Erreka Zoko Hortan

In this story we will accompany Joxepi, a 19-year-old girl who will have to smuggle out of necessity and to help her family. Telling this story through fiction helps us to empathise and experience our protagonist's journey more closely with her, making the viewer feel Joxepi's fears, insecurities, horrors, desires...

In the end, the short film is a journey that symbolises the importance of freedom and the obligation of the individual to trust his heart and his instincts, to find his own voice and make his own decisions, especially at a time when there are individuals who run regimes determined to take away these freedoms by taking advantage of the weak will and morals of their subordinates. It is, in conclusion, a transition that portrays the transition from childhood to adulthood.

One of the main objectives of this film is to remember and pay a small tribute to this generation that brought about a great change in the way of life in the area near the muga (border) in Euskal Herria. Until a few years ago, smuggling was a topic that was not talked about; persecuted by the fear of so many years ago.

For this reason, we believe it is important to highlight and recall this great work carried out by the people (since it was not only the smugglers who were involved, as mentioned above; it was a common feeling in which most of the inhabitants of the village were involved).
At the same time, the film will have a fantastic tone, since in this socio-political context in which we find ourselves, it is inevitable that we ask ourselves the question: Can imagination and fantasy function as a form of escape from fascism? This short film will involve the blending of two apparently opposite worlds to immerse us in a story where we cannot discern between imagination and reality. It is an absolutely terrifying and captivating mixture of mythology and realism in which a family struggles to survive, through smuggling, under an authoritarian and dictatorial political system.

Sinopsis

1960: Basque Country. Navarre. The north. The border. In the other side; light. The war has left strong consequences and the father of the Iparragirre’s farm has fallen ill. There is little money and out of necessity, the mother sends her eldest daughter Joxepi to smuggle at night. Joxepi, fearing for the Lamia, will have great doubts about whether to do so or not. There is only one chance, a new child has been born in the family and the mother can no longer feed so many mouths; If Joxepi doesn't do it, he will have to leave home.

Technical specifications

Title: Erreka Zoko Hortan
Fiction film
Language: Basque
Format: Digital / Colour
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Objectives

• To pay tribute to the smugglers' generation.
• To show a tradition that has been taboo for many years.
• To show that women also smuggled contraband.
• To strengthen the Basque language of northern Navarre (Malerreka-Bortziriak).
• To make Basque mythology and culture better known.

Erreka Zoko Hortan has the support and financial backing of ESCAC FILMS, the production company of the school where the team studied. Even so, being a film shot in Navarra and with an ambitious technical team, the costs of the film exceed what the school provides us with. Our objective with the campaign is to raise the necessary funds to be able to carry out this project which we have been working on for so long and which we feel it is so necessary to carry out. Mainly the funds will be used for the transport, accommodation and allowances of the technical and artistic team in the village where we will shoot the film, during the 7 days of shooting. We are aware that moving a mostly Catalan crew to the Basque Country is a big cost, but we believe that we can only tell this story there. We will also allocate part of the funds for photography, lighting and sound equipment; locations and set design; post-production processes; filming insurance; crowdfunding rewards; and a small endowment for the artistic team.

Right now we are in the development phase of the project, rewriting the script, working with the artistic team and defining the locations and aesthetics of the film. At the same time we have already started with the pre-production to have all the shooting logistics ready by the end of March. Shooting will take place from 2 April to 8 April 2024, and from there the post-production process (editing, sound and colour grading) will begin. The idea is to release the film in early 2025.

The main reason for the realisation of the project is summed up in the words of tradition and homage, which we have already mentioned. The work done by our ancestors was so great and important that it is thanks to them that we are the people we are today, always keeping quiet about their experiences because of the fear that haunts them. That is why we think it is so important for this project to go ahead, because many smugglers are still alive and deserve to be heard.

On the other hand, as a director, my connection with my homeland is enormous, and the folklore and the local personality give me enormous pride. Because outside Euskal Herria there is nothing of ours, and as Basques it is important to take care of what we have at home.

Three years ago we met for the first time at the film school "Escola Superior de Ciema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya", students from different backgrounds. Year after year, as we have been developing the work and projects that the school demanded of us, we have realised that we have similar ways of working and in this way we have formed a permanent working team.

In recent years, we have recorded several projects in Euskal Herria, as, although the director is Basque, the members of the group (Catalonia, La Rioja...) have shown a certain attachment to minority languages and cultures, which has led us to create several projects in Basque. Among them; Eklipsi Morala, Baserria Hartu du Gaitzak and Hitza Eman Nion.

This year, more students that we have met at school have joined the team: Basque speakers, Catalans...

Technical and artistic team

Directed by: Ekaitz Bertiz
Script: Ekaitz Bertiz and Òscar Carrascal
Production director: Malen Trenado
Director of photography: Arnau Graus
Art director: Bárbara Valdecantos
Figure designer: Nahia Beroiz
Sound design: María Bravo
Editor: Mireia Llaguno
Make-up and hair: Marta Caudet and Amaia Apezetxea
Actresses: Lorena Mariñelarena, Aroa Bertiz and Aritz Bertiz