Ulsan‑Ulju Mountain Film Festival: Hello, Bilbao‑Bizkaia!

South Korea’s Ulsan-Ulju Mountain Film Festival will host Hello, Bilbao-Bizkaia!, a special programme dedicated to Basque mountain cinema, from 18 to 22 September. A total of eight Basque films will be screened as part of the special programme, while another Basque production, Sustraiak. Raíces perdidas, will feature in the festival’s Official Selection.

Ulsan-Ulju is South Korea’s leading international mountain film festival. Last year, it launched a section dedicated to some of the world’s leading mountain film festivals with the Hello, Trento! programme; this year, the spotlight will be on Basque mountain cinema, with a selection curated by BBK Mendi Film Bilbao-Bizkaia. Both festivals are members of the International Alliance for Mountain Film.

Hello, Bilbao-Bizkaia! will bring a showcase of the creativity and diversity of recent Basque mountain filmmaking to South Korea. The following films will be screened:

• Abata — Aner Etxebarria (2026)

• Harri, Orri, Arkatz — Jon Herranz (2025)

• Izarren Zaunka — Nagore Eceiza (2025)

• Natura Fugit — Jesús Mari Lazkano (2025)

• Haize Lerroak — Janire Etxabe (2024)

• Peligro. No asomarse — Dani Cascales (2024)

• Una mirada atrás. El arte de equipar — Alfonso García (2024)

• Hire Himalaya — Alberto Iñurrategi (2003)

Five of the filmmakers —Aner Etxebarria, Jon Herranz, Jesús Mari Lazkano, Janire Etxabe and Dani Cascales— will be in Ulsan-Ulju to present their work. They will be joined in South Korea by Jabier Baraiazarra, director of Mendi Film and president of the International Alliance for Mountain Film.

In addition, Luis Arrieta’s documentary Sustraiak. Raíces perdidas will compete in the Official Selection of the Ulsan-Ulju Mountain Film Festival. Produced with the support of the Mendi Film Bizkaia Ternua Grant, the film won the Best Culture and Nature Film award at Mendi Film in 2025 and the Mario Bello Award at the Trento Film Festival in 2026. Arrieta will also travel to South Korea to present the film.

Support from Etxepare

Etxepare Euskal Institutua will support the participation of the Basque delegation as part of its work to promote Basque culture and the Basque language internationally. Building on the deep-rooted mountain culture of the Basque Country, Hello, Bilbao-Bizkaia! will provide an opportunity to showcase the creative vitality of Basque cinema and strengthen the international profile of Basque mountain filmmaking.