This is a visual poem in which dancer Ainhoa Urrestilla dances her mother’s memory, “NEKANE”, a name which comes from the basque word “nekè”, which means “pain” or “sorrow”, while reciting bertsoak, a traditional form of improvised poetry from the Basque Country, about love and loss.

“NEKANE” uses dance, cinematography, and sound as a tool to show pain’s complexity, confronting its enormity, and giving it space, without fear, without resistance.

Pain takes on unpredictable forms and magnitudes, flowing arrhythmically and chaotically throughout the body. Through dance, Ainhoa manages to materialize and shape it, challenging its infinite and uncontrollable nature. Thus, movement and sound serve not only as means of expression but also as coping and survival mechanisms.

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FROM THE DIRECTOR
“The creative process of this project began with the idea of working from a specific emotion and using dance and audiovisuals as a meeting point to represent it. At that time, the most prominent element in our lives was the recent loss of Ainhoa's mother, so we decided to work around it.

While dance perfectly embodies all the complexities of the grieving and sadness process, we thought it was pertinent to incorporate a more tangible element into the project, precisely to "materialize" the uncontrollable nature of such a dominant feeling as pain and sorrow. For this reason, and because of our protagonist Nekane's Basque origins, we decided to include bertsoak composed and recited by the dancer herself, giving the project much more impact and an added sensory layer.

This project was made possible thanks to the donations we received through crowdfunding and the incredible work of a lot of friends, all of them audiovisual professionals, who joined this project as soon as we presented it to them. No one can escape loss, pain, or sadness, so I suppose everyone can identify with NEKANE at some point in their lives and this is also the reason why everyone seemed to believe in this film.

It's been almost three years since we first talked about this project until its completion. It has been a very long and slow project, as the emotional weight of its creative process required many changes of pace, pauses, creative blocks, emotional management, and, at the same time, a lot of care, respect, and affection.”

-Clara Rodríguez Arasanz

Credits

Dancer and Choreographer// Ainhoa Urrestilla @nhoaurrestilla

Director// Clara Rodriguez Arasanz/ @wanatakah

Cinematography// Ismael Derhali Conforto/ @ismaelderhali

Editor// Irene Molina/ @irenemolina

Original Music// Silvia Acosta Santos/ @silviaacostasantos

Production Manager/l AD// Marina Torres/ @mairinis

Production Assistant// Victor Pérez Porcel

1st AC// Pol Subirà/ @polsubira

2nd AC// Andrea López/ @andrealopezl

Gaffer// Guillem Birba Mompeó/ @gyem_birba

Sparks// Adrian Stutzbarth Catalan/ @alter_egost, Victor Martinez Abad/ @victormabad

Sound: Laia Badia Ferran/ @diebushka_south

Sound design// Silvia Acosta Santos/ @silviaacostasantos, Chris Baker @chrissbakerr

Color// Unai Rosende @unai.rosende, Keweke Films @keweke_films

Graphic Design// Giorgio Craparo @g4rdn

Recording Engineer// Eduard Esquirol @me_maten

Voice// Ainhoa Urrestilla @nhoaurrestilla

Bertsoak (poems)// Ainhoa Urrestilla @nhoaurrestilla, Xorkun Uzkudun Arreseigor @xorkun89

16mm Crew ->

Camera Operator// Jordi Palau @21palace_

1AC// Hector Felix @elhhector

2AC// Alejandro Terol @trop_tot_trop_tard

Gaffer// Andrea Lopez @andrealopezi

Sparks// Karanva Kurnikova @karanvakurnikova, Fernando López

BIG THANKS TO:

Papis, Carles, Albert, Camille, Sati, Rae, Carlos, Charo, Unai, Eva, Rubén, Carmen, Neus, Maria Rosario, Elena, Marce, Marta, Oriol, Coco, Toti, Michele, Anna, Dina, Maria Dolores, Situ, Iol, Sonia, Ramsy, Candela, Konvent Zero, ESCAC, KEWEKE FILMS and ALL THE ANONYMOUS DONATIONS.