Advance information about the XVII Edition of the Lau Haizetara Documentary Co-Production Forum of San Sebastián

The organisers are already hard at work on the next edition, which will be held in San Sebastián from 21 to 23 September 2021.

The open call for the presentation of projects will begin in April and will be communicated via the usual channels.

Last September, the XVI edition of the Lau Haizetara Forum took place, an activity with its own identity linked to the documentary genre as a whole, which, despite the reigning uncertainty, was able to adapt itself to the situation and achieve its established objectives successfully.

It was held online for the first time, and the adaptation to this new context achieved, once more, the generation of a meeting point which allowed a highly suitable working and analysis space for participants, paying special attention to the needs of each project selected. The workshops prior to the forum were followed by pitching sessions and one-to-one meetings between Commissioning Editors and the representatives of the presented projects, all with the aim of closing possible collaboration agreements and providing follow-up and giving greater depth to the prior analyses.

Throughout all the years it has taken place, there have been many documentaries which, thanks to the boost received from this forum, have managed to successfully reach finalisation and enjoy a long trajectory. Among the most recent ones, two projects with Basque participation stand out, having been presented at the latest edition of the San Sebastián International Film Festival, “ARZAK, SINCE 1897”, produced by Bainet Zinema and “LOBSTER SOUP”, a co-production between REC Grabaketa Estudioa, Suica Films and Axfilmsse, which was also the winner of the first IBAIA prize, worth €3,000. They join a list of titles like “NO WOMEN NO REVOLUTION” (Doppelplusultra Film and TV Produktion), “OCHO CUENTOS SOBRE LA HIPOACUSIA”, (Charo Mato – Eugenia Olascuaga – Valentina Baracco) and “THE GOUROUGOU TRIAL”, by Santi Palacios and Simón Casal. The latter was later chosen to participate in DocsBarcelona.

Throughout these XVI editions of the forum, we have shown commitment to the documentary genre and to creating a space for it within this industry. Since the beginning, many professionals from the audiovisual sector have come together in San Sebastian, during this activity organised by IBAIA (Asociación de Productores Audiovisuales Independientes del País Vasco/Association of Independent Audio-Visual Producers of the Basque Country), with the collaboration of the San Sebastián Film Festival Industry Department and many Basque entities and institutions.

For more information, please visit our website (www.lauhaizetara.eu)