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The 51st International Festival of Documentary Cinema and Short Films, Zinebi, kicks off in Bilbao on Monday 23rd November. The festival''s opening ceremony will begin at 8pm at the city''s Arriaga Theatre, hosted by Gurutze Beitia. As well as officially presenting the jury, the ceremony will pay homage of veteran filmmaker René Vautier, a special guest of the 51st edition. Following this, the audience will view a projection of the Basque documentary Ikuska 3 Bilbao, restored by Filmoteca Vasca as part of a homage to its director, Antton Merikaetxabarris. During the ceremony, audiences will also view short films made in the Basque country which are competing this year:

Los que lloran solos fictional short by David González Rudiez
El cheff fictional short by Iñigo Kintana
Zortzi/bederatzi Lisabö short documentary by Víctor Iriarte Oñate
Arena fictional short by Jota Aronak
Tener el corazón en el lugar equivocado short documentary by Josu Venero
5 recuerdos fictional short by Oriana Alcaine and Alejandra Márquez

In total, 2,965 short films and documentaries have been entered into the official section of this year''s ZINEBI, from which only 84 will be chosen to compete.

As well as the Arriaga Theatre, films will also be shown in the Cultural Hall of Villamonte in Getxo and in Arriaga Square. In the first instance, viewers will be able to enjoy shorts from the ''Informative Spain'' section starting at 7.30pm, while in the latter, films from the Microzinebi section will be shown from 5pm onwards.

The Mikeldi Honor

Zinebi will award the Honor of Mikeldi to French actress Jeanne Moreau in recognition of her professional career and contribution to contemporary cinema, particularly as a muse during the "nouvelle vague" of the 1960s and 70s.

As part of the section dedicated to African cinema, the festival will pay homage to French cineaste René Vautier who spent time in prison for his work in defence of human rights and against South African apartheid.

Musician Kyle Eastwood will close the festival with a concert organised by the Fundación Bilbao 700 on Saturday 28th at the Arriaga theatre, playing themes from some of the famous soundtracks composed by his father Clint Eastwood.