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Z365" or "Festival all year round" is the new strategic point of the Festival in which converge investigation, accompaniment and development of new talents (Ikusmira Berriak, Nest); training and cinematic knowledge transfer (Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola, Zinemaldia + Plus, Filmmakers' dialogue); and investigation, disclosure and cinematic thought (Z70 project, Thought and Discussion and Research and publications).
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Born in Haifa, Israel in 1950, film director Amos Gitai was studying architecture, following in his father's footsteps, when the Yom Kippur War interrupted his studies. It was the use of his Super-8 camera, whilst flying helicopter missions that led to his career as a filmmaker.
Based in Israel, the United States and France, Gitai has produced an extraordinary, wide-ranging, and deeply personal body of work. In around 40 films - documentary and fiction, Gitai has explored the layers of history in the Middle East and beyond, including his own personal history, through such themes as homeland and exile, religion, social control and utopia. His trademark style includes long takes with scarce but significant camera movements and a devilishly clever sense of humour.
In the late 70s and early 80s, Gitai directed numerous documentaries, including Yoman Sadeh (House and Field Diary, 1982). During the same era, Gitai received his PhD in architecture from the University of California - Berkeley. Following the controversial reception to Field Diary, Gitai moved to Paris in 1983, where he was based for the next ten years and during this period continued to travel widely directing documentaries, including the Venice Critic's Prize-winning Berlin Jerusalem (1989) and the trilogy on the Jewish legend of Golem (1991-1993).
In the mid-90s Gitai moved to Haifa. Over 10 years, Gitai made some 15 films, both documentary and fiction. The 1995 feature Devarim marked the return to his country and his reunion with the light and landscape of Tel Aviv. The first film in Gitai's trilogy of Israeli cities, Devarim was followed by Yom Yom (shot in Haifa) and Kadosh (shot in Mea Shearim, the Jerusalem district of Orthodox Jews).
This return to his country is also a travel back in his own history: Gitai directs Kippur (2000), a feature film based on his war memories. Eden (2001) and Kedma (2002) follow, and both take us back to the creation of the Israeli State, to display its origins, its historical and ideological grounds. Alila (2003), Promised Land (2004) and Free Zone (2005) also depict the current state of the country and the whole area. News from Home / News from House (2006), Désengagement (2007) and Plus tard are his latest films.
"I think it’s a great challenge to see works by young filmmakers: what inspires them, what stimulates them, what make them laugh or cry".
Amos Gitai
Monday to friday: 09:00h a 14:00h | 16:00h a 19:00h