Euskal zinemaren marka guztiak apurtu dituen filma da Handia (2016). Aitor Arregi oñatiarrak eta Jon Garaño donostiarrak zuzendutako euskarazko filmak hamar sari eskuratu zituen, otsailaren 2an ospatutako Espainiako Goya sarietan. Garaile nagusietako bat izan zen eta horri esker 50 zinema aretotara itzuli da. Fikziozko film luzeen artean gehien ikusitako lana da, izan ere, Donostiako Zinemaldian estreinatu ondotik 100.000 ikusletik gora bildu ditu. Euskarazko pelikula batek inoiz izandako harrerarik onena. Kasualitatea izan al da?
Aitor Arregi and Jon Garaño
2005etik produkzio jarraitua izan dugu, batez beste, urtean euskarazko film luze bi. Aurreko azkenengo adibidea 1989an estreinatu zen (Ke arteko egunak), beraz, hamasei urte luze pasa behar izan genituen halakorik berriro ikusteko. Ez da euskal zinemaren loraldirik, ez eta egonkortzerik ere. Azken hamahiru urteetako produkzio emaitza soilik da Eusko Jaurlaritzak eta EiTBk 2000ko hamarkada hasieran martxan jarritako babes politikaren fruitua.
Duda barik da garai berri bat. Badago lagun talde bat zinema egitetik bizi dena Hego Euskal Herrian. Audientzia, gainera, hasi da zinemagile euskaldunen izen propioak errekonozitzen. Baina, ekoizleen produkzio baldintzak oraindik mugatu egiten dute produktuen arrakasta. Horrez gain, ikusleek etxeko kultura produkzioarekiko duten deskonexioak ez du laguntzen. Jaurlaritzaren azken urteetako babes politika oinarritu baita, neurri handi batean, zinemaren finantzaketa baliabideak eta produkzio bideak indartzen. Industriaren balio katea, ordea, ez da hor amaitzen.
A scene of the film Handia
Filmak hedatzeko eta etxean ikusgarri egiteko tresnak landu behar dira etorkizun hurbilean. Hemen egiten dena prestigiatu. Huts egiteko arriskua hartu. Orain arteko ibilbide ikasketa prozesua izan da eragile guztientzako.
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There was a 16 year period when no Basque language films were produced. In 1989, 51,600 watched Antton Ezeiza’s Ke arteko egunak (1989) at commercial cinemas. The next Basque-language film, Aupa Etxebeste!, was released in 2005.
Aupa Etxebeste! film's poster
Aupa Etxebeste! was directed by Telmo Esnal and Asier Altuna, produced in the Basque Country and premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. According to the Spanish Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), nearly 72,000 people watched it at the theatre. This isquite an event if we consider that, until a couple of years ago, the average attendance for a Basque-language film was very low (10,000 or less). Therefore, Basques were hungry and excited.
Aupa Etxebeste! marked a point of inflection: since 2005 an average of two fictional films in Basque have been commercially released. Occasionally, three films have been produced in the same year. This has no precedent in the history of Basque cinema. Furthermore, local cinema is not only enjoying a higher level of production but also greater critical acclaim for its quality.
Loreak film's poster
Almost a decade later, in 2014, a second turning point might have happened with the release of Loreak (Flowers). Jon Garaño and Joxe Mari Goenaga’s film is not only the first Basque-language movie competing in San Sebastian Film Festival and being supported by TVE Spanish public TV, Loreak has also been the first film nominated in this language in the prestigious Spanish Goya Awards - for the Best Film Prize, and selected by the Spanish Film Academy as its submission for The Academy Award of Best Foreign Language Film. Last but not least, it is the first-ever Basque-language film to cross the Atlantic.
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Source: ICAA
In the past 13 years there have been 26 fictional films in Basque shot (Igelak (2016), Handia (2017) and Errementari (2017) are missing in the graph above) - comedies, musicals, dramas, horror, etc. The sequel to Aupa Etxebeste! is currently in development and Loreak’s producers have recently confirmed their participation in a Spanish (language) coproduction to be shot during the summer. This positive progress helps us to confirm the existence of a small cinema industry with solid technical, artistic and economic means for a continuous production in Basque language. Nevertheless, continuous digital cross-border contact with other cultures has modified the collective imaginary of a community with a strong sense of belonging and brought group membership into question (this is clearly reflected in most of the recent Basque-language films’ response, see the graph above) which obstacles the confirmation of a national cinema.
