The Ikusmira Berriak programme of residencies to develop audiovisual projects, organised by the San Sebastian Festival, the Tabakalera International Contemporary Arts Centre, and Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE), opens its thirteenth call for applications tomorrow, on 1st July.
\n\nFilmmakers from the Basque Country, Spain and elsewhere have until 1st September to present their projects, as well as those who have taken part in the Nest section and EQZE students. Entries must be submitted online and the project selected in each category will be announced in January.
\n\nThe eight-week residencies are divided into two periods. Firstly, the six weeks between March and April 2027 will serve to start up their project at Tabakalera's Film and Audiovisual Lab in San Sebastián, where each filmmaker will be advised by an expert committee and tutored in a multi-disciplinary professional approach. As well as providing individual and group sessions according to each project's specific needs, the EQZE academic programme will also be open to the people selected. Secondly, during the Festival itself, the directors will return to San Sebastián for two weeks to present their projects, now in a more developed form, to representatives of the film industry.
\n\nBetween May and September, as they continue to work on their projects, each filmmaker will get online tutoring by different professionals, and financial assistance, so that they can go on working between the two residency periods.
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\nInternational repercussion
Since its first edition in 2015, the programme has supported the development of a total of 62 film projects, 28 of which have been premiered and presented at international festivals - many of them have won prizes— and the others are either still under development or waiting to be premiered. The latter is the case of, among others, the films by Meritxell Colell (Lejos de los árboles / Far from Trees), Martina Juncadella (Adentro del ruido) and Manuel Muñoz Rivas (Manantial).
\n\nIn recent years, Ikusmira Berriak has managed to cement its position on the international scene and its projects have featured in a large number of festivals all over the world. Last year, Diego Céspedes won the prize for best film in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes festival with La misteriosa mirada del flamenco / The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, as well as the Dama Youth Award selected for the Horizontes Latinos section of the San Sebastian Festival. In the same section, Ana Cristina Barragán’s Hiedra / The Ivy received a special mention and also won the Best Screenplay Award in the Orizzonti section at the Venice Film Festival. Jaume Claret Muxart also premiered Estrany riu / Strange River at the Italian film festival, where was awarded the Bisato d’Oro for Best Artistic Contribution, in addition to winning the Best Film award at the Reykjavik International Film Festival. For her part, Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe received a special mention from the jury at the San Sebastian Festival’s New Directors section for Aro berria, and presented the exhibition Arcoíris 82 at Tabakalera, showcasing previously unseen material produced during the filming of the movie.
\n\nTo see the rules and enter a project, click here.
\nDEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: 1st SEPTEMBER