The sixth edition of Zinemaldia Startup Challenge is now open, aimed at Spanish and European entrepreneurs and start-ups

The San Sebastian Festival opens the sixth call for the Zinemaldia Startup Challenge, a competition focused on Spanish and European entrepreneurs and startups whose projects include new technologies applied to the audiovisual field. The registration deadline is May 31 and, as in previous editions, Vicomtech will be part of the jury.

The initiative falls within the framework of Zinemaldia & Technology, a strategic commitment by the Festival in its aim to position itself as a space for reflecting on technology and the audiovisual industry and for narrowing ties between both sectors. This competition is one of the activities of 'Spanish Screenings: Financing & Tech', which is one of the main themes of the 'Spanish Screenings XXL' event. The initiative is dedicated to the Spanish film industry, where a large number of films and audiovisual projects are presented with the aim of supporting Spanish audiovisual production in an international market.

Projects entering the two competitions must meet several requirements. Firstly, they must be from an entrepreneur or a recently created start-up -established after 31 December 2018- and be at any stage of development. Secondly, they should be based on the application of new technologies in the audiovisual field. Finally, entrepreneurs or start-ups must have tax residence in Spain or an European country and consider the possibility of launching the business project in the Basque Country.

A committee of experts made up of professionals from the Basque Business & Innovation Centres (BICs), TECNALIA and Vicomtech will choose the ten finalist projects: five Spanish and five European, which will have the possibility of a year’s free access to an incubation space at one of the BICs situated in the Basque Technology Parks Network. Winners and finalists will also have the possibility of access to funding of up to 500,000 euros for developing their project in the Basque Country. At the end, Two independent juries will decide the two winning projects, one for the Spanish competition and another for the European competition, each of which will receive 10,000 euros. In addition, a third jury will award a special mention of 3,000 euros, recognising the entrepreneurial values of one of the ten selected projects.

The Basque Government, through the Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment and SPRI promote Zinemaldia Startup Challenge. This is the leading initiative of the Zinemaldia & Technology event organised by the San Sebastian Festival in collaboration with TECNALIA, ALÍA (Audiovisual Industry Alliance) and Vicomtech.