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).
In Los Tigres, director Alberto Rodríguez crafts a gripping blend of drama and thriller, unfolding the story of Antonio and Estrella, two siblings bound by a complex and intense relationship set against the vast, mysterious backdrop of the sea. Uniquely merging sound, image, and an unprecedented underwater setting, Rodríguez rawly takes us into the littleexplored and perilous world of professional scuba divers, plunging deep into the turbulent waters of sibling loyalty, unspoken grief, and emotional resilience.
The film opens with a poignant childhood memory, a moment in the sea sparking a haunting search for lost time. As the siblings’ bond is tested by desperate choices, Rodríguez and screenwriter Rafael Cobos use the underwater world as a striking setting and a metaphor for the emotional abyss the characters navigate.
With soundscapes by Julio de la Rosa intensifying the film’s tension, narrative is built brick by brick, revealing that the true threat is not the sea or drugs, but the relentless pull of time itself, submerged, unreachable, forever lost. Through breathtaking underwater sequences and powerful performances by Bárbara Lennie and Antonio de la Torre, this is a haunting reflection on love, regret, and the cost of outrunning time, leaving audiences to reflect on the deep waters we all must navigate in our quest for meaning and survival.