Cinemaattic Cult Classics from the Basque Country | Kimuak 20 Years

Guerrilla film collective Cinemaattic is back with the finest contemporary films from Spain and Latin American countries. In May, we pay a well deserved tribute to one of Europe's longest standing distributors promoting short films: Basque Country's 'Kimuak', asking, "How do you make small cinema from a small region in Europe visible world wide?"

The programme includes screenings of historic films and rare classics, alongside contemporary award winning films.

Cult Classics from the Basque Country
They were the first. Kimuak label gave way to a whole generation of filmmakers. A special programme gathering some of the classics of Basque cinema. Academy Awards nominated and cult Basque films.

More than a few highly acclaimed Basque audiovisual projects have carried the seal of Kimuak and several have made their mark in national and international festivals. Some of the better known titles include Por un infante difunto (Tinieblas González); Txotx (Asier Altuna and Telmo Esnal); Razielen itzulera (Koldo Almandoz); Amor de madre (Koldo Serra and Gorka Vázquez); Jardines deshabitados (Pablo Malo); Éramos Pocos (Borja Cobeaga), … Ya no puede caminar (Luiso Berdejo); Belarra (Koldo Almandoz); Tercero B (Jose Mari Goenaga); Terminal (Aitzol Aramaio); Topeka (Asier Altuna); El tren de la bruja (Koldo Serra); and 7:35 de la mañana (Nacho Vigalondo).

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The Importance of Kimuak
What is Kimuak and why is so relevant? Kimuak is a programme created by the Culture Department of the Basque Government, funded by Etxepare Institute and managed, at first, by Donostia Cultura’s Film Unit, and currently by the Basque Film Archive. Every spring, Basque leader distribution platform Kimuak (‘sprout’ in Basque) selects the best from Basque short film scene, so as to take them to every corner of the world.

The importance of an initiative like Kimuak goes beyond the mere work of selecting the best Basque short films of the year. It is like a school for film directors, a way-station towards feature films and a genre by itself, to which successful filmmakers often return.

At CinemaAttic we work towards the expansion of Spanish short film overseas as we strongly believe in the immense capacity of regional film directors whose works must be relocated from the outskirts of the film industry. It is indeed that isolation inherent to the short film format what we understand gives it its very exclusive nature, its real value.

That is why we work closely with platforms such as Kimuak, establishing partnerships with which the invaluable effort these platforms undertake in supporting marginal works can be mirrored outside their generic domains. We can’t help but being excited with one of the most important initiatives promoting short films not just in Basque Country, but in the whole of Spain.