Alexandra Latishev y Jaime Puertas Castillo will be pursuing their film projects at the eleventh edition of Ikusmira Berriak

The film projects by Fede Gianni, Alexandra Latishev, Kathy Mitrani, Joana Moya, Jaime Puertas Castillo and Daniel Soares were chosen out of the 487 entries for the eleventh edition of Ikusmira Berriak, the first phase of which is to take place between March 24 and May 4. The residency program broke its record, with 487 film projects entered, 34% up on last year (362). Of the six projects selected, four are debut films.

In the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola category, open to students at the EQZE, the choice was Sirenas / Mermaids by Alexandra Latishev, whose first film, Medea, was on the program at Horizontes Latinos (2017). The project for her third feature-length film weaves social issues, thriller and horror film together to tell the story of a group of women transiting between the anthropomorphic and the animal in a contemporary Central American context.

In the Nest category, open to filmmakers selected in the last five editions of the international film students event at the Festival (2019-2023), US-based Columbian director Kathy Mitrani will be working on her first feature-length film after premiering her short Sombras nada más / The Dance of the Shadows (2023) at San Sebastián and winning prizes at Leeds and Bogoshorts.

The choice in the Basque category is La Koreana, un poema ferromagnético de luz y memoria by Joana Moya, who in 2023 presented her first short film, Todo lo cubre la sal / Salt Covers All, which featured in the Kimuak catalogue and was programmed at festivals including Doclisboa, Zinebi and Málaga. In her first feature-length project, the Noka-resident director is inspired by her grandmother's journey from her native Málaga to the mining settlement of La Arboleda, in Bizkaia province.

Retorno al valle / Return to the Valley was selected in the Spanish category, the second feature by Jaime Puertas Castillo, an EQZE alumnus who premiered Historia de pastores in Rotterdam. Puertas again portrays the rural world in his second feature-length film, based on the figure of San Juan de la Cruz and on the friendship between two young queer people, Luz and Pedro, and the moribund Omar, in a village in the Andalusian province of Jaén.

Two projects were chosen in the international category. On the one hand, 900 toneladas / 900 Tons the first feature-length film by Portuguese director Daniel Soares, whose short Bad for a Moment earned a special mention by the jury in the official competition for short films in Cannes. The 900 toneladas project invites reflection about capitalism and class based on a man whose job is to collect rubbish but drives a sports car. It is produced by O Som e a Fúria who have supported films by Miguel Gomes, Manoel de Oliveira and Zama by Lucrecia Martel. On the other, Italian filmmaker Fede Gianni uses his first feature-length film to develop the theme of his short Cowboy Billi, which was selected for last year's Critics' Week in Venice. Produced by Kino Produzioni (Alcarràs, Puán), Il Cascatore is a coming-of-age about identity set in 1960s Italy and on the sets of westerns.

The residency lasts eight weeks and is divided into two stays. The six filmmakers will arrive at Tabakalera on March 24, and will have time in the Film and Audiovisuals Laboratory to work on their projects until May 4. During this time, they will have the advice of professionals specially chosen for each project based on its needs. Every resident will receive development assistance to work on their projects in June between the two stays. In September, coinciding with the festival, they will return to San Sebastián to complete the last two weeks of their residency. During this phase, they can present their project to industry professionals. They will have a personalized agenda of appointments with people interested in participating in their projects.

‘Ikusmira Berriak 10 years’ retrospective opens

On the tenth anniversary of the residencies, in 2025, the San Sebastián festival and Tabakalera will present the Ikusmira Berriak 10 Years series as part of Zinemaldia + Plus. This retrospective sets out to explore and celebrate ten years of film residencies, jointly organized by the two institutions together with Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola, with 21 films developed under the program that have already been completed and premiered at various international festivals, including San Sebastián, Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, Locarno, Viennale, Márgenes, Turin and Mar del Plata. Tomorrow, Saturday 25, at 7pm, the first session of the series is to take place, with a screening of the short film El extraño / The Stranger (2016) by Pablo Álvarez and the feature-length film El gran movimiento / The Great Movement (2021) by Kiro Russo. Tickets can be purchased at the Tabakalera box office or on its website for 4 euros.