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FESTIVALS / AWARDS Spain

REC continues investing in new talents

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- The 21st Tarragona International Film Festival is being held from 1-8 December, having selected eight films in post-production for its Primer Test industry strand

REC continues investing in new talents
Roaring 20’s by Elisabeth Vogler

The REC Festival kicks off today, 1 December, and will continue until the 8th, this year celebrating its 21st edition. Apart from its usual sections – standing out among which is the one dedicated to feature debuts – the Primer Test section (which has now reached its eighth iteration) will take place on 3 and 4 December, to the delight of professionals in search of films in development. It will present eight films in post-production, which will benefit from advice from distributors, programmers and sales agents.

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The titles that are competing in Primer Test 2021 are as follows: Mi vacío y yo (produced by Testamento and Promarfi Futuro) by Adrián Silvestre, the director of Sediments [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adrián Silvestre
film profile
]
, who previously triumphed at Abycine Lanza and here continues his inquiries into the social conflicts facing trans people; The Volunteer [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
by Nely Reguera (staged by Fasten Films, Bteam Prods and Homemade Films), which also partook in Abycine Lanza 2021, was shot in Greece and is toplined by Carmen Machi; Suro [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mikel Gurrea
film profile
]
by Mikel Gurrea, which boasts a screenplay that he penned himself, co-written by Francisco Javier Kosterlitz (Lastor Media, Malmo Pictures and Irusoin); Born to Be Born, a non-fiction title by Barcelona-born Pablo García Pérez de Lara (Falca visual); Un sol radiante by Mónica Cambra and Ariadna Fortuny (Atiende Films); Ramona, written and directed by Madrilenian helmer Andrea Bagney (Tortilla Films SL); Like a Little Leaf by Manel Raga (La Foradada, Inicia Films, 4 A 4 Productions for France and Kino Klub Split for Croatia); and Light Falls Vertical [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, a documentary written and directed by Efthymia Zymvragaki (supported by Spanish company Gris Medio and Germany’s Thurn Films).

Standing out particularly in the rest of the festival programme, as always, is the Opera Prima section, which, as its name suggests, offers stimulating debut efforts, such as El Planeta [+see also:
film review
interview: Amalia Ulman
film profile
]
by Amalia Ulman, which took part in both Sundance and Gijón, the latter being the place where it was shot; Roaring 20’s [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile
]
by Elisabeth Vogler (France); Italy’s Small Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Samani
film profile
]
by Laura Samani, who will come along to chat to the audience attending the screening; A Tale of Love and Desire [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Tunisia’s Leyla Bouzid (France); Silent Night [+see also:
trailer
film profile
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by Camille Griffin (UK); You Resemble Me [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dina Amer
film profile
]
by Dina Amer (France/USA/Egypt); and The Noise of Engines by Philippe Grégoire (France).

In the Second Round sidebar, particularly noteworthy are titles of the likes of What Went Wrong? [+see also:
film review
interview: Liliana Torres
film profile
]
, a docu-fiction by Catalonian helmer Liliana Torres, which took part in Seville and Tallinn; Compartment No. 6 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Juho Kuosmanen
film profile
]
by Finland’s Juho Kuosmanen, one of the surprises at the most recent Cannes Film Festival; and The Gentiles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Santi Amodeo
film profile
]
by Seville native Santi Amodeo. Among the Proyecciones Previas (lit. “Prior Screenings”) are Libertad [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Clara Roquet
film profile
]
by Clara Roquet (which has racked up multiple nominations for the Goya Awards), the animated flick The Swallows of Kabul [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Zabou Breitman, Eléa Gobbe-…
film profile
]
(France) by Zabou Brietman, and The Return: Life After ISIS [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Alba Sotorra (Spain/UK). And standing tall among its special screenings are The Odd-Job Men [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Neus Ballús
film profile
]
by Neus Ballús, which scooped awards at Locarno and Seminci; the aforementioned Sediments; and Apples [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christos Nikou
film profile
]
(Greece/Poland/Slovenia) by Christos Nikou.

Finally, between 1 and 12 December, the online programme of the 21st REC will be available to enjoy via the festival’s portal on Filmin. “We are offering movies that strike up a dialogue with the features that can be seen in person in Tarragona, and which exemplify the track record of the festival in its search for the very best international feature debuts, and also in its selection of timely topics that allow us to reflect on the present,” explained the gathering’s artistic director, Xavier García Puerto.

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(Translated from Spanish)

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