Organised by the San Sebastián Festival and the Basque Government, the competition seeks to raise awareness of and support local products

Hatsa, directed by Josu Ozaita Azpiroz, and Gatz Harana, by Saioa Miguel, are the respective winners of the first and second prize in the third edition of the Eusko Label micro short film competition. The San Sebastián Festival and the Basque Government, through HAZI, a public company attached to the Basque Government Department of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries, organise this competition aiming to raise awareness of and support local products from the Basque Country through the cinema, while promoting and drawing attention to all aspects related to sustainability in our agriculture, livestock and fishing world.

The other classified shorts were Amona, by Gonzalo Santamariña; En el baserri / The Farm (Baserrian), by Marta Hernaez Susperregui; Lágrimas de Patxi, by Mikel Urreta; Nací leche para ser queso / Born Milk, Destined to Be Cheese (Esne jaio nintzen gazta izateko), by Beñat Gereka Bikuña; Nautilus, by Angel Aldarondo, and Zura eta itsasoa / The Wood and the Sea (La madre y el mar), by Iker Elorrieta.

Hatsa, winner of the Eusko Label first prize coming with 6,000 euros, talks about charcoal as our forbears’ way of life, while Gatz Harana, winner of the second prize coming with 4,000 euros, follows the journey of salt from its artisan production to its everyday use. The chef Pedro Subijana presided over the jury, alongside Karmele Pikabea, manager of the Euskaber cooperative, and Raimundo Raiz de Escudero, the director of HAZI.

The San Sebastián Aquarium provided the setting this afternoon for the awards presentation ceremony and screening of both the winning shorts and the runners up, as well as the five short films participating out of competition produced by the Festival and commissioned from filmmakers in the Basque sphere: Anna, by Lur Olaizola Lizarralde; Mahasti artean, by Lara Izagirre Garizurieta; Mater, by Ion de Sosa; Tu piel / Your Skin (Zure azala), by Xabier Gutierrez, and Zaindariak / Keepers (Vigilantes), by Koldo Almandoz.

In addition, for the first time, the event included a work screened in collaboration with Luces Cameros Acción the short film festival taking place in El Rasillo de Cameros, La Rioja. The chosen film was Marciano García, by Luis Arrojo, winner of the public and acting awards at this year’s edition of the competition.