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NOTICIAS
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- Category: Noticias 2025
Bilbao, 25 November 2025. The BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia festival has presented its 18th edition at the Euskalduna Bilbao. It will be held there for 10 days, from December15th to the 14th, Euskalduna Congress centre becoming a Mountain Culture Base Camp.
Director Jabier Baraiazarra and communications manager Aitor Elduaien detailed the content and programme for this new edition. The presentation was attended by the festival's sponsors and the directors of the Basque films that will premiere at the festival, as well as Juanito Oiarzabal and Javier Álvaro, who presented the film, OIARZABAL. ENTRE JUAN Y JUANITO.
Sponsor representatives:
• Carlos Sergio, Director of Sports for the Bizkaia Regional Government
• Nora Sarasola, Director of Social Action for the BBK Foundation
• Iñigo Iturrate, General Director of Euskalduna Bilbao
• Joselu Blanco, Director of Programming for EiTB
• Anne Zufiaur, Director of Communications for Ternua-Dikar
• Jon Viteri, Director of Afesa Medioambiente
The festival arrives with great energy at the main event of the year. Mendi Film has commissioned a study to measure its economic, social and cultural impact last year. The study was carried out by the University of the Basque Country and the company Cultumetría, under the coordination of Professor Álvaro Fierro. Jabier Baraiazarra summarised the most notewothy results:
Economic impact:
- Last year's edition of Mendi Film, generated an induced economic impact of almost one million euros (€936,637), an increase of 23% compared to the 2023 edition.
- 92% of this economic impact remained in the Basque Autonomous Community (85% in Bizkaia).
- In the 2024 edition, Mendi Film created 16 jobs (8 direct and 8 induced).
- It distributed €24,800 in prizes and €10,000 in grants (this year, €12,000).
Social and cultural area:
Two surveys were conducted in which 800 people took part, and the festival was rated very positively:
- Average score for the festival: 9.2/10
- Audiovisual quality: 8.6/10
- Identification with the festival's values: 92%
- For 86% of participants, Mendi Film is an ideal cultural ambassador for Bilbao, Bizkaia and the Basque Country.
In general, the most frequent concepts in the evaluations were:
- Quality of the festival content and visual and emotional impact
- Good organisation
- Connection with Basque culture and identity
- Ability to create community and raise awareness of the importance of mountains
- And the desire for the festival to continue for a long time to come.
Mendi Tour 2025: 14,000 spectators
In this regard, the Mendi Zale community continues to grow. At the press conference, data was presented about the Mendi nationwide Tour, which has just ended its season in the Picos de Europa, in Potes, in the heart of the Liébana Valley: between January and November of this year, 14,000 spectators have enjoyed the films from last year's festival. The tour visited 49 venues in Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Navarra, Álava, Cantabria, Asturias, Galicia, Castilla y León, Madrid, Valencia, Catalonia and Gran Canaria with a total of 87 screenings.
Euskalduna Congress Palace Bilbao: Base Camp
One of the main innovations of Mendi Film this year is the single venue: all screenings and activities will be held at Euskalduna. It will be the festival's Base Camp. To create atmosphere, as it is the set for the festival, the area will be decorated with various promotional stands from the Liébana region of Cantabria. Another new feature is that the Opening Ceremony will be held on Saturday instead of Friday. On 6 December, starting at 7:45 p.m., there will be an incredibly special event featuring the premiere of the film about Juanito Oiarzabal, OIARZABAL. ENTRE JUAN Y JUANITO, directed by Javier Álvaro Palomares.
55 films
In total, the festival has programmed 55 films for this new edition. Of these, 45 will be screened in the Official Selection, competing for the Mendi Film Awards, which will distribute €24,800 in prizes, and another 10 will be screened out of the competition in the Zabalandi section.
In addition, some of the most notable recent titles in mountain cinema will be shown on the big screen at Mendi Film. Jabier Baraiazarra gives us the lowdown:
• GIRL CLIMBER about climber Emily Harrington
• CHAMPIONS OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY, a real ski competition in Afghanistan with great social significance. The film is about to be nominated for an Oscar for best documentary. Its director, Ben Sturgulewski, and producer, Katie Stjernholm, will be among the festival's special guests.
• BEST DAY EVER, adapted mountain biking, an American film that recently won the audience award and the award for best mountain sports film in Banff, Canada, and the Grand Prize in Santiago, Chile.
• TRANGO is pure adrenaline and suspense. The first ski descent of the Great Trango Tower, starring Christina ‘Lusti’ Lustenberger and Jim Morrison.
• Junko Tabei, the first woman to climb Everest, appears in two films to mark the 50th anniversary of her feat: the fictional Japanese film CLIMBING FOR LIFE, which participated in the San Sebastian Film Festival, and LADY EVEREST, by Asturian director Isabel Díaz Novo, which will premiere here at Mendi Film.
• ITSASORA, the aforementioned debut feature by musician Mikel Urdangarin, is a tribute to the navigator and adventurer Unai Basurko.
Information on all the films in the festival can be found on the website mendifilmfestival.com and in the physical catalogue.
In addition to the premiere of OIARZABAL. ENTRE JUAN Y JUANITO (a film backed by EiTB and RTVE), there are two films that are very much in keeping with Mendi Film: HARRI, ORRI, ARKATZ and SUSTRAIAK.
• HARRI, ORRI, ARKATZ. The icing on the cake of the Expocroquis project. First a book, then an exhibition, and now a film. Directed by Jon Herranz, currently head of production at Mendi Film, who as a filmmaker has shown several works at the festival: ‘Novato’, “Panaroma”, ‘Mar Alvarez’... HARRI ORRI ARKATZ is based on the story of Eli Azurmendi, Rafa Elorza and Juancar Sanz, leaders of the Expocroquis project.
• SUSTRAIAK: this year's film from the Mendi Film Grant promoted by the Department of Culture, Sports and Basque Language of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and Mendi Film. Three young African migrants arrived in Pamplona and integrated into Navarran society through climbing. The film is directed by Luis Arrieta, director of works such as ‘Mendiak 1976’ and ‘212 Mountains’. The production is supported by EITB.
Basque mountain film production
This year, 12 films by Basque filmmakers are being presented. The filmmakers did not miss the presentation:
ALDABIDE – Jon Mendizabal
CANTOS Y FLORES – Julen Elorza
ERRIO – Ibon Gaztañazpi
HARRI, ORRI, ARKATZ – Jon Herranz
ITSASORA – Mikel Urdangarin
IZARREN ZAUNKA – Nagore Eceiza
NATURA FUGIT – Jesus Mari Lazkano
SINKRONIA – Gorka Ipiñazar, Haizea Huegun
SUSTRAIAK, RAÍCES PERDIDAS – Luis Arrieta
THE ROAD WE NEVER RODE – Iñigo Lamana
TRAS LA HUELLA NORUEGA – Unai Jaureguibeitia
UN DÍA AL AÑO – Alfonso García
Janire Etxabe, head of the GEURE(R)A project, also took part in the presentation, as did Eli Azurmendi. Etxabe's vertical dance project has been turned into a book and a performance, with Azurmendi creating the illustrations. Azurmendi is also one of the people responsible for the Expocroquis project, which inspired the film HARRI, ORRI, ARKATZ, and will offer several drawing and illustration courses as part of the festival’s activities.
Awards
The Mendi Film awards will total €24,800, divided into 12 prizes. The winners will receive trophies created by the San Sebastian artist Iñigo Aristegui. And speaking of awards, it is essential to highlight this year's WOP Mendi Film Award. Catherine Destivelle will receive recognition from The Walk On Project and Mendi Film for her transmission of mountain values as a mountaineer and climber, as well as a publisher and disseminator of books.
Film and much more: Culture
Ben Sturgulewski and Katie Stjernholm will take part in the Mendi Pro conference, focusing on the mountain film industry. Friday 12 December in the morning. Mendi Film will present several films that reflect the connection between women and the mountains. In addition, a special round table discussion has been organised, an international initiative in the making, led by its promoters: ‘Laboratorio Donne. 9b+ Femenino Plural’ (Women's Laboratory. 9b+ Feminine Plural). Speakers: Riccarda de Eccher, Elena Goatelli, Gentzane Osaba, Lucia Guichot, Nieves Gil and Irati Zabala. Saturday 13 December in the afternoon. For the little ones and for families, there is a special session called ‘Mendi Magikoa’: short films, theatre by the Les Bobe Bobe company, Eriz Magoa... Sunday 14 December at midday. This year, Mendi Film has two main exhibitions: the most awarded work in the CVCEPHOTO mountain activities photography competition and ‘Nature and Culture. Mountains as a source of inspiration’, from the Tatra Museum in Poland, in collaboration with the Basque mountaineering museum EMMOA. In addition, this year's edition of Mendi Film will have a strong literary touch, as eight books will be presented. One of them is the comic book EDURNE PASABAN. The Sua publishing house and Mendi Film have created a joint collection that deals with key moments and characters in Basque mountaineering. This is the fourth issue; the first was ‘Everest’, the second ‘Iñurrategi Anaiak’ and the third ‘Andrés Espinosa’. As in the earlier issues, Ramón Olasagasti wrote the script and texts, and the illustrations are by César Llaguno; the colouring was done by Felipe H. Navarro and Pedro Villarejo. The public presentation of the book will take place on Saturday 6 December at midday, in a session starting at 12:00.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
45 films will compete this year in the Official Section of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia festival, from December 5th to the 14th. These are films about mountains, adventure, extreme sports and nature, all recent productions, no more than two years old.
A total of 226 films have been submitted directly to participate in Bilbao. This is the same number as last year; equalling Mendi Film's all-time high.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
The WOP Mendi Film 2025 Award goes to Catherine Destivelle. With the 18th edition of the Mendi Film Festival in full swing, she will receive recognition from the organizers and, above all, the public in Bilbao. The event will take place on Friday, December 12th the Euskalduna Bilbao, starting at 7:45 p.m. It will undoubtedly be one of the festival's highlights, as it will conclude with the premiere of the film ‘Champions of the Golden Valley’, from the Official Section, presented by its director Ben Sturgulewski.
The WOP Mendi Film Award is awarded by The Walk On Project Foundation and the Mendi Film, and this year marks its 12th edition. Various personalities and organizations have been recognized for their contribution to mountain culture and for being leaders in the values they convey.
Catherine Destivelle (1960, Oran)
Climber, mountaineer, writer, editor and conference speaker. Catherine Destivelle probably never imagined where her first steps climbing the boulders of Fontainebleau, where her parents took her to play as a child, would lead her. At 16, she was already climbing in the Verdon. Her victory in the first world climbing championship in Bardonechia (1985) propelled her into the professional world. Then came the leap into mountaineering: the first solo female winter ascent of the north face of the Eiger, the first absolute repeat of the Bonatti route on the north face of the Matterhorn, the Trango Tower, the ascent of the south-west face of Shisha Pangma... all of which forged her path. In 2020 she was awarded the Piolet d'Or for her career.
She founded the publishing house Les éditions du Mont-Blanc with the aim of transforming the mountain itself into an educational tool. The books she publishes reveal incredible mountaineering stories and share a love of the mountains. “My goal is to build a bridge between cultural history, sporting heritage and the ecological and scientific concerns of the times we live in”, she says. Her publishing team is deliberately made up entirely of women.
Catherine Destivelle has a direct connection with Mendi Film. She is revered as the protagonist of the film ‘Au de la des cimes’ directed by Rémy Tezier, and winner of the Grand Prize in 2009. In 2017, she actively participated in Mendi Film's tenth anniversary, participating in the panel talk ‘Women at the Top’ alongside Lynn Hill, Edurne Pasaban, Josune Bereziartu, Bernadette McDonald, and Katie Ives; in the presentation on mountain literature alongside Bernadette McDonald, Katie Ives, Lara Izagirre, and Luisa Alonso Cires; and finally, with a solo lecture: ‘From Bouldering to High Mountains Ascent’.
Edurne Pasaban, Lynn Hill, Catherine Destivelle, Josune Bereziartu, Katie Ives and Bernadette McDonald, at the Mendi Film 2017
WOP Mendi Film Award
18. BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia
December 12, at 19.45 pm
Euskalduna Bilbao - hall 0B
WOP Mendi Film Award:
· 2024: Basque and Navarre mountain federations
· 2023: Edurne Pasaban
· 2022: Eduardo Martínez de Pisón
· 2021: Sebastián Álvaro
· 2020: Fundación Baltistán Fundazioa
· 2019: Nives Meroi e Romano Benet
· 2018: Juanjo San Sebastián
· 2017: Peter Habeler
· 2016: Sir Chris Bonington
· 2015: Josep Manuel Anglada
· 2014: Drawn film by Jeremy Collins
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Zigor Egia (EMF-FVM vice president), Jabier Baraiazarra (Mendi Film president and director) and Ricardo Hernani (EMF-FVM president)
Bilbao, October 24, 2025. The Basque Mountain Federation (EMF-FVM) and the Mendi Film Festival Association will continue to work together for the next four years. Meeting in Bilbao, the current leaders of both organizations, Ricardo Hernani and Zigor Egia (president and vice president of EMF-FVM), and Jabier Baraiazarra (president and director of Mendi Film), have signed the agreement that unites them.
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Bilbao, 3th June 2025. The MENDI TOUR, the touring cycle of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia International Mountain Film Festival, continues to grow. In the first half of 2025, film sessions have been held in 32 towns and cities with mountain, adventure, extreme sports and nature films. The number of spectators has grown by 13% compared to last year at this point. In total, 11,000 spectators have gone to the cinemas this year to enjoy the MENDI TOUR.
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Bilbo, 2025.05.22. The 18th edition of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia to be held from December 5 to 14, 2025 already has its main image. It is the snapshot entitled The Cave by Chamonix-based Parisian photographer Julia Roger-Veyer.
This image has been awarded in the CVCEPHOTO mountain activity photography contest organized by the Basque Camping Club Elkartea of Donostia-San Sebastián, in the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia Poster Award, endowed with 800 euros and the choice as the main image of the Mendi Film 2025.
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Jabi Baraiazarra, EMMOAko kide Antxon Iturriza, Txomin Uriarte eta Patxi Cortazarrekin, iazko BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia jaialdian
The EMMOA-Euskal Mendi Museoa/The Basque Mountain Museum continues to make history. It has been named a member of the International Mountain Museum Alliance IMMA, at its annual meeting on April 30.
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Jabi Baraiazarra, director of Mendi Film, will continue as president of the International Alliance for Mountain Film association, beginning his third term.
He first assumed leadership of the IAMF in 2018 and has since shared those responsibilities with Mendi Film. The International Mountain Film Alliance is the leading industry authority for the genre, with 30 members, 28 mountain film festivals, and a mountain museum and a documentation center. Twenty-two countries from Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North and South America are represented.
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The International Alliance for Mountain Film is proud to announce that its 2025 Grand Prize has been awarded to French director Sébastien Montaz-Rosset.
Instituted in 2000, throughout its trajectory the International Alliance for Mountain Film, which includes the most prestigious organisations in the sector among its members, has become the main reference point for those who produce, promote and conserve mountain films.
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Bilbao, December 18, 2024. The 17th edition of BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia was held from December 6th to the 15th and gathered 9,837 spectators, an increase of 34% over last year's number of spectators.
In addition, it has covered 81% of the capacity of the cinema sessions offered (77% with all the events of the program included). This percentage of occupancy represents a new record, the best of all editions so far, surpassing the 74% of 2022, and recovering from last year's drop of 60%.
In the venues of Euskalduna Bilbao and Sala BBK, this year a total of 23 film sessions have been offered, and in 10 of them the cinemas have filled, the tickets being sold out.
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Bilbao, December 14th 2024. The Norwegian film ‘Songs of Earth,’ which has captivated the Jury and the festivalgoers at the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia, has won the Grand Price of the 17th edition. It is the work of director Margreth Olin, a film based on her parents and the love of Nature inherited from them. The Jury highlighted that it has "magnificent cinematography, a poetic narration and a sublime soundtrack". “The director provides a crystal-clear gift of what we’ve been given when we slow down and listen: nature is calling us,” they emphasize in their verdict..
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The 17th edition of BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia festival is getting off to a great start and with a lot of energy. Top class filmmaking, full venues at the Euskalduna Congress Centre in Bilbao, Commencing with an emotional Opening Session, many international and local protagonists, memorable conferences... Everything red hot, just like the image on the poster for this year's edition.
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L-R: Ruth López (WOP), Sabin Astorkiza (Japan Car), Begoña de Ibarra (BFA), Joselu Blanco (ETB), Koldo Bilbao (BBK), Leixuri Arrizabalaga (BFA), Jabier Baraiazarra (Mendi Film), Iñaki López de Aguileta (Bilboko Udala), Iñigo Iturrate (Euskalduna Bilbao), Alberto Iñurrategi (Ternua), Ibon Mujika (Deia) and Argiñe Areitio (SUA edizioak).
Bilbao, November 26, 2024. The BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia festival presents its 17th edition to offer fans of the genre the best mountain cinema once again between December 6 and 15.
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49 films will be screened this year at the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia film festival. These are mountain, adventure, extreme sports and nature films, all current productions, at most 2 years old.
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Mendi Film and the Biscay Provincial Government announce the 5th edition of the Mendi Film Beka grant, aimed at the creation of documentary film projects whose aim is the audiovisual promotion of Mountain Culture.
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The 17th edition of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia to be held from 6 to 15 December 2024 now has its official poster. It is titled Fuego, by the French photographer Jean-Baptiste Liautard, and it has been awarded the Mendi Film festal poster prize along with 700 euros in the international mountain activity photography contest CVCEPHOTO organised by the Club Vasco de Camping Elkartea, club of San Sebastian.
More Articles …
- The Basque Country and Navarre mountain federations to receive the WOP Mendi Film 2024 award
- THE GREAT WHITE WHALE, winner of the Mendi Film Grand Prize, an inspiring story of mountaineers and sailors pursuing the dream of climbing Australia's highest and loneliest mountain
- Films, exhibitions, conferences, the Jury... This is what the 16th Mendi Film will be like!
- 17 World premieres at the 16th edition of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia
- Presenting: HARRI, ORRI, ARkatz, the world's largest climbing topos exhibition inside BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia basecamp
- This year’s Mendi Tour has been a roadshow of record-breaking proportions: 14,000 spectators in 53 venues
- The MENDI TOUR is on par with the best data with 10800 spectators in the first half of the season
- "X-Man" by Yhabril Moro is the image of BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia 2023
- Art in climbing topos
- Film registrations period opened for the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao-Bizkaia 2023
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