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15th edition of BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia: from 9 to 18 December, international reference for cinephiles and mountaineers

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Category: Press Festival

Last Updated: Tuesday, 22 November 2022 14:17

Published: Monday, 21 November 2022 13:42

Bilbao, 22th of November 2022. The BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia festival presents its 15th edition to once again enjoy the best mountain cinema between 9 and 18 December.

FACE-TO-FACE IN BILBAO

The BBK Mendi Film Bilbao-Bizkaia film festival will be held in three cinemas in Bilbao, connecting once again live with the public: Sala BBK, the Golem cinemas and the Euskalduna Palace.

31 film sessions have been scheduled for the 15th edition. In addition, 4 conferences/colloquiums will be offered and 3 exhibitions will be held.

Tickets for the sessions will be available through www.mendifilmfestival.com and the points of sale and platforms of Euskalduna, Golem and Sala BBK, on Tuesday, November 22. The advance purchase is cheaper compared to the acquisition of tickets on the days of the session.

FILMS

In this new edition, 59 films will be screened.

• 56 in Official Section
• 2 in the Zabalandi section out of competition: "Everest – Sea to Summit" (the most awarded film in the history of mountain cinema) and "Into the Ice" (scientific-mountaineering expedition to the Darwin Mountain Range)
• The short film winner of the Mendi Film Bizkaia-Ternua grant 2022: "Lobos", by the Asturian filmmaker Marina G. Andreu.

The producers and filmmakers opt for the Mendi Film for the premiere of their films:

• 16 international premieres
• 1 European premiere
• 26 international premieres
• 7 premieres in Euskadi

Bilbao will once again be the epicentre of Mountain, Adventure, Extreme Sports and Nature Cinema, from 9 to 18 December.

• 190 films have been submitted.
• The selection represents 14 countries.
• The notable increase in Spanish productions stands out, going from 10 in 2021 to 19 this year.
• Other: United States (12), France (7), United Kingdom (4), Germany (3), Canada (3), Argentina (2), Australia (2), Poland (2), Austria (1), Italy (1), Norway (1), Netherlands (1) and Czech Republic (1).
• 10 films produced in the Basque Country, and/or basque filmmakers.
• The films have subtitles generated by Mendi Film, in Basque and Spanish.
• The Official Section will distribute € 25,200 in prizes distributed in 14 nominations.  

AWARDS

 JURY MEMBERS

• Lisa Stolze (Austria), marketing expert and former key player in the production company Red Bull Media House.
• Laura Zumiani (Italy), programmer of the Trento Film Festival and member of the board of the Italian association of film festivals.
• Iratxe Fresneda (Euskadi), filmmaker, scriptwriter and professor of audio-visuals at UPV-EHU.
• Josué Vergara (Valencia), musician and soundtrack composer, who has collaborated with filmmaker Seb Montaz, among others.
• Albert Pascual (Catalonia), filmmaker and director of photography, among others in the film 'La Cima', and professor at the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuales de Catalunya.

GUESTS

Renowned filmmakers sign many of the participating films this year. And some of them will be present in Bilbao.

• IAMF Grand Prize winners: Sebastián Álvaro, Alastair Lee and Michael Dillon.
• Mendi Film award winners: Jason Reid, Ignasi López and Ana Vega, Aner Etxebarria, Alex Areizaga, Seb Montaz, and the aforementioned Michael Dillon and Alastair Lee.
• Illustrious athletes and protagonists: the British mountaineer Will Sim, the American climber Quinn Brett, the British navigator Matt Knight, the ranger of gorillas in Uganda Joyleen Tugume, and many local friends: the climber Haizea Oses, the mountaineer Sonia Casas, the adventurer Gaizka Aseguinolaza, the geographer Pedro Nicolás, the photographer Yhabril Moro, the mountaineers Javier Rojas and Yosu Vazquez, the surfer Jatyr Berasaluze...

SALA BBK, CINES GOLEM CINEMAS and THE EUSKALDUNA PALACE

The three main venues of the festival are the Sala BBK, the Euskalduna Palace and the Golem Alhóndiga cinemas of Azkuna Zentroa. And after two years conditioned by the limitations derived from the pandemic, the theatres once again offer full capacity, without restrictions.

MENDI TALK / PANEL TALK

EXHIBITIONS

WOP MENDI FILM AWARD: Eduardo Martínez de Pisón

The WOP-The Walk On Project Foundation and Mendi Film Festival Elkartea are awarding the WOP Mendi Film 2022 Foundation Award to Dr Eduardo Martínez de Pisón, geographer, writer and mountaineer from Valladolid. The award will be presented during the 15th edition of BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia, in December 2022 (from the 9th to the 18th).

This award, which recognises the defence and dissemination of the values of mountaineering, is in its 9^th edition. Eduardo Martínez de Pisón joins the list of outstanding personalities and entities that have been involved in it: WOP Mendi Film Award 2014-2021

IAMF GRAND PRIZE: Michael Dillon

The International Alliance for Mountain Film is proud to announce that its 2022 Grand Prize has been awarded to Australian director Michael Dillon for his contribution to mountain cinema. At the celebration of the IAMF Grand Prize his film "Everest – Sea to Summit", the most awarded film in the history of mountain cinema, will be screened. The ceremony will be held in the Sala BBK venue, within the session of 7:30 p.m. on Friday, December 16.

BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia is a member of the alliance along with 27 other festivals and the National Mountain Museum of Turin, and its director Jabier Baraiazarra is the current president of the alliance.

MENDI FILM BIZKAIA – TERNUA GRANT

Mendi Film, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the outdoor clothing brand Ternua created a grant two years ago to support initiatives by young filmmakers (18-35) with an endowment of € 10,000 and advisory service.

The filmmaker awarded with the grant in the second edition was the Asturian Marina García Andreu, who has created the short film "Lobos", which will be premiered on Wednesday, December 14 at the Golem Cinemas (20h). In this session, the winning project of the third edition of the grant will be announced, and his/her work will be premiered in the 2023 edition of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia.

INCLUSIVE: SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION

In the sessions with guests, there will be sign language interpretation so that deaf people can enjoy the films and their subsequent talks.

MENDI FILM FESTIVAL

Mendi Film began its journey in 2008 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, and from 2012 it moved to Bilbao. It is one of the most anticipated cultural events at the end of the year in the capital of Biscay, as evidenced by the data of public attendance at the event:

COMIC: “ANDRES ESPINOSA. SOLO Y LIBRE”

The Mendi Film Festival and the Sua publishing house present the third issue of their comic book collection. After the first Basque summit of Everest and the Iñurrategi brothers’ history, the protagonist of the third comic is a legendary basque mountaineer: Andrés Espinosa (1903-1985). A man ahead of his time. A giant without hero wood.

Once again, with the guarantee of the script and the texts of Ramon Olasagasti, the illustrations of César Llaguno and the color of Felipe H. Navarro, the comic "Andrés Espinosa" is the tribute to a great character.

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