Thinking, Letrak eta Futbola kicks off

The Thinking, Letrak eta Futbola festival kicks off this Monday with the screening of a special edition of the documentary Six Dreams, featuring Aritz Aduriz. It will take place at 7:00 pm at Sala BBK and, after the film has been shown, there will be a film forum in which Aduriz himself will take part, accompanied on stage by Justin Webster, director of the series, producer Jordi Call, bertsolari Jon Maia and the Foundation’s Project Manager, Galder Reguera. This unprecedented event, organised exclusively for the festival’s premiere, has aroused great interest among Athletic fans, with tickets selling out in just a few hours. Before the screening, journalist Fede Merino, author of the famous “bacalao, bacalao”, which he used to sing when Athletic scored, will receive the Recognition Award presented by the Athletic Club Foundation.

Below is a brief summary of the programme for this festival, which will include all of the safety measures laid down in the health protocol to prevent the spread of COVID-19. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

Tuesday 10, This is Football

The protagonist of the second day of the festival will be the English writer John Carlin, whose book “The Human Factor” (2006) was made into a film by Clint Eastwood entitled “Invictus”, a film starring Morgan Freeman in the role of Nelson Mandela. The day will consist of two events, linked thematically but independent of each other, and, therefore, separate tickets will have to be purchased for each of them.
Firstly, at 5:00 pm in the Sala Norte in the centre ring of San Mamés, accessed through Point E next to Gate 12, the documentary “This is Football”, directed by Carlin himself, will be shown. Once the screening has finished, the audience must leave the theatre so that the room can be cleaned before the second event.

Tuesday 10, John Carlin and Ander Izagirre

Secondly, from 7:00 pm. again in the Sala Norte, John Carlin will talk to writer Ander Izagirre, winner of the Euskadi Award for Literature for his book “Potosí”.

Wednesday 11, The Fort

The double film session on Wednesday, like the rest of the festival, will be held in the Sala Norte in the centre ring of San Mamés, accessed through Point E, next to Gate 12. Firstly, at 5:00 pm, the documentary “The Fort”, set in Scotland and featuring Fort William Football Club, will be screened. As on other days with double sessions, after the first event the venue must be vacated for cleaning, and the audience must therefore obtain tickets separately for the two sessions.

Wednesday 11, Howard’s Way

The highlight of the day, from 7:00 pm, will be the documentary in tribute to Howard Kendall, “Howard’s Way”.

Thursday 12, Karmele Jaio, Amets Arzallus and Igor Elortza

The first of the two literary days, during which no films will be screened, will feature Karmele Jaio, recent winner of the Euskadi Award for Literature, and creators and bertsolaris, Amets Arzallus and Igor Elortza. It will be a conversation about culture and football that will be held entirely in Basque. The next session, again in the Sala Norte in the central ring, will start at 7:00 pm.

Friday 13, Carnero, Zanón and Ballester

José Ignacio Varnero, author of the novel “ama”, Carlos Zanón, author of “Problemas de identidad”, and Enrique Ballester, journalist and writer, whose last book was entitled “Otro libro de fútbol”, will talk about football and literature on the penultimate day of the festival. It will start at 7:00 pm in the Sala Norte in the centre ring of San Mamés, accessed through Point E, next to Gate 12.

Saturday 14, Buscando a Panzeri (Looking for Panzeri) 

To conclude the festival, the films “Buscando a Panzeri” (Looking for Panzeri) and “Vatreni” will be shown at separate sessions. The first, which will be at 5:00 pm in the Sala Norte in San Mamés, is an Argentinian documentary about the legendary Argentinian sports journalist Dante Panzeri.

Saturday 14, Vatreni

To round things off, at 7:00 pm, the documentary “Vatreni” will be shown, a film about the feats of the Croatian national team at the 1998 World Cup.