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).
Born in Paris in 1976, since 2001 Virgil Vernier has directed a wide variety of films combining fiction, documentary and mythology. His first short films Karine (2001), L’oiseau d’or (Bird of Gold, 2004) and Chroniques de 2005 (Tales of 2005, 2004) looked at young people in Paris and its suburbs. His following works, such as Thermidor (2009), Pandore (2010, Special Jury Mention at Clermont Ferrand), Orléans (2012) and Andorre (2013), were selected for several film festivals around the world. His first feature film, Mercuriales (2014), was selected for the Cannes Film Festival (ACID) in 2015, and won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Torino Film Festival in 2014. Sophia Antipolis (2018), his latest film, was part of the Filmmakers of the Present programme at the Locarno Film Festival this year and will screen in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section.