Sunday of Zen
The everyday, mundane sounds of outdoor traffic the distant passenger trains are all part of the relentless rush of daily life. Yet we should pause, even for brief moments, despite the pressure of powerful forces around us that urge us to take other paths. One day, we may all be able to hear the chirping of birds and understand the Zen of life.
Why Sunday of Zen? Yasujirō Ozu exemplifies the transcendental style in Eastern cinema. He passed away on a Sunday, and here “Sunday” becomes a metaphor for “Ozu” himself, descending like a dove to guide the spirit of his fellow filmmaker, Abbas Kiarostami, into eternity.
This film is a homage to Abbas Kiarostami.
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János KisDirector
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Project Type:Experimental, Short
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Runtime:5 minutes 22 seconds
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Completion Date:August 14, 2016
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Country of Origin:Hungary
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Country of Filming:Hungary
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Digital Cinema Package:Unavailable
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Cefalù Film Festival 2018
September 1, 2023
Official Selection -
9th International Video Poetry Festival Athens
July 7, 2021
Official Selection -
Festival del Cinema di Cefalù 2023
János Kis is a contemporary spiritual and poetic avant-garde filmmaker and documentary photographer, dedicated to a mostly dialogue-free, contemplative cinematic language. His works are defined by minimalism, long static takes, and the use of natural light and ambient sound recorded on location. His films reveal the subtle, often unnoticed and unpredictable moments of everyday life.
His artistic vision is marked by a meditative pace and a transcendent, sensitive observation of the fragile harmonies between human beings and their environment.
Influenced by
Maya Deren, Peter Hutton, James Benning, Jonas Mekas, Chantal Akerman, Béla Tarr, Tsai Ming-Liang, Abbas Kiarostami, Andrei Tarkovsky, Yasujiro Ozu, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Jia Zhangke
His films have screened internationally.
Awards and Festival Screenings
Cefalù Film Festival – Italy, 2018
Official Selection / Finalist — Sunday of Zen
30th Girona Film Festival – Catalonia, Spain, 2018 Official Selection / Finalist — Fear (Short Holocaust film)
Los Angeles Underground Film Forum (LAUFF) – 2019 Honorable Mention Award — The Bay
Experimental Forum Los Angeles – 2019
Honorable Mention Award — The Bay
Experimental Forum Los Angeles – 2020
Official Selection — The Unbearable Lightness of Being
9th International Video Poetry Festival – Athens, Greece, 2021 Official Selection — Sunday of Zen
13th One Take Film Festival – Zagreb, 2023
Official Selection — The Unbearable Lightness of Being ( Out of competition )
Festival del Cinema di Cefalù – Italy, 2023
Nominee — Lily Boy
Pebbles Understand Underground Film & Video Art Festival – 2025 Official Selection — The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Octopus Marquee Independent Film Festival – 2025 Official Selection — Hamvas Béla út 11
Near Nazareth Film Festival (NNFF) – 2025
Semi-Finalist — The Prophecy
Recognizing both the beauty and the beast of life often requires us to slow down and seek our inner peace. We all need moments of rest, pauses that allow us to connect our past with the present before continuing our journey toward the future.
Why Sunday of Zen? Yasujirō Ozu exemplifies the transcendental style in Eastern cinema. He passed away on a Sunday, and here “Sunday” becomes a symbolic stand-in for “Ozu.” In this vision, Ozu descends like a dove, guiding the spirit of his fellow filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami toward eternity.
The film is a homage to Abbas Kiarostami.
