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).
Award-winning film maker Eric Khoo is often credited with reviving the Singapore film Industry and having put his country onto the international film map. He plays this down but does recognize that it was after the success of his film Mee Pok Man in 1995 when Singapore cinemareinvented itself to a certain extent and began to interest an international audience and its films managed to take part in the most important festivals in the world.
This fact and the success he had with his following films – My Magic even competed for the Golden Palm at Cannes – has meant that many people consider him to be one of the most influential filmmakers in the East. He has already chaired film juries at Locarno, Rotterdam and Puchon, among others, but on this occasion he appreciates being just another member of the jury, and he reveals that he’ll be goingfor films that fill him emotionally. “I don’t pay attention to the technical aspects, what I look for is an emotional impact.”