Mother Earth

El infierno vasco

An attempt to create a bridge between the different political positions that coexist, sometimes violently, in the Basque Country, in northern Spain.

The history of the citizens' movement that for thirty years worked hard to overcome fear, fight hatred and eradicate the violence exercised by the savage terrorist gang ETA, both in the Basque Country and in the rest of Spain.

In 1942, in the midst of World War II, Nazi Germany occupied France. The Resistance launched numerous escape networks to help people escape from Nazi to the allied Europe. Among them there was the network of escapes that acted in secret between Mendibe-Orbaizeta, a network so secret that it did not even have a name. Spies, clandestine networks, smuggling, solidarity, resistance, hope... All this and more is the documentary 'Sans nom sarea' (Sans Nom Network).

A documentary view of the Basque ball-game in which a small hard leather ball is hit against a wall. The film gives an impression of the game itself and of those who play it, not only the star performers (and the myths that surround them), but also those who just play in the streets and alleyways. The film sees the game it its cultural context and conveys the emotions and stories that are peculiar to the Basque country.

Donostia-San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain, 2011. Maider, a filmmaker, moves to the very same flat where pedadogist Elbira Zipitria Irastorza (1906-1982) clandestinely established the first ikastola, a Basque school, under the harsh regime of dictator Francisco Franco. Despite of her pioneering work, developed throughout thirty years, her story is not well known, so Maider, intrigued, begins to research…

Day after day, an elderly woman recalls the Spanish Basque country of her youth — while forgetting she is consigned to a retirement home in Chile.

An in-depth interview with José Antonio Urrutikoetxea, known as Josu Ternera, one of the most relevant leaders of the terrorist gang ETA.

The story of how a humble Basque rural sport called zesta punta —or jai alai— was successfully exported from the Basque Country to nations as different as Egypt, China, the Philippines, Cuba, Mexico or the United States. In these places, the pelotaris were considered true artists at the fronton. But the splendour of the jai alai, the happy feast, could not last forever.

This film goes beyond being a window that shows the natural and cultural heritage of Aralar (situated in the heart of the Basque Country), it also makes the viewer reflect. The testimonies of the experts and the journey through a dreamlike world, not only make the value of this mountain range known but also make a clear call to conserve it.

A young filmmaker travels back home to Basque Country to follow three friends on a surreal nautical voyage. Riding a second-hand paddle boat, they pedal over 150km along the entire Basque coast from Hendaia (French Basque Country) to Bilbao in an attempt to rediscover their country's shoreline. However, as a paddle boat is not made for the rough Basque sea, things don't go as planned. The journey becomes a delirium with unforeseen accidents, folkloric parties, hangovers, a shaman, a funeral... Documenting the expedition of these 'sailors' on his own, the filmmaker finds himself on a parallel inner journey.

'Iragan gunea Berlin' follows five people from different origins as they move anonymously around the streets of Berlin. Each of them with another life somewhere else, trying to ascertain where to go.

160 meters is the distance between the two banks of the estuary of Bilbao. An economic, social and cultural approach at two ways of looking at life.

Through interviews with different people linked to the work and life of the Basque sculptor Jorge Oteiza (1908-2003), this documentary aims to unravel fundamental aspects of his work.

The documentary tells the story of six friends who fought against compulsory military service in the Basque Country. They were all imprisoned for refusing to perform military service, and they all preferred prison to the army. They showed great courage and stubbornness, until they managed to win the antimilitarist struggle against the Spanish State.

The turbulent story of the Lagun bookstore — located in San Sebastián, in the Basque Country, Spain — is a powerful tale of courage, resistance and struggle; first against the Franco dictatorship, then against the terrorist gang ETA and its numerous and sinister acolytes.

The six-decade transformation of a block of houses, shown by means of artfully featured archival shots, highlights the beauty and sadness of human-made decay. In the blink of an eye 66 years pass by and a savings bank replaces a church.

In this short documentary film about Basque pelota, in addition to showing the different modalities (basket ball, handball, paddle, ratchet...), well-known pelota players of the time take part.

The first film to be shot in Basque language, produced in 1956 by general André Madré. It was discovered by the filmmaker and researcher Josu Martinez, without its soundtrack.

Documentary on the life of the Basque shepherd and oral improviser (or 'bertsolari') Fernando Aire (1920-1976), known as 'Xalbador'.