In the Basque Country, the cinema of Paul Urkijo (Vitoria, 1941) is a phenomenon reminiscent of Carla Simón's in Catalonia. With his debut, Herrementary (2016)He demonstrated the potential of Basque folklore with a remarkable exercise in fantasy cinema, showing a clear sympathy for the devil; and with Irati (2022) He continued exploring the folklore of his homeland to shape a medieval fantasy that broke the all-time box office record for Basque-language films. For Urkijo, filming in Basque is not only the most natural choice, but also "a declaration of intent." "As a lover of my culture, I try to promote and strengthen Basque, which needs things to be consumed in this language and for people to speak it," he affirms.