Harkaitz Cano

Goenkale is a Basque soap-opera, produced by Pausoka Entertainment and ETB, which is broadcast every Monday and Tuesday on Basque Radio-television's first channel, ETB 1. Set up in an imaginary Basque seaside town, the title of the serial is the name of the main street in that town. First broadcast in 1994, almost 3,000 episodes have been made so far, and it is one of the most successful programmes of ETB 1. In the beginning every chapter lasted 30 minutes and they were broadcast from Monday to Friday. Then the Friday episode was removed. Since 2004 two one hour long episodes are broadcast every Monday and Tuesday. Then thirty-minute episodes are repeated in the afternoon everyday.

New York City, October 10, 1965. A group of wooden giant figures from Pamplona, representing Basque culture and traditions, parade down the street; but the local authorities have not allowed the appearance of all of them: due to the racial prejudices that persist in many sectors of society, the participation of two black giants has been banned.

Nerea Garcia is having a rough time of it; it’s four years since she was thrown out of the Basque Ertzaintza police force and she now leads a solitary life in her Bilbao home. The appearance of a woman’s corpse, murdered in some kind of ritual, prompts her former boss to ask her for help with the investigation. What Nerea hadn’t realised is that ghosts from the past and present would lead her down into the bowels of the city, where nothing and nobody is what it seems.

In the early hours of October 15, 2016, in a bar in Alsasua, Navarre, a fight broke out involving several local youths and two off-duty Civil Guard officers and their partners. The case went to trial. The prosecutor described the events as a terrorist attack and sought prison terms of between 12 and 62 years for the eight defendants. In its ruling, the National Court rejected the terrorism charges but sentenced the young people to between 2 and 13 years in prison.

Mugaldekoak is set in the early 40s, when, on this side of the border, the wounds of the Civil War were still open and, on the other, they were living under occupation by the German Army. The tale revolves around the Comète Network, an initiative developed during World War II on the border with Navarre: the clandestine evacuation of British pilots brought down in enemy territory.

A yacht sets sail with three people on board. Two women and a man form a triangle as strange as it is mysterious. Swimming in the high seas, nighttime conversations and sexual tensions. A feverish sleeplessness and the need for freedom will mark the direction of their navigation.

Ainhoa is born by chance in La Paz (Bolivia); but she grows up in Cuba and, at the age of 21, in 1988, she travels to the Basque Country (Spain) to discover the land of Manex, her father. In the midst of political struggle, she meets Josune, a committed journalist, and her group of friends.

Manu fell in love with the pianist Stella Panini when he was a child and it's been his dream to meet her ever since. To achieve his dream he follows the advice of Stefano Salegi, a shady character who becomes his manager and forms a band. But, not just an energetic dreamer, Manu is an outsider with problems finding his place in society. That's clear by the instrument he's chosen —none other than the broom— that he uses to make music and carry the rhythm. That won't keep him from starting a band completely sui generis that breaks all the clichés.

Created by 24 fabulous filmmakers and two talented sound artists in conjunction with the 2018 edition of Punto De Vista International Documentary Film Festival in Pamplona, Spain.