20,000 SPECIES OF BEES

A film by Estíbaliz Urresola Solaguren

WITH THE SUPPORT OF

FACTSHEET:

WORLDWIDE PREMIERE: Berlinale International Film Festival. Official Competition.
YEAR: 2023
LENGTH: 125 min
LANGUAGE: Spanish, Basque, French
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: GARIZA FILMS & INICIA FILMS with the associated production company SIRIMIRI FILMS
SALES AGENT: Luxbox
DISTRIBUTION: Bteam Pictures

WATCH TRAILER

SYNOPSIS

An eight-year-old child struggles with the fact that people keep addressing her in confusing ways. During a summer in the Basque Country among the beehives, she explores her identity alongside the women of her family, who at the same time reflect on their own lives and desires.

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

The film is a celebration of diversity, like that guaranteed by the insects in the title, which allowed me to explore the image of the family hive, where each bee has its specific and necessary function for the group’s operation. This higher organism (the hive) is governed by its own rules, which I was interested in identifying as family. This is where the tension between the individual and the collective arises, with this portrayal of different, diverse, and necessary bees (grandmothers, aunts, mothers, daughters…) for social functioning. I was also interested not only in focusing on the journey of the character Cocó/Lucía, the young protagonist, but also on how the perspectives of those around her change: for this, I needed to create this environment of different people receiving, accepting, or confronting the reality presented.

CAST:
Sofía Otero
Patricia López Arnaiz
Ane Gabarain
Itzia Lazkano
Sara Cózar
Martxelo Rubio
Unax Hayden
Andere Garabieta
Miguel Garcés

CREW:
SCREENWRITER: Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
DOP: Gina Ferrer García
ART DIRECTOR: Izaskun Urkijo Alijo
EDITOR: Raúl Barreras
COSTUME DESIGN: Nerea Torrijos
SOUND: Koldo Corella
SOUND DESIGN: Eva Valiño
PRODUCTION: Gariza Films, Inicia Films
IN ASSOCIATION WITH: Sirimiri Films
WORLD SALES: Luxbox

FESTIVALS Y AWARDS:

Berlinale – Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance
Hong Kong International Film Festival – Young Cinema Competition – Best Actress
Seattle International Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize
Malaga Film Festival
- - Golden Biznaga for Best Spanish Film
  - Silver Biznaga for best female performance Patricia Lopez Arnaiz
San Sebastian International Film Festival – Zinemira – Sebastiane Award
Calgary International Film Festival – International Narrative Competition – Best
Direction
European Film Awards – European Discovery Prix Fipresci Nominee
Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival – Outstanding First
Feature Award
Sydney International Film Festival – Features
Goya award for best screenplay
Goya award for best debut feature film