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).
Belén Funes (Barcelona, Spain. 1984) graduated in 2008 in Fiction Directing from the ESCAC. She later travelled to Cuba, where she completed a master’s degree in film writing at the famous film school, EICTV San Antonio de los Baños. In 2015, she made a first approach to directing with the short film Sara a la fuga, which had its premiere at Malaga Spanish Film Festival, where it won the Silver Biznaga for Best Director and Best Short Film. In 2017, the SEMINCI premiered her second short project, entitled La inútil, nominated as Best Short Film at the Gaudí Awards given by the Acadèmia del Cinema Català. In 2018, she was selected for Toronto Festival’s Talents Lab (TIFF) to develop the screenplay for her first feature film, entitled La hija de un ladrón (A Thief’s Daughter). The film had its premiere in San Sebastian Festival’s Official Selection in 2019 and landed the Best Actress Silver Shell for Greta Fernández. It also garnered three Gaudí Awards, as well as the Goya for Best New Director. Belén’s works have screened at festivals including Palm Springs, Cairo International Film Festival, BFI London, Chicago International Film Festival, Thessaloniki Film Festival, Les Arcs and Havana Film Festival, among others. She is currently working on the development of her next project, which has received grants for its development and has been included in the SGAE Screenplay Lab.