First of all, the date: the festival will take place from March 6th to 11th instead of February, so as not to coincide with other international events related to cinema. And for the first time it will have an aperitif in the form of a theatrical documentary, through plays that will be seen in Gayar on March 5 and 7. These works propose a reflection on the way in which we narrate reality, along the path that the film festival has followed in its previous editions.

In the movies, social issues dominate: Trains to Treblinka and far-right demonstrations in Greece; the impact of this violent economic crisis on couples’ relationships; a film that speaks abnormally of autism; the Occupy movement and Pussy Riot... Attention anyway: the important thing is not what, but how. Each of the 18 films to be screened “has been selected for its aesthetic quality and is conceived as an excellent and complementary formal contribution to others in the field of experimental documentary”, according to the festival.

The hunted hunter

Apart from the competition, the films of the “Hunted Hunter” series attract attention because they are documentaries in the footsteps of five directors. Five, and not just any: Jean-Luc Godard, Abbas Kiarostami, Raoul Ruiz, Chris Marker and Manoel de Oliveira. It is a series of relatively new productions that will go through this section and unite the intentions to answer a common question: how to film a filmmaker?

This year’s retrospective consists of a series that reviews the work of Italian director Luciano Emmer and films about man’s desire to fly. And two films focused on the Basque ball will also be offered in collaboration with the Oteiza Foundation.

The Palacio de Baluarte will once again be the main venue of the festival, but it will also reach the contemporary art center of Huarte thanks to a workshop by the director Sergio Oksman. And Alegría will also give two workshops at the Vázquez de Mella public school and the Jaso Ikastola; the result of these sessions can be seen at the festival itself.