Sunday of Zen submitted to film festsivals

I just submitted "SUNDAY OF ZEN" to different Film Festivals via #FilmFreeway! Though I did't really find any festivals the genre of my film typically fit, but  maybe a few jury members understand the meaning and have chance to be  selected at least for screening. The film is a homage to Abbas Kiarostami and represents the "contemporary contemplative cinema (CCC)" or as most of the people know "slow cinema". BUT even there's differences between CCC and such a kinda films as Sundays of Zen or my other films as well as Karma, Invasion, Ways, Everywhere, In Search of Lost Time or my first Holocaust film Requiem for the Forgottens. The Still Life is a bit different, because I was working with an "actress" or let say someone who were following my instructions, therefor this film a bit closer to the so called CCC.  The other above mentioned films I made it could be rather a sub-category of CCC and call "Devotional Cinema". These films are closer to Peter Hutton and James Benning styles though when I was developing my style I have't heard about these two great filmmakers. I was influenced the most by Chantal Akerman and Jonas Mekas. Usually I don't use fix shooting time as most of the filmmakers. I mean my films start at a certain point and finishing at an other certain point.

The lengths of time between the beginning and the end is an important element of my films but as a director I have to be patient and wait for the right moment to start and finish the film within one long take even if I work without "actors" on certain locations only with natural elements, birds, trains, trespassing people, etc...

That not means I don't cut the final starting and ending point in post production but the story must have a clear beginning, a middle and the end. Using small and medium size digital cameras are quite convenient and much cheaper than shooting on 8 mm, 16 mm or 35 mm, but the colors and the outlook of the film is totally different. I'm not the only one who simply can't afford shooting with film cameras but maybe in the future this can be changed as I have chance to direct more formal slow films.

Making of Sunday of Zen

Making of Sunday of Zen

And about the Sunday of Zen; it was an excellent occasion to shoot this experimental short film and capture a moment close-up from a shy and suspicious dove's daily life. It took weeks to observe patiently the behaviors of the birds (titmouse, pigeons, doves, magpies) living nearby our apartment. They seek shelter in the trees and regularly are coming to visit us for food and some water.

The outdoor traffic sounds, the passenger trains recedes in background all part of our rush of everyday life. We must stop for even short moments despite pressure from powerful forces around us trying to persuade us to take other paths. One day we all will be able to hear the chirping birds and understand the Zen of life. Some of you could ask why the title is Sunday of Zen, ...not only Zen?Here the "Sunday" is referring to Yasujiro Ozu.