28/02/2022 - The 40th anniversary of the discovery of the virus behind AIDS and the fight against LGBTI-phobia are being broached by the Basque gathering, which is screening a glut of European titles

This year, Zinegoak boasts a new artistic director – namely, artist Alaitz Arenzana, one of the few women heading up a film festival in Spain. The gathering shines a spotlight on the myriad possibilities when it comes to constructing one’s identity, demanding the freedom and the legitimacy to decide who we are from a point of view of being open to sexual diversity, and the construction of gender identity or any other element linked to sexuality. This Bilbao-based event is growing year on year, and is always adapting to new challenges, eschewing labels and establishing itself not just as an important cultural rendezvous, but also as a tool of social transformation. Its 19^th edition kicks off today, 28 February, and will wrap on 7 March, when the awards will be handed out. From that day until Sunday 13 March, the films in the official section will be viewable on Filmin.

Standing out on its programme are European titles of the likes of The Divide [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Catherine Corsini
film profile] by Catherine Corsini (France), Moneyboys [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: CB Yi
film profile] by CB Yi (Austria/France/Belgium/Taiwan), Small Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Samani
film profile] by Laura Samani (Italy/Slovenia/France), Nos corps sont vos champs de bataille by Isabelle Solas (France), After Blue [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Bertrand Mandico (France), Moon, 66 Questions [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jacqueline Lentzou
film profile] by Jacqueline Lentzou (Greece/France) and Rebel Dykes by Harri Shanahan and Siân Williams (UK), among others.

This year marks the 40^th anniversary of the discovery of HIV, which will be one of the themes of the festival: Women Do Cry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova
film profile] (Bulgaria/France) by Mila Mineva and Vesela Kazakova broaches the subject in the context of the stifling of women’s rights, while Feast [+see also:
trailer
interview: Tim Leyendekker
film profile] (Netherlands) by Tim Leyendekker reflects on an event that took place in the Netherlands, when participants in a sexual encounter were purposefully infected with the virus. Also worth mentioning is the participation of two Georgian works about the shameful rise of LGBTI-phobia: the documentary How the Room Left by Katevan Kapanavadze and Instructions for Survival [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Yana Ugrekhelidze.

Shining bright among the special screenings at the 19^th Zinegoak are a number of works helmed by women, the short-film strand, the documentary Sediments [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adrián Silvestre
film profile] by Adrián Silvestre, the capers of Berlin-based Catalonian director Noel Alejandro, Antony Hickling’s presentation of the French production Down in Paris, and the retrospective dedicated to Argentina’s Albertina Carri, who will receive this edition’s honorary award.

Zinegoak’s programme once again incorporates Incoproduction, a digital market for film and TV projects, which is expanding with the creation of the ZG/PRO Work in Progress (WIP) platform. Furthermore, it is hooking up with Próxima, the association of original-language independent and arthouse film distributors. Also taking part are the Queer Cine Lab run by the Madrid Lesgaicinemad Festival, and the FIRE!! Lab of Barcelona’s FIRE!! Mostra, both of which are spaces dedicated to providing consultancy for the development of LGBTI+ projects. This sidebar has secured the support of Music Library & SFX, the Basque Creative Europe – MEDIA Desk and Zineuskadi.

(Translated from Spanish)