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).
Ethan Hawke is not just in San Sebastian to receive a Donosti Award but is also here to present his latest fi lm The Magnificent Seven, which he enthusiastically championed at the press conference he gave at the Kursaal yesterday, despite the inevitable difficulties of having to compete with the original. He confessed that getting an award made him realise that his career had been, “a training ground for getting more and more knowledgeable and intimate with film,” and that although he was at a point in his career when acting was getting more and more interesting for him, what he’d really like to do is to direct more: “I hope that the next time I come back to San Sebastián it’ll be with a film I’ve directed.”
He felt that it was important to strike a balance between big mainstream films and more independent fare, especially as the former could provide the means of financing the latter, and mentioned as an example of this how he had always wanted to make a sequel to Before Sunrise with Richard Linklater but that it was only with the success of Training day that he could get funding. He also said that he’d always been a great fan of film festivals. “They’re one of the few aspects of the film business that truly celebrate cinema, and are not just about money.”