The San Sebastian Festival and Kutxa Fundazioa have signed a collaboration agreement in the context of the research project Zinemaldia 70: All possible stories, an initiative sponsored by Loterías y Apuestas del Estado. Said collaboration focusses on conserving, cataloguing and researching the photographic collection of the Festival archive.

Under the agreement, the Festival undertakes to catalogue the photographs related to the city’s cinematic event conserved in Kutxa Fundazioa’s extensive Fototeka photographic library, which can be consulted on the website Kutxateka.eus. Besides, this collaboration agreement will enable a start to be made on work to recover, conserve and catalogue the photographic collection contained in the San Sebastian Festival archive. These two lines of work will allow for improved knowledge of the Festival’s visual memory while guaranteeing proper conservation and diffusion of this important photographic heritage.

This collaboration will also take the shape of a yearly photographic exhibition in Tabakalera’s Kutxa Kultur Plaza, the first of which will run in December 2020 on one of the case studies resulting from research into the Festival archive.

This collaboration corresponds to the line of work undertaken by Kutxa Fundazioa to draw attention to Gipuzkoa’s documentary heritage, with special emphasis on photography. Kutxa Fundazioa has been working for almost 50 years to conserve and raise awareness of the photographic heritage through its Fototeka, which houses around one and a half million photographic items, the majority of them related to the province of Gipuzkoa.

Zinemaldia 70: All possible stories

How many stories can be told by the seven decades of an international film festival? How can we re-join the memory and material vestiges of the myriad cinematic, political, social and personal aspects that have shaped the San Sebastian Festival since its foundation in 1953?

The San Sebastian Festival has created, together with the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE), the project Zinemaldia 70: All possible stories (Z70) with a view to generating a living archive of the Festival. The first stage of the project will culminate in 2022, coinciding with the Festival’s 70th anniversary. The initiative enjoys the collaboration of the Tabakalera International Centre for Contemporary Culture, the Filmoteca Vasca and Kutxa Fundazioa, and is sponsored by Loterías y Apuestas del Estado.

The Z70 project highlights the importance of the Festival’s documentary collection (letters, photographs, reviews and mentions in newspapers and magazines, books, etc.) conserved in its archive since 1953. The main objective of the project is to generate reflection and discussion on the past, present and future of the Festival, as well as dialogue critical towards cinematic creation and contemporary thought.

1. Alfred Hitchcock presents his film Vértigo in San Sebastian. (1958)
   Photo: Paco Marí - Collection Marín
2. The San Sebastian Festival director, Antonio de Zulueta, welcomes actress Eva-Marie Saint at the train station. She presented in San Sebastian North by Northwest. Alfred Hitchcock won the Silver Shell for Best Director with this film. (1959)
   Photo: Paco Marí - Collection Marín
3. Nestor Basterretxea and Fernando Larruquert with their film Ama lur at the Astoria Cinema. (1968)
   Photo: Arturo Delgado - Collection Arturo Delgado
4. Fritz Lang. (1970)
   Photo: Paco Marí - Collection Marín
5. Elizabeth Taylor presents the film Night Watch. (1973)
   Photo: Paco Marí - Collection Marín
6. Pilar Miro at the press conference of her film Werther. (1986)
   Photo: Javier Gallego - Collection Gallego
7. Picture of Williem Dafoe the year he presented The Last Temptation of Christ. (1988)
   Photo: Javier Gallego - Collection Gallego
8. Roman Polanski at the presentation of Frantic. (1988)
   Foto: Javier Gallego - Fondo Gallego
9. Picture of John Waters the year he presented Hairspray. (1988)
   Poto: Javier Gallego - Collection Gallego
10. Emma Suarez at the presentation of the film Contra el viento. (1990)
    Photo: Javier Gallego - Collection Gallego