Bilbao will once again become the international hub for mountain, adventure, extreme sports and nature films for the 19th edition of BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia, which will take place from the 4th to the 13th of December.
The festival received 231 film submissions, setting a new all-time record and surpassing the previous high of 226 entries achieved in each of the past two years.
A total of 49 films have been selected:
· 43 films will compete in the Official Selection.
· Six films will screen in Zabalandi, the festival’s section for special out-of-competition presentations.
The programme will bring together productions from all over the world. There will be films from Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania, once again confirming Mendi Film as an internationally renowned festival and one of the main driving forces behind the mountain film industry.
Spain leads the way in terms of country representation with 14 productions. France will be represented by 10 films, whilst the United States and Canada will each contribute six films. Norway will be this year’s guest country and will have four productions in the programme. Rounding out the list of countries are Germany, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, South Korea, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland.
Six Basque productions in the programme
This year, six Basque films will be screened. Five of them will compete in the Official Selection:
Abata, by Aner Etxebarria, set in the traditional Pidgeon hunters from Etxalar.
Berdea, by Oihane Ruiz, a reflection on the life cycle of wood in the Basque Country.
Denboraren ibilaldia, by Aitor Intxaurraga, a journey through the fifty peaks over 1,000 metres in the Gorbea massif.
K2-Lurretik hegan, by Joxe Ramon Agirre “Marron”, focusing on the paragliding exploits of Mattin Iñiguez and the director himself in the Karakoram.
Zegama Zegama da, by Mikel Urriza, produced to mark the 25th anniversary of the iconic mountain race.
Mendi Film will host the international premiere of the latter four films.
The Basque gem reserved for the Zabalandi section is Jannu 1981, a film recovered by the Basque Mountaineering Museum (EMMOA) and digitised by the Basque Film Archive, which recounts the Navarrese expedition to Jannu in 1981, one of the most notable feats in the history of Basque Himalayan mountaineering.
‘Tenzing’, by Jennifer Peedom
Among the standout films at this year’s festival are titles such as Tenzing, The dark wizard, Trango, K2 West Face: The legacy of two climbers, Yerupajá, Frost Without Snow and Ice, and I Follow Rivers.
Tenzing tells the story of the first ascent of Everest, based on real events, and focuses on the figure of Tenzing Norgay as part of the historic climbing team formed alongside Edmund Hillary. The film is directed by the Australian Jennifer Peedom, who will be in Bilbao for its premiere and will also receive the Grand Prize from the International Alliance for Mountain Film (IAMF), awarded this year in recognition of her trajectory.
Peter Mortimer will also be in Bilbao to present The dark wizard, a four-part docuseries dedicated to the climber and BASE jumper Dean Potter. Produced by Sender Films and acquired by HBO, its screening at Mendi Film will be a unique opportunity to enjoy it on the big screen.
Trango revisits two historic Norwegian expeditions to the Trango Towers in the Karakoram, spanning 15 years, from 1984 to 1999. The screening in Bilbao will mark the international premiere of this film, which is set to be highly sought-after at festivals around the world.
K2 West Face: The legacy of two climbers stars Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima, who died in 2024 whilst attempting to open a new route on K2. The film is directed by the acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Moe Wada.
Yerupajá documents the expedition by Marc Toralles, Bru Busom and Rubén Sanmartín – which won the 2026 Piolet d’Or – marking the first complete traverse of this iconic mountain in Peru’s Huayhuash mountain range.
Frost without snow and ice is a masterpiece by the renowned Norwegian filmmaker and photographer Asgeir Helgestad, who bears witness to the extraordinary life in Svalbard of a female polar bear named ‘Frost’. A film that connects with nature and highlights the devastating effects of climate change.
Meanwhile, I follow rivers, directed by fellow Norwegian Barbora Hollan, offers an intimate and spectacular portrait of Mariann Sæther, considered one of the world’s finest white-water kayakers.
Award-winning directors return to Bilbao
The programme will also feature new works by leading filmmakers who have previously been distinguished at Mendi Film, such as Davina and Seb Montaz-Rosset, Bertrand Delapierre, Ignasi López, Hugo Clouzeau, Yannick Boissenot and Ben Knight, alongside Basque filmmakers such as Oihane Ruiz, Aner Etxebarria and the production company Bideografik.
Oihane Ruiz was the producer of Flying Hands, which won the Best Director award at Mendi Film 2024 for Marta Gómez and Paula Iglesias. Aner Etxebarria won the Best Short Film award at Mendi Film in 2022 for Joy. For its part, the Durango-based production company Bideografik has been a regular at the festival since its earliest editions and has won the Best Film in Basque award on three occasions with Tamur: Kangchenjungako harribitxia (2010), Aizkora hotsak goi mendietan (2011) and Pastoreak (2018). This year, it is presenting the film Denboraren ibilaldia, directed by Aitor Intxaurraga.
Premiere of ‘The Last Guardians of Shangri-La’
Another highlight will be the premiere of the film The Last Guardians of Shangri-La, produced with the support of the Mendi Film Bizkaia Ternua grant. Directed by Catalan filmmaker Marina García Andreu, it brings to the big screen the fascinating story of the guardians of the mountains in the Chinese region of Yunnan, on the border with Tibet.
Mendi Bosteko: a new section at Mendi
From among all the selected films, the festival will highlight eight with the ‘Mendi Bosteko’ label, Mendi Film’s new section characterised by respect for and care of the Earth, which identifies films that convey environmental awareness in a particularly meaningful way.
Official Selection
75’ SECONDS – AN ACCOUNT OF CHAOS, FEAR AND HOPE INSIDE AN AVALANCHE | Sweden | Marco Tribelhorn
4000m FROM HOME | France | Pierre Cadot
A CALL FROM THE WILD | Norway | Asgeir Helgestad
A SIMPLE LIFE | Austria |Jakob Schweighofer
ABATA | Spain – EH | Aner Etxebarria
ALONE IN ANTARTICA | Corea del Sur | Kim Youngmi, Kim Jeeyoung
BERDEA | Spain – EH | Oihane Ruiz Menéndez
BIRDLIFE | Belgium | Léopold Le Grelle
CHIMÈREZ PATAGONES | France | Guillaume Broust
DENBORAREN IBILALDIA | Spain – EH | Aitor Intxaurraga Arana
EMBERS | Canada | Trixie Pacis
FIFTY-FIFTY | Canada | Angela Percival
FROST WITHOUT SNOW AND ICE | Norway | Asgeir Helgestad
HAMM!! | USA | Tahria Sheather
I FOLLOW RIVERS | Norway | Barbora Hollan
IN UNISON | France | Davina & Sébastien Montaz-Rosset
K2-LURRETIK HEGAN | Spain – EH | Joxe Ramon Agirre
K2 WEST FACE. THE LEGACY OF TWO CLIMBERS | Japan | Moe Wada
KRONOSHOCK | Spain | Ignasi López Fàbregas
LA CHÈVRE D’HISPAR | France | Hugo Clouzeau
LAS VOCES DEL DESPEÑADERO | México | Irving Serrano, Victor Rejon
LIBEREZ LA DIRECTE | France | Bertrand Delapierre
LOS ÚLTIMOS GUARDIANES DE SHANGRI-LA | Spain | Marina García Andreu
LUMEN | France | Yannick Boissennot
MÈRE DE GLACE | France | Enzo Besson
NANGA PARBAT – ECHOES OF SYSIPHUS | Germany - Spain - France - Pakistan | Tom Dauer
NININBAORI | Switzerland | Mathieu Achermann
OUTLIER COMMON | USA | Dani Reyes-Acosta
RIVIÈRES SECRÈTES DES NAKANAÏ | France | Alexandre López
ROBSON | USA | Philip Forsey
SHE MEASURES THE EARTH | Canada | Ching Yu
TEETH TO THE WIND | Canada – USA | Drew Smith, Ben Knight
THE COLD SONG | Canada | Evan Lindberg
THE CRUEL WAY | Bulgaria | Deyan Bararev
THE DARK WIZARD 1 THE DEATH CONSEQUENCE| USA | Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen
THE DARK WIZARD 2 DYING TO FLYING | USA | Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen
THE DARK WIZARD 3 THIS IS ART, THIS IS SPIRITUALITY | USA | Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen
THE DARK WIZARD 4 TRASCENDING HUMAN LIMITATIONS | USA | Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen
THE GUIDEBOOK | Germany – Canada | Alexi Liotti
THE LOST CACHE | USA | Todd Jones
TRAIL KEEPERS | Spain | Prunelle Mathet, Ben Suliteanu
TRANGO | Norway | Christopher Carvasal
UP AND DOWN | Belgium | Paul Lavoine
VENT DEBOUT! PATRICE DE BELLEFON, ITINÉRAIRE D’UN GUIDE ENGAGÉ | France | Laurence Fleury
YERUPAJÁ | Spain | Marc Toralles, Brus Busom, Rubén Sanmartín
ZEGAMA ZEGAMA DA | Spain – EH | Mikel Urriza Pascual
Zabalandi Selection
EL LLANTO DEL GLACIAR | Spain | Jordi Mestre López
HIMALAYA +50 | Spain | Jerónimo López
JANNU 1981 | Spain – EH | EMMOA
NOT JUST RUNNING | Kenya | Joel Badia
PERMAPYRENEES | Spain | Laura Vinyals
TENZING | United Kingdom, Australia, USA | Jennifer Peedom
