Ipuina Kontatu [Telling Stories]

Short Synopsis

Ipuina Kontatu: The Basque Way is a documentary which explores 25 centuries of Basque culture and considers its preservation as a tale about the twin possibilities of tradition and innovation. The dramatic struggle of adoption and adaptation by which Basque culture has flourished while preserving its ancient roots offers a paradigm by which to consider the essential core of cultural identities and their situation in our modern and global society.

Description/Treatment

How does culture survive? Ipuina Kontatu opens a social dialogue surrounding that question through the lens of Basque culture. They speak one of the world’s most ancient languages, established one of the world’s first democracies and lead Europe’s Age of Exploration. For hundreds of centuries Basques have maintained their traditions while flourishing as one of Europe’s most innovative societies. Yet, for centuries their way of life has confronted threats as powerful as the Roman Empire, as transforming as the Industrial Revolution, as tragic as a dictator’s genocidal aggression and as universal as immigration.
Who are these people and how have they navigated the ages as one of Europe’s most ancient cultures to be one of its most flourishing modern societies? Following the lives of several contemporary Basques, this film explores the tales peppering Basque history and examines what has allowed this culture to not only survive the millennia, but also thrive amidst its challenges. As the film unfolds we see that each protagonist is confronting the current tides of modernization and globalization that could threaten the survival of his way of life. However, like their ancestors, these Basque show us how they use the tides of modernity and foreign influence to propel the perpetual continuation of The Basque Way.
STRUCTURE
The film begins with brief introductions to the film’s protagonists. We get a taste of each personality, the lives they lead and situate ourselves within their arresting environment. The humble resolution and certain passion of these striking personalities lure us into their unique world.
The personal stories of these men and women steadily reveal the roots from which their way of life has grown.  Jorge, a fisherman, tells how the earliest Basque fishermen established the world’s first commercial whaling industry in tiny fishing boats as he leads us out on his own boat. We walk through the streets of Gernika with Luis, a survivor of its horrendous bombing during the civil war and he proudly explains the universal liberties Basque society has bound itself to since medieval times.
As each characters’ personal tales develop, they begin to weave into and out of one another. The great mines that Carmelo and his family slaved within were what attracted the Romans to this corner of the continent they were conquering. Jose Etxebarria, a doctor turned farmer tells us that although Basques refused to surrender their language, way of life and freedoms to the Romans, they did welcome the apple trees Romans introduced into Basque ecology. Ximon, invites us into his cider-house  to see how the apple crop played a central role in the Basque diet and social evolution. Farmers traditionally gathered there to endure the long winter, but cider house since served as breeding grounds for social movements and musical traditions. Tale by tale, Basques spin the mysterious history of this indelible culture.
Along with sharing the historical details of the world they have inherited, they also reveal the contemporary world that they are contending with. Joseba, and his daughters endeavor to repopulate a near extinct sheep indigenous to the Basque Country. To keep their efforts profitable, they market their artisanal cheeses globally while contending not only with wolves and bad weather, but also factory farming and industrial production. Jose-Luis wanders across the bridges of Bilbao and shows how century after century civic architecture has economically and socially propelled this “local city” into the international sphere. Today the struggle to welcome immigration and stride towards internationalization without abandoning the Basque identity of the city is both more complicated and  more urgently necessary than ever before.
As viewers become engrossed in the great mystery of this culture and grow to love the tellers which share it, they become involved in the dramatic personal struggle of each protagonist. Although each historical tale conveys its own essential tensions, a more urgent tension develops. We realize that our contemporary world threatens the survival of the culture that these men and women keep alive. The films’ drama evolves from that prospect lurking behind this enchanting world we’ve become attached to. But, these character’s tales weave themselves into the complexly beautiful fabric of their culture, the most important Basque tradition percolates to the surface of every story: Basque culture’s capacity to overcome challenges by reinventing itself.
We see that each of the challenges and struggles of their past have forced Basque culture to adapt itself and evolve into the demands of their contemporary world. Finding the balance between welcoming the foreign and remaining anchored by the core of their identity is what has allowed them to continue on at a sustainable rhythm. This puts forth the consideration of how as individuals and as societies we may confront the challenges posed by current times. The drama in the film thus transcends the specific Basque experience and relates to our personal and collective struggles.
FORM AND STYLE
The narrative design relies upon hearing and witnessing stories told in this traditional Basque way. In the Basque language, ‘Ipuina Kontatu’ means telling stories. Throughout their history, Basques have passed their language and customs down the generations through an oral tradition. The film imitates the organic form of cultural evolution as these tales play-off of and expand upon one another. Each character’s extraordinary personality creates a new texture within the film’s structure. We have never met anybody like them and we know we never will again Their personal tales will be woven together so that their stories not only complete one another, but also create a dialogue between them about Basque culture’s circumstances now and throughout history. It, This method offers a means of intimately approaching Basque culture and suggests how history and identities are created.
Visually the film draws upon its natural environment, a dramatically beautiful setting for tales of adventure, bravery, comedy and creativity. The landscape also structurally unifies the film, just as it has the Basque people. From their mythology to their economies, their industries to their sports, Basque ports and mountain farmhouses have always and will continue to depend upon the natural resources of one another. Basques have formed their identities from this harshly beautiful and physically challenging land.  It’s brilliant contrasts offer a physical manifestation of the dichotomy at the heart of Basque culture: maintaining its ancient traditions by adapting to modern and foreign influences.
Inheritors of an onomatopoetic language, the Basque soundscape provides an acute cultural-portrait. Harnessing this characteristic, one of Spain’s top sound engineers will mix live-sound with a vast archival sound-bank and songs contributed by contemporary musicians and free-verse singers into a soundtrack that enhances the film’s visual style and dramatic content.
THEME
Ipuina Kontatu expresses an acute analysis of Basque cultural history as the context within which to explore the essential core of cultural identities. As animated individuals share their extraordinary lives within a web of tales seldom shared before, they provide fertile ground from which to explore the complex fabric of our modern society.  Basques have always lived at a crossroads that has exposed them to the eternal conflicts between tradition and innovation, localism and internationalization, isolationism and openness. Today, those conflicts are central concerns to both our local and global societies. Although the Basques tell us about their specific history, we are wrapped into a universal tale about human history, a story not of stagnant traditions rather dynamic evolutions. This film is both an entertaining exploration of an indigenous identity and its traditions, and a challenge to our considerations of global identity and cultural progression. It offers a triumphant paradigm about the tandem possibilities of an internationally local and progressively traditional way of life.