Bilbo, December 17th 2025. An excellent 18th edition of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia has brought an outstanding year to a close for the Mendi Film Association with a total of 22,300 viewers in 2025. This represents the second-best figure in the last six years, very close to last year's total of 700 more viewers.
Mountain cinema is currently revelling in both the high quality and popularity of the films being made, with very fashionable themes: mountain culture, adventure, extreme sports, nature, the environment, ethnography, social issues... And the public has once again recognised the Mendi brand and what it offers: the best of Mendi Film with today’s, high-quality international films.
8,300 spectators at Mendi Film
For 10 days, Euskalduna Bilbao has been the festival's base camp. 8,300 festival goers gathered there to enjoy film screenings, exhibitions, conferences and workshops. A total of 55 films were programmed in 25 screenings, and many directors and producers chose to come to Bilbao to present their works in person, people such as: Ben Sturgulewski, Katie Stjernholm, Boris Peters, Berne Broudy, Chantal Caron, Lisette Wansink, Javier Álvaro, Isabel Díaz Novo, Rodolfo Montero...
Mountain filmmaking in the Basque Country is becoming established, and the number of professionals and amateur filmmakers working in this genre has grown along with the festival. An example of this is the fact that four of the twelve main awards this year were won by Basque filmmakers, namely: Nagore Eceiza, Luis Arrieta, Julen Elorza and Mikel Urdangarin. The following filmmakers also premiered and presented their works at the festival, to wit: Gorka Ipiñazar, Haizea Huegun, Jesús Mari Lazkano, Ibon Gaztañazpi, Jon Mendizabal, Alfonso García, Iñigo Lamana, Unai Jaureguibeitia and Jon Herranz.
In terms of international representation at Mendi Film, directors from major mountain film festivals have taken part in the festival: Mountainfilm Telluride (USA), Ulju (South Korea), Echo Mountain Festival (Macedonia), Krakow Mountain Festival (Poland) and Les Quais de l'Aventure Bordeaux (France). The Tatra Mountain Museum in Zakopane (Poland) and the Basque Mountaineering Museum-EMMOA have also actively participated in the festival too.
Annual offering via the Mendi Tour
The Mendi Tour circuit also has a direct impact on all these positive figures. 14,000 viewers enjoyed the Itinerant Mendi Film tour in 2025. It has set up camp in 49 venues throughout the year, in Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Navarre, Álava, Cantabria, Asturias, Galicia, Castile and León, Madrid, Valencia, Catalonia and Gran Canaria. A total of 87 film screenings has been held.
Now it is time to prepare the calendar for the Mendi Tour 2026, which will begin in January and offer the opportunity to enjoy the best mountain cinema in numerous locations. A travelling mountain film festival that starts in Bilbao and spreads throughout the country.
