Basque Drag Queens and Peruvian Filmmakers Triumph at San Sebastián Documentary Forum

The 21st Lau Haizetara Documentary Co-Production Forum, part of the San Sebastián Festival, has just concluded, with three films taking home the top prizes. "Mariana x BHP," a legal thriller directed by Renan Flumian and produced by Droma Productions and Quijote Films, won the Music Library & SFX Award for its exploration of the aftermath of Brazil's devastating Mariana dam collapse in 2015.

Maia Iribarne Olhagarai's "Altxaliliak," from Doxa Producciones and Gastibeltza Filmak, scored the Euroregional Documentary Award with its portrait of four queer Basque performers reclaiming their identity through drag. Meanwhile, Claudia Chávez Levano and Christine Mladic Janney's "La increíble historia de una película que no hemos visto," produced by Amazona Producciones and Eleven Hands, took the EPE-Ibaia-Elkargi Award for retracing the life and censorship battles of pioneering Peruvian filmmaker Nora de Izcue.

The forum also featured a diverse array of documentary pitches, with urgent stories of resilience and survival dominating the lineup. From Afghan women using mobile phones to resist Taliban rule, to Gaza's first para-cycling team, and Iran's paradoxical cosmetic surgery industry, these projects showcased the power of documentary filmmaking to give voice to underrepresented communities.