The 2026-2027 academic year begins for the ninth intake at the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola

The students accepted onto the course were selected by the school’s Academic Management Team (which includes representatives from the Basque Film Archive, the Tabakalera Centre for Contemporary Culture, the San Sebastian Film Festival and the EQZE) from among the 215 applications received during the admissions period. The group of 45 students who make up the ninth intake year hails from 17 countries and includes nine students from the Basque Country, twelve from the rest of Spain, and twenty-three from other countries.

The profile of the students in the 2026-2027 intake year is diverse and includes specialists with experience in the school's three areas of knowledge: archiving and preservation, curating and film programming, and short and feature-film directing. Furthermore, the group includes lecturers and researchers with backgrounds in a range of different disciplines, including Visual Arts, Fine Arts, Political Science, Audiovisual Communication, Literary Studies, Philosophy and Art History. There are also graduates from film schools and professionals with experience in different areas of the film industry, including production, editing, sound, art direction and photography. The new group also includes some who have come to film from the theatre, music or other backgrounds such as computer engineering, law and journalism.

The orientation period (14–17 September) offers students a chance to get to know the school. In addition to being introduced to the syllabus and the three degree courses, students will visit the conservation facilities at the Basque Film Archive and tour the various spaces included in the teaching modules, as well as the Tabakalera workspaces. The programme also includes a guided tour of Egia (the neighbourhood where the school is located) by writer Harkaitz Cano. This journey through the neighbourhood’s past and present, and through the spaces where daily and cultural life unfolds, brings students closer to the local area and the community with which the EQZE interacts on a daily basis.

The academic year is organised around six modules. The first five (September-July) are teaching modules and are conducted face-to-face. The sixth module (August-December) focuses on students’ graduation assignments and is semi face-to-face in nature. Courses last for a total of fifteen months, structured circularly in order to reflect the philosophy of learning and experience that underpins the entire EQZE initiative. The regular academic term begins on 28 September, following the conclusion of the 74th San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Created and funded by the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola is a unique educational initiative comprising three postgraduate courses (Film Preservation, Film Curating and Filmmaking), which stem from the specialist knowledge areas of the three institutions involved in its running: the Basque Film Archive, the Tabakalera International Centre for Contemporary Culture and the San Sebastian International Film Festival. Since 2019, the EQZE has formally been a part of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU).