Bernardo Atxaga

Writing

Bernardo Atxaga

Born 1951-07-27 · Asteasu, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country

Bernardo Atxaga, pseudonym of Jose Irazu Garmendia, is a Basque writer and self-translator. His book of short stories, 'Obabakoak' ('Individuals and things of Obaba'), published in 1988 won him much fame and several prizes. So far, the book has been translated into more than 25 languages.

Acting credits

The Tunnel of the Bellows poster
NR

A documentary film about the origins of the Basque trikitixa. It reflects how the small accordion brought by one of the Italian workers who came to build the Madrid-Paris railway tunnels in 1859, starting from Zumarraga, has become a symbol of contemporary Basque music.

The Tunnel of the Bellows

2025

The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone poster
6.5

An attempt to create a bridge between the different political positions that coexist, sometimes violently, in the Basque Country, in northern Spain.

The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone

2003

Rock Radikal Vasco: La gran martxa de los 80 poster
NR

In this documentary, we travel to the main locations where the musical movement known as "Basque Radical Rock" exploded, emerging in the Basque Country and Navarre in the 1980s. It recalls bands from that era, such as Cicatriz, Zarama, RIP, Eskorbuto, and Kortatu, and interviews some of its leading figures.

Rock Radikal Vasco: La gran martxa de los 80

2013

Itoiz Summer Sessions poster
9.0

The discovery of a series of unreleased tapes leads Juan Carlos Pérez, leader of the iconic group Itoiz, to reflect on the dissolution of the band at its peak, after a clear change of style towards pop that he still denies today. Juan Carlos will thus begin a cathartic journey to the essence of the group, reliving the beginnings of the band as a progressive rock group in Mutriku in the 70's, which will serve him to reconcile with the past.

Itoiz Summer Sessions

2025

No artwork available
NR

According to an ancient proverb, “every dress has its reverse side.” Based on this, Bernardo Atxaga explains the origin of his texts, the underbelly of his novels and poems, in this documentary. Topics include: a passage from the life of so-called “enfant sauvage” Victor de l'Aveyron, an old photograph of the school at Asteasu and its message, the prevalent mood in Bilbao around 1970 and the influence it had on writers of the period, the literary consecuences of a man's insipid illness.

Empty Places, Full Words

2012

Behind the camera