Artzainak short film gives voice to Basque shepherds of Idaho

There are no longer Basque shepherds in Idaho, or at least only very few, but the voice of their memories continues to be heard more than a hundred years after the first Basque left the ''Old Country'' to look for a better life in America.

Some months ago, an exhibition under the title of "Hidden in Plain Sight: the Basques", produced by The Basque Museum and Cultural Center, was unveiled at the Ellis Island National Monument Museum. The exhibit was a homage to the first Basque immigrants and the struggles, hardships and uncertainties they endured when they emigrated to the United States from the Basque Country.

Now, thanks to Jacob Griswold and Javi Zubizarreta, two college students of Notre Dame University, the voices of the shepherds can once again be heard. Griswold and Zubizarreta produced Artzainak: Shepherds and Sheep as part of their documentary production course for the Film, Television and Theater Department at Notre Dame. In just one semester, they had produced, shot, and edited the short documentary film. "I was initially quite intimidated at the thought of going out without a script, without actors you can''t tell what to do, and hoping for some sort of story to arise, but Jake and I are thrilled with the final result," Javi Zubizarreta says.

Growing up in the Basque Community in Idaho, Javi, of Basque heritage, had always been fascinated by the lore of the sheepherder and the wonderfully idealized story of a shepherd in solitude, alone in the wilderness. "It''s a subject I''ve always been fascinated by and wanted to explore. I wanted to learn whether that idealized image of the sheepherder was true or not, and what it really means to herd sheep," Javi explains.

Jacob is not Basque - his family actually comes from the Dominican Republic - but he really connected with the story of the sheepherders. "The story of immigration, the outdoors, it was a wonderful partnership," Javi explains.

For Artzainak, Jacob and Javi interviewed around fifteen shepherds, of whom all the current ones were from South America. They also interviewed Jose Luis Arrieta, a foreman for one of the sheep outfits, who has been herding since he came to the U.S. decades ago. "He just retired this past spring, so it was really wonderful to film him in action while he was still working. He''s one of only a few Basque shepherds still out in the hills," Zubizarreta adds.

They did interview a number of former shepherds living in Boise too. "They were all either family or family friends. It was great to hear their experiences - I heard stories from uncles and family friends that would otherwise never have been recorded", Javi recounts.

Celebrate the Basques

If anyone, the Basque-American filmmaker would like to dedicate the documentary to the hundreds of former and current sheepherders who left their countries, homes and families in search of a new opportunity and a better life. His own grandfather worked as a herder for a number of years in Idaho and it''s because he worked in the U.S. that his father and uncles were able come to this country. "Their strength, courage and hard work are beyond admirable. To be able to record their stories was truly an honor. I really hope we''ve made their voice heard," Javi says proudly.

Jacob and Javi are now in the process of submitting the film to festivals across America and Europe and are hoping to show it anywhere and to anyone who''ll watch it. "We''d really like for people in the Basque Country to see the film - I think it''s really important for them to see the story of Basque immigration and Diaspora - to see where their Basque brothers and sisters went and what they did", Javi explains.

The Basque-American filmmaker has always stayed connected with the Basque community and his heritage. He just traveled back to the Basque Country this past summer on a research trip through Notre Dame to study Basque Cinema and meet with several writers, producers, and historians and will be returning to continue his research and work on a new script.

As a filmmaker, Javi Zubizarreta draws very heavily from his Basque background. Last year he produced two short narrative films with Basque themes and characters and will soon begin his senior thesis film, which will be a fictional film about Basque sheepherders in Idaho.

"My hope is to be a uniquely American-Basque filmmaker. That is, I hope to make films about the Basque experience, in the Basque language, with Basque characters and themes. I''d like to avoid the major production centers - New York and Los Angeles - in America as much as possible and shoot in Idaho and the Basque country. I really hope to make films that celebrate the Basque people and declare our existence and experiences to a wider international audience," the Basque-American filmmaker says.

To download the short film from the Notre Dame iTunes U website, click here.