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).
The Venezuelan director Mariana Rondón has taken part in the Festival for three years running: in 2012 with her film Pelo malo as an unfinished project in Films in Progress, in 2013 with a finished version of the same film that went on to win the Golden Shell, and this year as a member of the Official Jury. She acknowledges that judging films rather than presenting them is much more enjoyable: “what could be better than watching films,” she says. “I always say that I’m much more of a film lover than a filmmaker, and my job is to try and discover and respect the personal world of each film, rather than just comparing them.”
After the success it had at San Sebastián, her film went on to be screened in about 30 countries at around 120 festivals and has won many more prizes. “It’s really lovely to see how it can go down well with the audience and juries in different cultures and very different places.”