Žanete Skarule
Directing
Biography
Žanete Skarule is a Riga-born filmmaker. Over the years she has worked in film production in New York and Los Angeles, where she also graduated from California Institute of the Arts with an MFA in film directing. Žanete works in different genres and techniques – fiction, documentary, experimental, and most recently - virtual reality merged with contemporary performance. Filmmakers like Jonas Mekas, regarded as the godfather of avant-garde cinema, have left a significant impact on her artistic practice. Žanete worked in Mekas’ New York-based studio until 2012 when she started her journey as a filmmaker.
Known For
With the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, the International project "Cinema in 7 Days" was implemented in Kazan for the third time in December 2021 (7dayfilm.ru ). Ten international teams had to shoot, edit and submit 10 short feature films to the international jury in 7 days, with the condition that Kazan must be chosen as one of the filming locations. In the conditions of the pandemic, part of the work was organized remotely using Second Unit and filming took place not only in Russia, but also in Finland, Iran, Latvia, China with the participation of more than 250 young filmmakers.
Movies in 7 Days (2022)
Fable is a film based on a poem by Jackson Hobert. It tells the story of a young woman in an undefined time and space playing with artefacts of humanity. The ever-changing scale of the objects challenges the perception of a viewer, pointing out the relativity of everything around us. The underlying message touches upon, and questions, the hard-to-accept leitmotif of Zen Buddhism - can one really only gain by letting go.
Fable
A dreamer by nature, Quanqi Zhu decides to set up a unique installation at the hillside of Sacred Songshan mountain in China. Despite the language barrier, his best companion is Latvian architect Austris Mailitis. As the building of the object begins, the creators themselves have to levitate between cultural differences, conventions and personal ambitions.
Flying Monks Temple
To escape the cold and mundane bus wait, two elderly ladies, Nina and Zulfia revisit their warm past desires in a story that explores a conflicting relationship between one’s memory and dream.
No Regrets
Architecture student Paulius is faced with a moral choice, after discovering his beloved professor is one of the creatures wanted by police and hunted by Paulius’ vigilante friends.