20.000 especies de abejas

20,000 Species of Bees

An eight-year-old is suffering because people keep addressing the child in ways that cause discomfort. They insist on calling the child by the birth name Aitor. And the nickname, Cocó, even if less obviously wrong, does not feel right either. During a summer in the Basque country, the child confides these worries to relatives and friends. But how can a mother handle her child’s quest for identity when she is herself still dealing with her own ambivalent parental legacy? Basque director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren’s debut feature is a sunny drama. By adopting more than one point of view, Urresola is respecting the incredible complexity that is gender identity, and touching on one perhaps less obvious aspect of transitioning: your mentality. (Berlinale)

Director's Filmography (Selection)
20.000 especies de abejas (20,000 Species of Bees, 2023) - Cuerdas (Chords, 2022, short) - Polvo somos (Ashes and Dust, 2020, short) - Nor nori nork (The Declensions, 2018, short)
European Panorama Fiction · Eröffnungsfilme | Opening Films 2023
Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
Spain 2023
color
129 minutes
Spanish / Basque / French
OV with German subtitles / OV with English subtitles
Screenplay Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
Cinematography Gina Ferrer García
Editing Raúl Barreras
Sound/Sounddesign Koldo Corella, Eva Valiño
With Sofía Otero, Patricia López Arnaiz, Ane Gabarain, Itziar Lazkano, Sara Cózar, Martxelo Rubio
Producer(s) Lara Izagirre Garizurieta, Valérie Delpierre
Production
Gariza Films, Inicia Films
World Sales
Luxbox
Austrian Premiere
Austrian Rights
Panda Lichtspiele
World Premiere
Berlinale 2023