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).
Cuban actor Jorge Perrugorría presented Benicio del Toro with the second of this year’s Donostia Awards at a ceremony in the Kursaal last night. Perrugorría described him as a “real cinematic beast; what in Cuba we call ‘a monster’. He’s a wild presence that overflows the screen. Acting is an act of rebellion and his non-conformist spirit has graced us with some great performances that now form part of the history of cinema. “
On receiving the award Benicio del Toro said he wanted to dedicate it to the little piece of land where he came from. “Where I was born; where I learnt to play and share; where I went to the cinema for the first time; where I learnt how to love, to laugh, to respect myself and others; where I learnt to dream and to never lose faith. I dedicate this award to Borinquen” - the name that Puerto Ricans give to their island.
He recalled his first visit to the Festival; a place he’s always felt really at home, and described how he’d seen a photo of a group of fishermen in a restaurant, in which one of them looked utterly shattered. When he asked the waitress what was the matter with him, she replied that it was because of the effort he’d made. “And now when I ask myself why they’ve given me this prize, I think: ‘effort’. He closed with a cry of “Long live cinema and its history! Thanks and Good night.”