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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).
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Creative freedom in film directing
In an era of profound changes in the production, financing, and exhibition of cinema, the role of directors is constantly evolving. In the face of pressure from the market, platforms, and dominant discourses, how can creative freedom be defended? How can one maintain their own voice in an increasingly globalized and competitive medium?
In this conversation, Isaki Lacuesta, Pablo Berger, Daniela Fejerman, and Julio Medem will share their reflections with the audience on creation, negotiations with the industry, and the challenges of maintaining a personal vision in each film. Moderated by Inés Paris, the session will propose an open debate on the limits of artistic autonomy in contemporary cinema and how directors can imagine new forms of creative freedom.
(Within the "1st ACCIÓN Meeting of Film Directors from Spain" Conference).
Film and television director and screenwriter with a long career, she is currently vice-president of SGAE. She holds a degree in Philosophy and a PhD in Aesthetics and Art Theory from UAM. She has written and directed feature films such as Olvido (2023), La noche que mi madre mató a mi padre (2016) and A mi madre le gustan las mujeres (2002); documentaries including Manzanas, pollos y quimeras (2014) and Ellas son África (RTVE); and TV series such as Romi (2024), La Valla (2020) and El grito de las mariposas (2021).
Her works have received numerous national and international awards. She was the first president of both CIMA and the SGAE Foundation, and she is currently a board member of the Mujeres por África Foundation. She has also published articles and essays on gender equality and culture.
Pablo Berger, from Bilbao, is one of Spain's most renowned and internationally recognized filmmakers. He began his career with the multi-award-winning short film Mama and went on to study film directing at New York University. There, he directed Truth and Beauty, which was nominated for an Emmy. Berger has taught screenwriting and directing at the New York Film Academy, as well as at universities such as Cambridge, Princeton, Yale, the Sorbonne, and La Fémis.
His feature film debut, Torremolinos 73 (2003), was an international success. With Blancanieves (2012), he won ten Goya Awards, including Best Film, as well as an Ariel Award. The film received nominations for the César and European Film Awards and represented Spain at the Oscars. In 2015, the French government named him a Knight of the Arts and Letters. Abracadabra (2017) earned him his third Goya nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
In 2018, he joined the Hollywood Academy. His latest film, Robot Dreams (2023), premiered at Cannes and won awards at international festivals, including the Goya, Annie, Platino, and European Film Awards. It was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. In 2024, he received the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts.
Isaki Lacuesta (Girona, 1975) has written and directed twelve feature films. Flores para Antonio (2025, co-directed with Elena Molina) premieres in the official section of the San Sebastián Film Festival. His previous work, Segundo premio (2024, with Pol Rodríguez), won three Goya Awards —including Best Director— and the Golden Biznaga at Málaga. One Year, One Night (2022) premiered at the Berlinale and received the Goya for Best Adapted Screenplay, while Between Two Waters (2018) earned him his second Golden Shell in San Sebastián, along with numerous international awards.
His filmography has been the subject of retrospectives at institutions such as the Georges Pompidou Center, New York’s MOMA, the National Gallery of Washington, the Spanish Film Archive, and the Catalan Film Archive. Among other honors, he has received the National Film Award of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Sant Jordi Award, and the Eloy de la Iglesia Award at the Málaga Film Festival.
He has also curated exhibitions such as the Catalan Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale and collaborated with artists from various disciplines, including Naomi Kawase, Miquel Barceló, and Refree.
Screenwriter, film and television director, and playwright. With a degree in Psychology, she began her career as a television screenwriter. She has written and directed two short films and six features, including A mi madre le gustan las mujeres (2002), La adopción (2015), and Alguien que cuide de mí (2023). Her work has received multiple awards and nominations, including the Goya for Best New Director. Alongside her creative work, she teaches at various institutions, master’s programs, and film labs.
Julio Medem (San Sebastián, 1958), who holds a degree in Medicine from the University of the Basque Country, is one of Spain’s most renowned auteur filmmakers. As a screenwriter, director, and producer, he has made 12 feature films (11 fiction and 1 documentary), awarded at major national and international festivals.
His debut feature, Vacas (1992), won the Goya for Best New Director. The Red Squirrel (1993) was honored in Cannes, and Tierra (1996) competed in its official selection. Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998) was nominated for the Golden Lion in Venice, and Sex and Lucía (2001) became an international hit, with 11 Goya nominations. His documentary Basque Ball (2003) broke audience records for Spanish documentary cinema.
Other highlights include Chaotic Ana (2007), Room in Rome (2010), ma ma (2015, starring Penélope Cruz), The Tree of Blood (2018), 8 (2025, Audience Award in Málaga and Best Screenplay in Malta) and the upcoming MINOTAURO. Picasso and the Women of Guernica (2026).
As a producer, he founded Alicia Produce in 1997, through which he has developed both his own projects (Basque Ball, ma ma, 8) and international co-productions.
Monday to Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.