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).
Hans Petter Moland brought his second film Zero Kelvin to San Sebastián in 1995 when he won the Special Jury Award. Since then he has always had a soft spot for the city: “it’s small enough for the Festival to make an impact in the entire city and the locals really throw themselves into it.”
As the chairman of the New Directors Jury he says his aim is to establish a dialogue not just about the films they are watching but also about what they are actually looking for in the film. In fact, the way that Moland envisages the competition makes it sound like a real challenge.“You get together with strangers who you are going to have to show your own strengths and weaknesses to and quickly reach a consensus.” He does admit however that he is very pleased with his fellow jury members and the wide variety of perspectives they have: “They have chosen us because of our passion for cinema and that’s what interests me about the group.”
His career began in advertising and he won several prizes for commercials at Cannes before he moved into the world of cinema where he has directed six features, the latest of which, A somewhat Gentle Man won the Audience Award at Berlin this year.
He also stresses that although it can be a very lonely job, a filmmaker’s day-to-day work can be very rewarding.