The Bilbao-based documentary and short-film festival Zinebi has unveiled the 13 projects set to take part in its industry strand, Zinebi Networking 2022: Dokumentalen Sorgunea. The fifth edition of the Bilbao Professional Documentary Film Forum will unspool towards the tail end of the festival, from 14-18 November.

From this year onwards, thanks to the experience racked up by the organisers, the financial support of the Spanish Institute of Film and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA) and the addition of some new strategic partners, Zinebi Networking comprises two competitions, and in each of these, a prize worth €10,000 will be handed out to the team behind the winning pitch. The first (which has been a tradition since 2018) is aimed at fostering emerging creative talents specifically in Basque cinema and the development of audiovisual productions in the region, while the second is the big novelty this year, enabling the participation of documentary projects from all around Spain. The 13 projects are intended to constitute the best possible reflection of the current situation of documentary features in Spain.

The projects will be weighed up by a mammoth jury comprising no fewer than 14 members, all professionals from the audiovisual sector: Ana Peláez (RTVE), Aintzane Pérez del Palomar (EITB), Gloria Bretones (Begin Again Films and Centuria Films), Zaida Carmona (Filmin), Anette Dujisin (Filmin), Cintia Gil (ex-Sheffield DocFest and currently Cannes Directors’ Fortnight), Ainhoa González Sanchiz (Creative Europe Desk Euskadi), Mar Izquierdo (Zineuskadi), Lya Li (Asian Shadows), Noé Mendelle (University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Documentary Institute), Elena Mera (Treeline), Charlotte Serrand (La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival) and Joana Sousa (Doclisboa).

Prior to the pitching forum, the selected projects have been partaking in various personalised tutorials run by Virginia García del Pino. Between 14 and 18 November, the teams behind the projects will attend meetings set up by Zinebi, will pitch their projects to the public and will take part in tailored, one-to-one consultancy sessions. Once this edition has wrapped, Zinebi Networking will commit to organising online follow-up meetings during the rest of this year and 2023, in order to accompany and provide consultancy to the selected works.

Interestingly enough, To Books and Women I Sing [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: María Elorza e Marian Fern…
scheda film] by Maria Elorza, which is flying high of late after it won the Youth Award at the 70th San Sebastián Film Festival, in the New Directors section, and which is screening at this very edition of Zinebi, was presented as a project at Zinebi Networking last year (see the news).

Zinebi Networking (which, on 13 November, is also hosting a meeting for professionals from various film festivals from around the globe, entitled “Women at Film Festivals… Where Do We Stand?”) is an initiative that the festival hopes will also be an opportunity to “strengthen the regional audiovisual fabric, and streamline the relationship between actors operating in the sector and local and international institutions active in the filmmaking and audiovisual industry”. It is organised jointly with the Basque Producers Association (EPE-APV), is made possible thanks to the backing of the ICAA, the European Union - NextGenerationEU, EITB MEDIA SAU (EITB), Zineuskadi and Creative Europe Desk Euskadi, and is run in collaboration with Cannes Docs and the Scottish Documentary Institute.

The list of projects set to be pitched at Zinebi Networking is as follows:

Basque projects

Zuri Beltzan - Ainhoa Urgoitia, Enrique Rey
Producers: Guillermo Martínez Velasco, Naiara Olite

Esto no es Hollywood - Jone Ibarretxe, Nere Falagan
Producer: Eduardo Carneros González (Euskadi Movie AIE)

Itaca - Juan Prado
Producers: Juan Prado, Teresa Sendagorta (El Burro Films SL, Chisgarabis Kino)

La Sinsorga - Marta Gómez, Paula Iglesias Calderón
Producers: Paula Iglesias Calderon, Andrea Momoitio (Al Borde Films)

Zikuñagako Ama - Pello Gutiérrez Peñalba
Producer: Iñaki Sagastume (Zazpi T’erdi)

Spanish projects

Alevosia - Sara Casasnovas
Producer: Sara Horta (Indígena Films SLU)

Deuses de Pedra - Iván Castiñeiras
Producer: Ángel Santos Touza (Amateurfilms)

Elena dio a luz un hermoso niño - Chiara Marañón, Juan Soto
Producers: Ricard Sales, Luis Ferrón, Sandra Tabares-Duque (LaCima Producciones, SL)

The Most Peaceful Man in the World - Raquel Barrera Sutorra
Producer: Efthymia Zymvragaki (Gris Medio)

La Marsellesa de los borrachos - Pablo Gil Rituerto
Producer: Bernat Manzano (Boogaloo Films, SL)

La Comunitat - Almudena Verdés
Producer: Eva García Godes (Silence Producción Audiovisual SL)

PAPAMAMA - Lorena Ros
Producer: Patricia Sánchez Mora (Novena Nube, SANMOR Desarrollo Empresarial SL)

Um filme de Fernando Ruiz Vergara - Concha Barquero, Alejandro Alvarado
Producers: José Manuel Rodríguez Calvo, Sara Sánchez (Azhar Media, Alvarquero)