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).
Brenda Blethyn gave a wonderfully down-to-earth press conference to present the film London River which is being shown here in the Pearls Zabaltegi section after being premiered at the Berlin Festival. When she first heard that a French director wanted to work with her about a film set against the background of the London bombings in 2005 she confessed that she was a bit reluctant as she wasn’t sure what approach the film would take. However, after meeting Rachid Bouchareb she was so impressed by his integrity that she really wanted to be involved in the project; and was flattered that he’d asked her after seeing some of his work. In actual fact the film wasn’t about the bombings at all but about two people from totally different cultures who come together and discover that have a lot in common. She stressed how sad it was that two people whose lives were about nurturing, blossoming and growth were brought together by destruction. She also had nothing but praise for her co-star Sotigui Kouyaté, who won the award for best actor at Berlin: "a prince among men," and like her he was an actor from a theatrical background so they struck p an immediate rapport.
Asked whether she agreed that there were few good roles for actresses of more than a certain age, she modestly claimed that she didn’t care whether parts were big or small as long as they interested her. She also couldn’t understand why people asked her how she could play such dowdy characters at times. "I don’t see me; I see the character. Everyone must be portrayed; everyone must have a voice," she explained.