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).
A stage without a staircase set against a blue backdrop (a nod towards Facebook and Twitter) will be the principal novelties at the Opening Gala that will be ho sted t onight b y the Basque actr esses Barb ara Goenaga, Marta Etura, Paula Echeverria and Nagore Aramburu.
Another change in the format will be the ab sence o f Edurne Ormazabal, who after presenting the last eighteen galas, will from now on be codirecting them alongside Manual Palacios.
She stressed how this year the organisers wanted to draw attention to the problems that cinema was facing, and that was why they have placed two screens on stage that will display some of the comments provided by viewers through Twitter and Facebook. During the gala itself they will also be linking up from time to time with the se s ocial net works from the stage.
The ceremony will also be streamed live over the Spanish and Basque public television web pages, as well as on the Festival web page, in order to reach a different kind of audience.