Kimuak programme short films to be screened in Tunisia

The Cervantes Institute in Tunisia has organised a conference dedicated to short films at Ecole Supérieure de l´Audiovisuel et du Cinema (ESAC) in El Marsa on April 2^nd. The Kimuak Basque short film programme has been invited to the event to present a retrospective to mark the 20^th anniversary of the initiative.

The Cervantes Institute in Tunisia has organised a conference dedicated to short films at Ecole Supérieure de l´Audiovisuel et du Cinema (ESAC) in El Marsa on April 2^nd. The Kimuak Basque short film programme has been invited to the event to present a retrospective to mark the 20^th anniversary of the initiative.

The presentation will be in the morning from 8:00 to 12:00. Kimuak member Txema Muñoz will first explain the role and direction of the programme to students and teachers and then some Kimuak short films chosen by the Cervantes Institute will be shown. The conference will end with a discussion among all the participants. “The idea came up when I was at the CineHorizontes Spanish Film Festival in Marseille,” says Muñoz. “After giving a talk about Kimuak, a member of the Cervantes Institute in Tunisia came to me with great interest, and came up with the idea of organising a conference at the ESAC School focused on our programme”.

The short films on show will be: Areka (Ditch, 2017) by Atxur Animazio Taldea; Aprieta pero raramente ahoga (It´s Tight But It Hardly Chokes, 2017) by David P. Sañudo; Beti bezperako koplak (Couplets for an Everlasting Eve, 2016) by Ageda Kopla Taldea; Democracia (Democracy, 2013) by Borja Cobeaga; Cólera (2013, about a group of townspeople who take justice into their own hands) by Aritz Moreno; Hileta (Funeral, 2016) by Kepa Sojo; and Renovable (Renewable, 2016) by Jose Mari Goenaga and Jon Garaño.

Tunisia is home to a very rich tradition of cinema, based on the expression of their culture and the condemnation of social issues. In addition, its relationship with France helped pave the way to the European film industry. Films by Tunisian directors are frequent, for example, at the Cannes Festival. “A programme like Kimuak being presented in a country like Tunisia is very positive for the promotion of Basque culture,” adds Muñoz.

Each spring for 21 years Kimuak (‘sprouts’ in English) has selected the best short films in the Basque film industry and published them in an annual catalogue. They then take the films in the catalogue to several international festivals and gatherings. The Etxepare Basque Institute is one of the supporters of the programme.