Albisteak
Aizpea Goenaga, Head of the Etxepare Institute
San Sebastián-born actress, writer and film director Aizpea Goenaga is to head the Etxepare Institute, following an agreement by the institute's governing board.
The Etxepare Institute is to disseminate the Basque language and culture throughout the world.
Aizpea Goenaga Mendiola (born in San Sebastián, 1959) holds short-course degrees Teaching and Drama. She has studied acting, directing and play-writing at HB Studio and the New School University.
She has acted in numerous plays, including Arlequino, servidor de dos amos, Pekata minuta, Dakota, Nacidos culpables, Hau paraderoa and Arrain ontzia / La pecera. She also has experience acting in films such as El invierno en Lisboa and Santa Cruz, el cura guerrillero, which earned her the Paco Rabal award for best new actress at the Murcia Film Festival. She also appeared in La gente de la Universal and Pecata Minuta.
Her first experience as a director came as assistant director at the Spanish Theatre Repertory Co. in New York, and she has since gone on to direct several plays. In 1995 she won the Donostia Saria prize for Zu(t)gabe. In 2003 she won the Serantes Theatre Award for her play Agur Betiko, and in 2005 the Toribio Altzaga-Euskaltzaindia award for Santxa.
She has published several children's stories and has written several plays for both children and adults.
She has worked as a scriptwriter and director on various TV series. She has also directed the film Zeru horiek (Esos cielos), based on the novel of the same name by Bernardo Atxaga, and, more recently, the feature film Sukalde kontuak.
In 2009 she was a juror for the Anton Abbadia prize awarded by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.
