MENDI PRO

Friday December 12 – 10:00 Euskalduna Bilbao

Tickets: Free admission until full capacity. Tickets must be obtained on the Euskalduna Bilbao website

3rd edition of the conference aimed at promoting and bringing together the mountain film industry within the framework of BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia.

The grant Mendi Film Beka will have a special section in the session, with the presentation of the winning project of the 2026 grant, which in its 6th edition is supported by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia through its Department of Basque Language, Culture and Sports, and the Mendi Film. The grant is intended for the creation of documentary film projects that aim to promote mountain culture through audiovisual media.

The Mendi Pro conference will be rounded off with a Master Class and a Panel Talk:

Master Class: "Champions of the Golden Valley. From idea to the Oscars".
Speakers: Ben Sturgulewski and Katie Stjernholm, director and producer of the film.

The Mendi Film Official Selection film ‘Champions of the Golden Valley’ is aiming for an Oscar nomination. Its director, American Ben Sturgulewski, is one of the most prolific filmmakers at Mendi Film, having submitted 12 works to the contest. He made his debut in 2011, winning the Audience Award with ‘Solitaire’, and in 2022 he received the Best Soundtrack Award for ‘Creation Theory’ in recognition of the work of Griff Netanyahu Burn and Goth Babe. Katie Stjernholm and both work at the production company Sturgefilm.

Panel Talk: "Desperately looking for funds"
Speakers: Crystal Merrill, director of the Mountainfilm festival in Telluride (USA), filmmaker Michael Brown, filmmaker/producer Elena Goatelli, and filmmaker/producer Ángel Esteban.
Topic: Sustainable funding models; strategies for obtaining funding from investors, platforms, and festivals; keys to finding adequate funding and distribution; Mountainfilm Telluride grant models.