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).
A pix-in-post focus on cinema in a non-major European language, San Sebastian’s 3rd Glocal in Progress features the latest from Romania’s Andrei Gruzsniczki whose Quod Erat Demonstrandum played in Variety’s 2014 Critics’ Choice: Europe Now! Emil weighs in as a dark comedy tracking its elderly titular character belated comprehension of the complexity of human relations.
A Kosovo, France, North Macedonia and Italy co-production, Andromeda Galaxy, from Kosovo’s More Raça, tracks an out-of-work middle-aged man who decides to sell a kidney to fund a move to western Europe.
A Catalan title, Yesterday’s Two Nights, from directorial duo Pau Cruanyes and Gerard Vidal, follows three friends on a life-changing adventure after the death of a friend.
Meanwhile, San Sebastian’s Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum dedicates this year’s sixth Focus On to Poland. The Focus comes at a promising time for the Polish industry, boosted by the success of filmmakers like Academy Award winner and multiple nominee Paweł Pawlikowski (Ida, Cold War), as well as the introduction of a 30% cash rebate earlier this year. Polish Film Institute general director Radosław Smigulski described the incentive scheme as a “game-changer” for the local biz.
Jamie Lang, Christopher Vourlias