The 19th edition of BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia, to be held from December 4 to 13, 2026, presents its main image: Quantum Cave Chronicles 1, a photograph taken by Lei Bao inside a tiankeng in the Guangxi autonomous region of China.
It won in the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia Poster category of the CVCEPHOTO mountain activity photography contest, organized by the Club Vasco de Camping Elkartea. It received a cash prize of 800 euros and will be the official image of this year's Mendi Film festival.
Photographer Lei Bao describes his work:
“Sunlight pierces through the dome of the tiankeng, carving several golden Tyndall beams into the dark depths of the karst landscape. Dust floats within the shafts of light, casting a sacred glow over this underground realm formed over hundreds of millions of years.
Standing on a moss-covered rock ledge, one feels both humbled by the vastness of nature and embraced by the interplay of light and shadow—a silent dialogue between humanity and this primordial world. Outside the tiankeng, lush subtropical forests thrive under the open sky; inside, silent cliffs and scattered boulders hold the most magnificent craftsmanship of karst geology.
Nongxiang Tiankeng, known as the "Earth’s Skylight" hidden deep in the mountains of Hechi, Guangxi, stages a grand yet tender performance of nature through its most dramatic light and shadow. Every beam of sunlight that penetrates the heart of the earth is a romantic love letter to the land.”
CVCEPHOTO-BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia poster award winners:
2026 “Quantum Cave Chronicles 1” Lei Bao
2025 “The Cave” Julia Roger-Veyer
2024 “Fuego” Jean-Baptiste Liautard
2023 “X-Man” Yhabril
2022 “Ski is life” Sandi Bertoncelj
2021 “The edge of guillotine” Jan Zahula
2020 “Into the Light” Sandi Bertoncelj
2019 “Top of Africa” Christian Pondella
2018 “Learning to fly” Rainer Eder
2017 “The Lighthouse” Christoph Jorda
