Bertsolari

(Bertsolari)
Asier Altuna | Documentary, Musical

2011 | 52 minutes | Spain

Bertsolaritza is an ancestral, completely improvised, form of Basque poetry. Anachronistic? Not at all: the bertsolari, with their spontaneous creation and wordplay, could be an inspiration for rappers and other improv artists.

Synopsis

Bertsolaritza is an ancestral, completely improvised, form of Basque poetry. Anachronistic? Not at all: the bertsolari, with their spontaneous creation and wordplay, could be an inspiration for rappers and other improv artists.

This oral tradition has skillfully evolved and adapted to the times, connecting with the youngest generations. A surprising art of austere aesthetics in these days of spectacularity and special effects. At the grand finale performance of the last championship an audience of 14,000 people gathered to watch 8 bertsolaris vie live against each other. Bertsolari is a voyage through improvised verse, silence and art in the raw.

The origin of the bertsolari verse dates back to earlier times and the documented challenges amongst bertsolaris are very old. The first championships as we know them today, bringing together the very best bertsolaris of the time, were organized in San Sebastian in 1935 and 1936.

A living ethnographic documentary, remarkable and educational.

Reviews

"Combining archival material with observations from practitioners and ethnographic scholars, Altuna traces the history of modern bertso as an expression of Basque individuality and exceptionalism...An effective introduction to a form of expression that has become comparable to slam poetry or rap, this is recommended." — Video Librarian

"Asier Altuna has weaved a beautiful piece... Bertsolari is a proud homage, created by people capable of appreciating how much emotion and meaning there is among the bertsolaris, and translate it to the screen with pleasure" — Mikel G. Gurpegui, El Diario Vasco

"An emotive lesson on how you can understand and communicate what poetry is." — Juan Zapater, Diário de Notícias

"The universe we are shown is extremely suggestive and interesting, a treasure. Don't miss Bertsolari." — Iratxe Fresneda, Gara

Citation
Main credits

Maialen Lujanbio (performer)
Egaña, Andoni (performer)
Foley, John Miles (performer)
Sarasua, Jon (performer)
Altuna, Asier (film director)
Fernández, Marian (film producer)

Other credits

Cinematography, Gaizka Bourgeaud; editor, Laurent Dufreche; music, Herrikojak.


Citation
Cataloging
Keywords
poetry, improvised verse, Bertsolaritza, oral tradition, ethnography, spoken word, Basque tradition, Basque language, spanish, spanish language, latin america, latin american cinema, latin american film, ibero america, latin, latinx, latino, latina,,basque country, basque studies, basque language, basque, basques, vascos, vasco, vascongado, euskara, euskera, aquitani,anthropologically, cultural anthropology, forensic anthropology, anthropologist, human nature, physical anthropology, ethnocentric, ethnography, functionalism, cultures, societies, human people, human society, functionalism, globalization, ideology, pragmatism, dogmatism, social change, society,racism, discrimination, prejudice, ethnicity, ethnic, race studies, ethnic studies, racist, racial sensitivity, bias, prejudice, racial prejudice, ethnic prejudice, genetics, hereditary, culture, ethnic culture, ethnology, ethnography, ethnic sensitivity,literature, poetry, writing, fiction, books, adaptations, writing, writers, authors, authorship, novels, novellas, short fiction, memoir, biography, autobiography, literati, books, written word, book adaptations, poetry adaptations, english literature, spanish literature, books in translation, books adapted to film, cinematic adaptation, cinema rights, film rights, literary adaptation, literary imagery, literary motif,culture, identity, identity politics, culture wars, left wing, right wing, intersectionality, identity groups, civilization, literacy, humanism, cancel culture, online culture, cultural revolution, cultural diffusion, culture shock, popular culture, pop culture, material culture, cultural capital, cultural assimilation ,dance, performing arts, dramatics, music, musical theatre, musical theater, entertainment, performance, performer, performers, dancer, dancers, dancing, musical, pageantry, scenes, live performance, recorded performance, choreography, movement, choreographer,music, tune, melody, hymn, harmony, popular music, rock music, latin music, latinx music, latino music, spanish music, modern music, folk music, soul music, ibero-american music, latin american music, celtic music, flamenco, spanish classical music, classical spanish music, musicals, film musicals, movie musicals, musical films, spanish pop, latin pop, latin pop music, spanish pop music,iberian studies, iberian peninsula, mediterranean, andorra, spain, portugal, andorra studies, spanish studies, portuguese studies,poetry,basque,Bertsolari,pragda,spain,Foley,poetry rap,music documentaries,bertso,performance poetry,levantadores,best cinematography,beauty appreciation,translation,Bert,oral tradition,Bae,how to rap,cine,euskara,Native title,art poetry pragda,Ara Guhler,undertow,Forms of literature poetry,diversity poetry,Berstolari,ethnographic; "Bertsolari"; Pragda Films
Clips
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Festivals

San Sebastián Film Festival
International Documentary Festival of Santiago de Chile
Alès Film Festival

DIRECTOR: Asier Altuna

NATIONALITY: Spain

YEAR: 2011

GENRE: Documentary, Musical

LANGUAGE: Spanish; Basque; Basque

COLOR / B&W: Color

GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adults

SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE

AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE

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