TrueDoc Documentary Festival: Sistiaga, a basque story

José Antonio Sistiaga is one of the greats in basque contemporary art. Through lively exchanges begun in 1993 with his Salvadorean friend Manuel Sorto, we plunge into Sistiaga’s intellectual intimacy and travel through a basque history, following the steps of this experimental filmmaker and artist. 

This nearly two decades-old project is taken up again in 2011, with the filming of the installation of Sistiaga’s retrospective exhibition in San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain.

Director: Manuel Sorto

Manuel Sorto, was born on November 25th, 1950 in Sensuntepeque, El Salvador. He is a writer, a poet, a man of the theater and a Salvadorian filmmaker. He has lived in El Salvador, in Guatemala and in Mexico, before moving to Bayonne, Basque Country, France, in 1987.

His theatrical career began when he interpreted Clov in Samuel Beckett's play Endgame. In 1969, he cofounded and played for a theatrical group called El Taller de los Vagos. On the following year, he became professor, then director of the National School of Theater of El Salvador. Manuel Sorto participated in the literary group La Masacuata. In 1977, he discovered the art of editing by picking up a post of assistant editor for commercials at AFI (Associated Filmmakers International), where he also received a training in the treatment of soundtrack.