The San Sebastian Festival, in collaboration with the San Telmo Museum and the Parenting at Film Festivals community, and the support of CIMA (Association of Women Filmmakers and Women in Audiovisual Media), promotes Puxika Gorria / El Globo Rojo (The Red Balloon), a childcare service for accredited Festival guests. This new service will open on September 20.

Partner companies and institutions begin to add support to this initiative: childcare business such us Lillydoo and Yammy will be providing their products, San Sebastian Aquarium will offer a visit. Besides, film companies have contributed to its funding: Charades, EAVE, Cinando, Pris&Batty Films, Fundación Academia de Cine, Cinesa, Avalon, The Match Factory, The Film Agency Morena Films and ULPA ULPA (Union Luxembourgeoise de la Production Audiovisuelle).

Twinned with Le Ballon Rouge, the Cannes Festival initiative, Puxika Gorria / El Globo Rojo will offer a space of 100 m2 at the San Telmo Museum. Said museum is one of the Festival’s main hubs, home of activities for Industry professionals, such as the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum.  

The space, organised by Ludoteka Zorionak will look after the children of accredited guests in Basque, Spanish and English, will remain open from 10:00 to 20:00 between the 20 and 28 September for children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years. They can be there for a maximum of six hours at a time. The childcare service will have a breast-feeding area and a meeting point for mothers and fathers. 

The service will cost 50 euros per child for the whole Festival. Sixteen-hour vouchers will also be available at a cost of 30 euros.

In addition to the childcare service, the organizers will produce the document Survival Guide for Parenting in San Sebastian, the document compiles all the city's services and details, including childcare companies with discounts for overtime. There will be diaper changing services with Lillydoo products at Kursaal and Tabakalera sites.

“Family-friendly services are gradually coming to festivals too. Modestly, with this childcare service, we want to add our grain of sand to achieving fairer and more inclusive social development”, said the Festival Director, José Luis Rebordinos.

“At Parenting at Film Festivals we’re very happy to collaborate with Puxika gorria / El Globo Rojo at the San Sebastian Festival. We hope it contributes to work-life balance in our industry and serves as an inspiration for society in general", said the Parenting at Film Festivals co-founders: Sarah Calderón, Michelle Carey, Aurélie Godet and Olimpia Pont-Chafer. 

“We know that there are certain cultural and social changes that will not be possible until family conciliation becomes more inclusive and equal in the film industry. From CIMA we are committed to this initiative as part of our commitment to the growth of the position and visibility of women filmmakers”, said Cristina Andreu, president of CIMA (Association of Women Filmmakers and Women in Audiovisual Media).

For more information and provisional booking, you can contact the organisation by writing to ParentingAtFilmFests@gmail.com till September 17. After this date you should go directly to the headquarters of Puxika Gorria – El Globo Rojo in the San Telmo Museum.