. A high percentage for the process to be as it is. On that day I also learned that some of the most important Basque directors and producers’ projects, which have not gone through my order, were on the way. But I couldn't do anything anymore. It is difficult to summarize the procedure in a few lines, but if I chose a word, I would choose the “lottery”.

What does this have to do with the header of the item? Simple. One more indicator of the dependence of Basque film on Spain. Because, I will remind you again, funding is what gives the film nationality. And many movies wouldn't be made without the money that comes from Madrid, whether it's the Ministry or a television. And feeling like we're almost always participating in a giveaway.

And what can we do to change it? To wait to be independent in order to create a system of its own, dependent on utopia, which claims our nationality. Or, being practical, go creating our own system. I have no doubt. It is clear that a type of cinema will always need co-productions, both with Spain and with another country. But there are also productions that do not need it. And to measure this country's production capacity, we need a law, a law that regulates audiovisual media in our country. And also an institution, the Basque Institute of Cultural Industries, EIKE, to enforce the standard. Or the acronym you want to put, but to decide whether or not the films presented at the Festival can bear the surname Vasco. My God, which country! What do they expect from each other?