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 Argentine “philosophical comedy” Puan, co-directed by Benjamín Naisstat and María Alché, is about the fight between two professors to become head of the philosophy department at a university in Buenos Aires. Both directors acknowledged during the presentation of their film in the Official Selection yesterday that they were close to the world of philosophy. María Alché studied philosophy at Puan, while Benjamín Naishtat is the son of a philosophy professor. They were particularly interested in showing what the lives of these people were like, “at the faculty where they are devoted to thinking, and in the outside world, where they have to cope with more mundane issues, and we thought that comedy was the best way to address this.” They also described the process of sharing directing duties as “difficult but enlightening.” They were aware that their working method isn’t the same, so they were lucky to be able to rely on some great actors. “We gradually combined directing styles to find a tone that formed part of a single universe,” María Alché explained.