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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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Iraqi filmmaker Hasan Hadi ponders on childhood memories of life after the First Gulf War in his award-winning debut, The President’s Cake. The film won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes and tells the story of a young girl tasked with baking a birthday cake for Saddam Hussein during a time of famine and scarcity.
Though based on a friend’s impacting real-life experience, Hadi’s work transforms memory into a darkly comic tale where children shoulder adult responsibilities while adults behave like children. Developed at Sundance Lab, the project grew out of a nurturing environment that encouraged risk-taking and introduced Hadi to his mentors and producers. The innocence of children is key to his vision. He believes they are unbiased about reality, thus turning into the perfect narrators of a politically charged era. Hadi chose non professional actors, guiding them through workshops to capture authenticity, and drew inspiration from Spanish classics portraying dictatorship through a child’s gaze, such as Cría cuervos.
For him, authenticity ensures universality: a personal story resonates everywhere. Winning Cannes recognition was thrilling, but Hadi most values audiences, eager to see how viewers in San Sebastián respond to a story rooted in Iraq yet meant for the world.
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