ZINEBI has run in Bilbao since 1959, when it began as the Bilbao International Latin American and Philippines Documentary Film Competition; it has used the ZINEBI name since 2000. Bilbao City Council organises it together with the Arriaga Theatre. The festival has been accredited by FIAPF for documentary and short film since 1974, and its Grand Prix and Best Documentary Short winners are considered for the Oscars, with further qualifying status for the BAFTAs, the Goyas and the European Film Awards.
The International Competition takes documentary, fiction and animation shorts of up to 30 minutes. Bertoko Begiradak presents Basque shorts, a parallel section covers Spanish shorts, and the Mikeldi of Honour recognises careers. The 68th edition runs from 20 to 27 November 2026.
Awards and prizes
The International Jury awards the ZINEBI Grand Prix (8,000 euros), the Basque Cinema Grand Prix (6,000 euros), the Spanish Cinema Grand Prix (6,000 euros) and Mikeldi Awards for Best Documentary, Best Fiction and Best Animation Short Film (5,000 euros each). The ZINEBI Grand Prix winner and the Best Documentary Short winner are considered for the Oscars, the Best Spanish Short winner for the Goyas, and the jury picks a European short as a contender for the European Film Awards.
Other prizes are the EITB Audience Award (3,000 euros), the Young Jury Award (2,000 euros), the (H)emen ZINEBI Award for feminist perspectives (2,000 euros) and the UNICEF Award, which carries no cash value. The Mikeldi of Honour recognises careers in cinema.
Festival rules
Official Section - International Short Film Competition (68th edition regulations): accepts short films in documentary, fiction and animation categories, no longer than 30 minutes and produced after 1 January 2025. Films must not have been screened at ZINEBI before or previously rejected. Submissions are made by producers or their legal representatives through FilmFreeway; the fee is 12 euros per film, with exemptions for films produced in Spain and for producers from World Bank low-income countries. Basque and other Spanish productions must be Spanish premieres to compete in the Official Section; otherwise they can enter the parallel sections Bertoko Begiradak and Spain Short. Films with spoken languages other than English need English subtitles. Priority goes to world, international and European premieres.
The International Jury has at least five members, no more than 40% of them Spanish nationals. Awards are paid to a single production company named on the entry form. Regulations are published in English, Basque and Spanish; the Spanish version prevails.
