VISIONS 2 KEYNOTE speaker

Javi Zubizarreta

Javi Zubizarreta is a Basque native of Boise, Idaho. Growing up, he was immersed in the tales, the tastes, and the language of Euskadi —splitting time between the vibrant Basque community in Boise and the overseas. As a filmmaker, he strives to communicate this Basque heritage into films that are not only unique but uniquely Basque. An under graduate at the University of Notre Dame, his films have dealt with Basque themes and have primarily been filmed in his other native Basque language, Euskera. His documentary on Basque and South American Sheepherders in Idaho, Artzainak: Shepherds and Sheep, aired on the Basque television station, EiTB, in addition to festivals in France, Ireland, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, among others. In addition to films, Javi has conducted research on the political and social ramifications fof Basque Cinema through travel Grants from the Nanovic Institute for European Studies and the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. In the summer of 2010, he traveled to Ireland and the Basque Country to study the depiction of nationalism, terrorism, and violence in film by Basque and Irish filmmakers in hopes of finding constructive means of national expression. Additionally, his research has been published in the UNCW-run journal Film Matters.