It’s a wrap for the 67th edition of Zinebi, the Bilbao-based festival centring on documentaries and short films. A press conference on Friday morning, which preceded the awards ceremony in the city’s Arriaga Theatre, saw a slew of prizes, totalling €74,000, announced by the various juries and the head of the festival, Joseba Lopezortega Aguirre (see the interview).

In addition to the two Honorary Mikeldis for Bilbao native Pablo Berger (see the interview) and producer Esther García, an array of short films picked up prizes, as the ZIFF International Competition – Zinebi First Film was not held this year. The main section in which feature-length documentaries were shown was thus the traditional Beautiful Docs strand.

The €8,000 Zinebi Grand Prize was snagged by Correct Me if I’m Wrong (Germany/China/USA) by Hao Zhou. The jury said the film “explores the burden of family expectations and the misguided love that lies behind them. […] This documentary moved us deeply. It’s a tender, playful and scathing fable about family ties that bind, and queer emancipation.” The Grand Prize for Best Basque Short Film was handed to Habana industrial (Spain) by Ainhoa Ordoñez Yraolagoitia, which “turns the nighttime in La Havana into a hypnotic trance, where the liberating experience of dance is blended with the political disenchantment of those who no longer expect anything”.

Next up, the Grand Prize for Best Spanish Short Film was bestowed upon Geratzen den hori (Spain) by Aitor Gametxo, which sees the director embark on an intimate journey through the personal belongings and memories his mother left behind after her death. The Mikeldi Award for Best Animated Short Film went to Should Virtual Petz Die (Italy) by Carlo Galbiati, in which, after a computer crash, a girl struggles with the loss of her long-time virtual pet, Bubba. In addition, a Special Mention was granted to the animation Once in a Body (Colombia/USA) by María Cristina Pérez González. The Mikeldi Award for Best Documentary Short was given to A Reconnaissance (Germany/Denmark) by Stefan Kruse because it “opens our eyes to something whose existence we were unaware of. Upon seeing it, we feel the complexity of the world and our own innocence,” as per the jury.

The Mikeldi Award for Best Short Fiction Film was handed to As If to Nothing (Singapore) by Pek Jia Hao and Ang Jia Jun, while A Very Straight Neck (China/Japan) by Beo Sora took home a Special Mention. Kyiv Cake (Estonia/Ukraine) by Mykyta Lyskov was crowned as the festival’s candidate for the 2026 European Film Awards. The animated short Dollhouse Elephant (Finland) by Jenny Jokela was deemed deserving of the FAS Cineclub Award, while the documentary short Every Epoch Dreams the Next (Albania/Austria) by Johannes Gierlinger went home with the Unicef Award.

The Gift (Spain) by Lara Izagirre picked up the EITB Audience Award, the short Bicycle Face (Spain) by Amaia Nerekan and Itziar Zorita clinched the Youth Jury Award, and the fiction Ultramarine (Spain) by Maren Zubeldia and Silvina Guglielmotti pocketed the (H)emen – Mirentxu Loyarte Award.

As for the Zinebi Networking industry awards, three prizes worth €10,000 apiece were handed out after seven projects in development and four at the final stage were pitched and took part in one-to-one meetings earlier in the week (see the news). The Zinebi Networking Award was given to Taranta, directed by Samuel Nacar and produced by Ana Puentes Margarito for Verbena Films. The Zinebi Networking EITB Award was won by Eltzegorra, directed by David Aguilar Iñigo and staged by Iñaki Sagastume for the collective Zazpi T’erdi. Finally, the Zinebi Networking RTVE Award was granted to De qué hablo cuando hablo de lipo, directed by Mariu Benzo and produced by Oriol Estrada for Cine Arco.

Here is the complete list of award winners:

Official Section – International Short Film Competition

Zinebi Grand Prize
Correct Me if I’m Wrong - Hao Zhou (Germany/China/USA)

Grand Prize for Best Basque Short Film
Habana industrial - Ainhoa Ordoñez Yraolagoitia (Spain)

Grand Prize Best Spanish Short Film
Geratzen den hori - Aitor Gametxo (Spain)

Mikeldi for Best Animated Short Film
Should Virtual Petz Die - Carlo Galbiati (Italy)
Special Mention
Once in a Body - María Cristina Pérez González (Colombia/USA)

Mikeldi for Best Documentary Short
A Reconnaissance - Stefan Kruse (Germany/Denmark)

Mikeldi for Best Short Fiction Film
As If to Nothing - Pek Jia Hao, Ang Jia Jun (Singapore)
Special Mention
A Very Straight Neck - Beo Sora (China/Japan)

Short Film Candidate for the 2026 European Film Awards
Kyiv Cake - Mykyta Lyskov (Estonia/Ukraine)

FAS Cineclub Award
Dollhouse Elephant - Jenny Jokela (Finland)

Unicef Award
Every Epoch Dreams the Next - Johannes Gierlinger (Albania/Austria)  

EITB Audience Award
The Gift - Lara Izagirre (Spain)

Youth Jury Award
Bicycle Face - Amaia Nerekan, Itziar Zorita (Spain)

(H)emen – Mirentxu Loyarte Award
Ultramarine - Maren Zubeldia, Silvina Guglielmotti (Spain)

Honorary Mikeldis
Pablo Berger
Esther García

Zinebi Networking

Zinebi Networking Award
Taranta - Samuel Nacar
Producer: Ana Puentes Margarito (Verbena Films)

Zinebi Networking EITB Award
Eltzegorra - David Aguilar Iñigo
Producer: Iñaki Sagastume (Zazpi T’erdi)

Zinebi Networking RTVE Award
De qué hablo cuando hablo de lipo – Mariu Benzo
Producer: Oriol Estrada (Cine Arco)