The International Documentary Film Festival and Short Film of Bilbao presented its 66 edition this Tuesday at the City Hall of Bilbao, at the hand of the Councilman for Culture and Governance Gonzalo Olabarria and the director of the festival Joseba Lopezortega. Zinebi will project 132 short films, half-films and feature films from 44 countries, between November 8 and 15. Over half of them will be premieres, 59 in total.

In addition to the world premiere of the documentary Itoiz summer sessions, the programming of this edition will include the Gijón Film Festival. Itoiz will be one of the premium operas that tells the story of the iconic Basque musical group.

Zinebi will deliver two Mikeldi Honor Awards. American filmmaker Laura Poitras, winner of an Oscar for her documentary Citizenfour, will receive a Mikeldi of Honor for her “committed career in social justice and the defense of civil rights.” Mr Lopezortega stressed "his inalienable commitment to democracy". Along with him, the director of photography José Luis Alcaine, “a reference in Spanish cinema”, will receive the Mikeldi de Honor “for his ability to transform light and highlight emotions on the screen”.

60 films in competition

Of the movies by Zinebi 103 are short films, three medium films and 26 feature films. A total of 75 women and 74 men were in charge of directing the 132 films. 59 films have been produced in the Basque Country: 51 short films, one medium and seven feature films.

The Official Section of the San Sebastian Film Festival will compete with 60 feature films, of which 51 will be short films and nine feature films. Among the projections that have attracted the most attention are the solitude evenings of Albert Serra, Concha de Oro at the San Sebastian Festival, which will be presented in the Beautiful Docs section.

Tasio Movies and Mikel's Death

In this year's edition, the "key" films of the Basque film, which have already been removed, will be recovered. Along with the short film Carboneros de Navarra, the restored version of the classic Tasio de Montxo Armendariz, which has just been released, will be projected. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the film Imanol Uribe Mikel's death, it will be seen at the Guggenheim Museum on the 14th.

Zinebi will be in the Arriaga Theatre, in the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, in the BBK Room, in Bilbao As Factories, in the Golem Alhóndiga Cinemas and in the Azkuna Zentroa Auditorium. The inauguration ceremony will take place on November 8 at the Arriaga Theatre by the hand of the collective La Dramática Errante. The closing ceremony will be on 15 November and the organization has advanced that the awards ceremony will be EUR 83,000.