hurrengoa
branka    BRANKA is born: and it now sets sail on the sea of an unknown future. Will it all be in vain? Will any young person die? We, the founders, do not know the answers to these questions. BRANKA, as a child of the Basque Country, is at the service of The Basque: that is our principle objective. The introduction to the first issue of Branka magazine (Socialist Basque Magazine). The magazine Branka existed from 1966 to 1971. A total of fourteen issues were published. Branka is, likewise, the title of cinematographer Mikel Zatarain’s latest piece of work. A film that clocks in at under 28 minutes. The two brankas (nautical; bows) have something in common. Indeed, the same questions that appeared in the introduction to the first issue of the magazine are, in a way, present in Zatarain’s film 50 years on.

In his film, however, we’ll see and hear that 50 years do not pass idly by. Zatarain asks us the same questions, but there is one small difference now: the viewer and listener knows the answer. The answers will vary depending on who is listening/watching because reality is always a kaleidoscope. In this film, Zatarain follows the path he has walked on before in previous films. Once again, this non-fiction film reflects on and experiments with the borders between sound and image. If we were to compare Branka with any of his previous work, we would choose his first short film Lanbroa. Incomparable typical Donostia scenes appear from and disappear into a curtain of fog. The static, neutral and invisible image of Santa Clara Island starts with sound alone. It begins with sounds and these sounds finally overcome the image because sound is what narrates and channels the action in this film. The film is able to progress because of the sound. The repeated sounds, slogans, prayers, chants and explosions of the last 50 years in our country, the soundtrack to our memories.