Thousands of children filled the Velodrome to watch “My Neighbour Totoro” (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988), a classic Japanese animated film screened as part of the Ikastetxeak Belodromoan programme. The forest is the main theme in this year’s screening, co-organised by the San Sebastian International Film Festival, the Donostia International Physics Centre (DIPC) and the Basque Film Archive; the film brings schoolchildren closer to the mysteries of the forest and the importance of protecting biodiversity. It features the special participation of the biologist Nahia Gartzia-Bengoetxea from the Department of Forestry Science at Neiker, and the return of the social robot Pepper, who helped to captivate the youngest viewers.
