Scotland pays tribute to the Kimuak program

The cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow will host a five-day retrospective on Basque cinema in a homage to Kimuak, the Basque Film Archive program that is now celebrating 20 years of broadcasting Basque short films internationally. Under the title "Kimuak: 20 years of Basque short films", the program includes screenings of classics from the Kimuak catalogue, as well as lectures, discussions, masterclasses and other activities.

The cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow will host a five-day retrospective on Basque cinema in a homage to Kimuak, the Basque Film Archive program that is now celebrating 20 years of broadcasting Basque short films internationally. Under the title "Kimuak: 20 years of Basque short films", the program includes screenings of classics from the Kimuak catalogue, as well as lectures, discussions, masterclasses and other activities.

Some of the most important directors associated with the "Kimuak generation", such as Asier Altuna and Isabel Herguera, and new faces of Basque cinema such as Maider Fernández Iriarte, will visit Scotland, together with Txema Muñoz, head of Kimuak. Miren Manías, an expert in Basque cinema at the University of Edinburgh, will also participate in the Kimuak tribute, which will take place from May 24 to 31 at the Edinburgh College of Art and the Center for Contemporary Art in Glasgow.

The retrospective is organized by the collective Cinemaattic, which for 10 years has been dedicated to promoting Latin-American cinema in Scotland. Cinemaatic is supported in part by the Etxepare Basque Institute as part of its strategy to open windows to Basque creation in international programs.

For zz, programmer of Cinemaatic, “the Kimuak program is a clear example of respect for artists and public policy well invested in culture. And as a result, a new wave of Basque filmmakers have been recognized with Goya Awards and international acclaim."

For its part, the director of the Etxepare Basque Institute, Irene Larraza, underlined the contribution of Cinemaattic, helping Basque cinema reach audiences in Scotland. "The mission of the Institute is to disseminate and raise the international profile of Basque creation, including cinema. Cinemaattic is an ally on that path; every year their programming has included included the Kimuak catalogue, one of the most representative tools to promote our cinema. The 20th anniversary of the program gives us the perfect opportunity to organize a special program in Scotland."

"Kimuak: 20 years of Basque short films" includes an extensive range of activities, including masterclasses by Asier Altuna and Isabel Herguera at the Edinburgh College of Art and a called ´Making short films great again´ at the Glasgow Contemporary Art Center. Asier Altuna will be honored in a celebration of his career, showcasing the director’s work from his first short film Txotx to his latest feature film Amama.

Among the works featured in the Kimuak tribute are 7:35 de la mañana (Nacho Vigalondo); Traumatología (Daniel Sánchez Arevalo),  Txotx (Asier Altuna and Telmo Esnal), Deus et Machina (Koldo Almandoz), Minerita (Raúl de la Fuente), Amor de madre (Koldo Serra and Gorka Vázquez), Éramos Pocos (Borja Cobeaga), Sintonia (Jose Mari Goenaga), Topeka (Asier Altuna), and El tren de la bruja (Koldo Serra).