The selected works, chosen from over 3,300 submissions, will be shown in eight competition sessions at the Arriaga Theatre from November 21 to 26.
The selection committee highlights that this cinema is capable of surprising, questioning certainties, and proposing new aesthetic, cultural, and political perspectives against the dominant formulas of audiovisual consumption.
The competition includes works by renowned filmmakers such as Joshua L. Oppenheimer ("The Revolution Against Death"), Nele Wohlatz ("The Spoon"), and Kamal Aljafari ("Masao Adachi Takes a Passport Photo").
Returning to Bilbao are notable figures like producer and cultural manager Diana Bustamante, and the winner of the 2025 ZINEBI Grand Prize, Hao Zhou, who will present his new work.
ZINEBI will also present the latest work by Brazilian visual artist Jonathas de Andrade in Spain, alongside "A Tenderness" (Palestine), "Patronymic" (Ukraine), and "Forgotten Spaceman" (Afghanistan).
The official section will feature 6 short films of Basque production and 7 from the rest of Spain, completing the selection of 49 films.
Among the Basque productions are "Bitartean, gero" by Raúl Barreras, "High River" by Daniel Alegrete, "Guretako eztia" by Maia Iribarne and Violette Bellet, "Neska bat desagertu da" by Mikele Landa Eiguren, "Siurana" by Esther Escudero, and the animated film "Onena ura da" by Sonia Estévez.
From the rest of Spain, the films to be screened include "Algo en la casa" by Carla Pereira, "Los andares" by Sofía Esteve & Isa Luengo, "Delta Kids" by Antoni Grañana, "En este día tampoco se encontró nada" by Irena Visa, "Nervios de acero" by Beatriz Navas, "Patio de luces" by Santiago Tabernero, and "?" by Gala Cubillo.
