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).
At a press conference in the Kursaal yesterday director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte explained that it was the relative isolation of the preinternet period that made him set his debut film As you are in the 1990s. “It allowed us to put the story in a pressure cooker,” he pointed out.
As for whether it offered a critique of American society because of its references to homophobia, violence and gun control, subjects that are still relevant today, he said that it wasn’t an issue film. “It’s just about teenagers who love each other in a complicated world.” This was also why he left the ending open as he hadn’t aimed to make a moral story but was more interested in how his characters navigated their feelings.
He praised the older actors like Mary Stuart Masterson and Scott Cohen for being brave enough to agree to appear in such a small film. “They served as role models because of their work ethic and were really committed to being part of our family”.
Asked about his references, the director acknowledged that he had possibly been influenced by Gus Van Sant’s films, something that he felt was unavoidable to a certain degree, and stressed how he loved the fact that Van Sant always gave his characters emotional credibility.