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).
As the 71st edition of the San Sebastian Festival is about to kick off and for the third year running, the Department of Sustainability at the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa provides the Zinemaldia with 1,840 m2 of 100% recycled and recyclable red carpet to welcome the film stars outside the Kursaal Palace and on the stretch running from the María Cristina Hotel to the Victoria Eugenia Theatre.
The initiative was announced this morning by the Deputy for Sustainability, José Ignacio Asensio, and the Director of the San Sebastian Festival, José Luis Rebordinos. Asensio congratulated the Festival for “its firm commitment to defending sustainability at an event with global impact”, also stressing that “this initiative is not only an example of applying circular economy principles, but it also fulfils an important social purpose on redistributing food to those who need it most”.
"Within the Festival’s commitment to sustainability, which takes shape this year in new measures applied to the areas of transport and energy, we also believe it is important for one of the iconic objects at the Festival, the red carpet, to send a clear message to the locals on the recycling and reuse of resources”, said José Luis Rebordinos.
At the end of the Festival, the red carpet will be donated to the Gipuzkoa Food Bank in the shape of almost a thousand bags for their use to contain the food donated to those who need it. The local “No Waste” group, belonging to the Emaús Social Foundation Group, will recycle the Festival’s red carpet and make the bags. The Department has allocated a total of 17,000 euros to this initiative.
The San Sebastian Festival began its transition to become a more environmentally sustainable event in 2020. For three years, the organisation has taken several steps with respect to energy, mobility, contracts and material use, all with the focus on reducing its carbon footprint.
Last year, the Film Festival became the first organisation in Gipuzkoa to offset its carbon footprint through the Gipuzkoa Voluntary Carbon Fund, promoted by the Council’s Department of Sustainability. In that first year, the Festival compensated for more than half of its emissions, offsetting 2,841.81 tonnes of CO2 with a monetary value of 25,000 euros.