Mythology

Since time began, legends, fairy tales and songs, which tell us about the ancient, pagan world of our ancestors in the territory we live in, have been passed down to us. Basque culture is full of rich myths and legends, which make up a cosmogony of magical gods and deities… Deities which are mainly related to the natural environment of our land: the forests where the Jentiles (the giant builders) live, the caves where Sugaar (the serpent-man from the depths) sleeps and the imposing mountains, home to the Goddess Mari, ultimate representative of Ama Lurra (Mother Earth) who, shrouded in fire, looks down on us and rewards the just and punishes the evil.

Our ancestors lived side by side with these mythological beliefs and used them as a way to answer existential questions. Every phenomenon, or element from their surroundings, was considered sacred and everything had a name. From here comes the expression that every Basque knows: “Izena duen guztia, bada” (Everything that has a name exists).

This also demonstrates the existence of a matriarchal religion, where the goddess mother is the highest authority and the mystery of giving life the biggest enigma. Earth and all of creation was made up of the same substance as the goddess mother: the original myth of all the world’s cultures, which was slowly replaced by the idea of masculine divinity, demystifying nature and the vision of life as one, whole entity.

We are lucky enough to be able to conserve small fragments of that belief in our mythology and through Irati ,my aim is to pay homage to it and to maintain the fascination and respect that the mother of all the world’s beliefs deserves.

Production

Irati is the most ambitious film to be made in Spain in recent years, both in terms of the scale of the production and its fantasy-epic genre. It is the first ever Medieval ‘sword and sorcery’ movie to be made in the country.

A film of battles, spectacular locations and an ambitious production design, all of which have been made possible thanks to the support of organizations and TV companies such as ICAA, the Basque Government, EITB, RTVE, the Provincial Council of Álava, the Council of Vitoria-Gasteiz and the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.

Besides the talented director, Paul Urkijo, we have been blessed with a first-class crew, many of whom are Goya Award winners in their fields. With such an outstanding team, the quality of this ambitious project is guaranteed.

The post-production stage is equally ambitious, in terms of the large amount of VFX in the movie: the mythological creatures such as the gigantic Sugaar, the mysterious Basajaun or the powerful goddess of fire, Mari, played by Itziar Ituño. On top of this, there are also meteorologic VFX, clean-up of on-screen objects and historical reconstructions.

And let’s not forget the thrilling soundtrack and superb sound editing with Dolby Atmos. Irati has been designed to be no less than an epic experience.

Irati is a film born from local legends, but whose nature is international. Our desire is for it to reach homes all around the world.