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).
The Austrian film, Sparta directed by Ulrich Seidl was screened in the Official Selection yesterday but due to the controversy that it has drawn following allegations that have appeared in ‘DerSpiegel’ about working conditions for its child actors during shooting, Seidlcancelled his attendance at the premiere, as he was worried that his presence here could overshadow the reception of the film. Sparta centers on a man in his 40s, who moves to a remote part of Rumania to start a new life, and together with a group of young boys from the area, transforms a dilapidated school into a fortress. Throughout the process, however, he is forced to confront his secretpaedophilic urges.