''Black is Beltza'' is a 2018
2D adult animated drama film directed by
Fermín Muguruza
Fermin Muguruza (born 20 April 1963) is a Basque rock musician, singer, songwriter, producer, record label manager, and co-founder of the ska punk band Kortatu, active from 1983 to 1988, and of the crossover group Negu Gorriak, active from 1990 t ...
(in his
directorial debut) from a screenplay by Muguruza,
Harkaitz Cano
''Twist'' is a 2011 crime novel, with elements of political thriller, written by Basque writer Harkaitz Cano. The book won the 2012 Basque Literature Prize. The original Basque version was published by the Editorial Susa in 2011, Gerardo Mar ...
and Eduard Sola, based on the
graphic novel of the same name by Muguruza, Cano and Jorge Alderet.
A co-production by Setmàgic Audiovisual and Talka Records and Films, the soundtrack was composed by Muguruza, a
Basque rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
musician, and
Raül Refree
Raül Fernandez Miró (Barcelona, 1976), better known as Raül ''Refree'', is a Spanish record producer, musician and composer.
Career
In 1996, Raül joined the melodic hardcore group, Barcelona Corn Flakes, with whom he recorded ''Ménage' ...
, a Spanish
record producer. The film was released in Spain on 5 October 2018, and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the
Gaudí Awards.
Premise
In October 1965, a group of
processional giants, inspired by parades in Pamplona, is invited to march down New York’s 5th Avenue on Hispanic Day. But the racial discrimination policies, two black giants are not allowed in the parade. Debarring from this true-event, which happened a few months after Malcolm X’s death the story turns on Manex, a young Basque who travels to New York to walk inside one of the carnival giants.
Manex will be an inadvertent witness to some of the most remarkable events and actors from the last decades: Racial riots, the Black Panthers, the Cuban Revolution, Cold War spy games, which all make for a colourful portrait of the ’60s counterculture era.
[Mayorga, Emilio (22 September 2016]
San Sebastian: Fermin Muguruza Preps Singular Animation Debut ‘Black Is Beltza’ (EXCLUSIVE)
''Variety''. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
Accolades
Released in Spain on 5 October 2018, ''Black is Beltza'' was nominated for two accolades:
Sequel
A sequel, titled ''
Black Is Beltza II: Ainhoa'' is set to be released in 2022. It will follow Ainhoa, the daughter of Manex, who has inherited his social commitment and taste for adventure.
[Lang, Jamie; Sandoval, Pablo (21 September 2021]
Basque Production Booms: 20 Exciting Upcoming Titles from the Spanish Region
''Variety''. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
References
External links
* (in Spanish)
English version*
*{{Rotten Tomatoes, black_is_beltza
2018 films
2018 animated films
Spanish animated films
Animated feature films
Adult animated films
Animated thriller films
Animated drama films
Films about racism