The Tarragona Theatre in the city of the same name will serve as the main venue for the in-person functions being organised by REC Tarragona, a festival that gets under way today, 2 December, and which will continue unspooling until 8 December, thus celebrating its 20^th edition in its regular slot in the calendar. However, its virtual, online screenings already began a few days prior, on the filmin platform, and will continue until 16 December. The gathering is showing some invigorating titles that are sure to delight film buffs: it will open with Josep [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Aurel
scheda film], the animated flick by Aurel, co-produced by French, Belgian and Spanish companies. But professionals in search of films in development won’t be disappointed either, as the Primer Test section – which previously launched its seventh call – will take place on 3 and 4 December in the Casa Joan Miret. In the latter strand, seven films currently in post-production will be presented, ready to receive guidance from distributors, programmers and sales agents (both in person and online) so that they may be completed successfully and build the strongest possible foundations before they set foot in the film market.

The following are the titles that will be competing in Primer Test 2020, the awards for which will be handed out on 4 December at 7 pm: Mi tío by Andrea Fernández, a film shot in Mongolia; Muyeres, filmed in Asturias by Marta Lallana (Ojos Negros [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Marta Lallana, Ivet Castelo
scheda film]), in conjunction with musician Raül Refree; O auto das ánimas by Pablo Lago Dantas, which salvages our ever-fading neighbourly relations; Coraje by Rubén Rojo, about the difficult relationship between a seasoned actress and her alcoholic son; Mighty Flash [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ainhoa Rodríguez
scheda film] by Ainhoa Rodríguez, which combines fiction and documentary as it talks about deserted parts of Spain (see the news); Santa Bárbara by Anaïs Pareto, about the reunion between a Bolivian immigrant and her troublesome son after more than a decade of living apart; and SÓS by Nicolás Martínez, a story of three emigrants, and their feelings of uprootedness and solitude.

In the rest of the programme (which boasts no fewer than 21 premieres) standing out particularly, as always, is the Opera Prima section, which, as its name suggests, offers a batch of the best feature debuts by various filmmakers. The most prominent among these are Yesterday's Two Nights [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], a film about grief helmed by two students from the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Gerard Vidal and Pau Cruanyes (Spain); Mogul Mowgli [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bassam Tariq
scheda film] by Bassam Tariq (UK), revolving around a young British rapper of Pakistani heritage; Slalom [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Charlène Favier
scheda film] (France/Belgium) by Charlène Favier, a film about the perils of toxic relationships among teenagers; My Days of Glory [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Antoine de Bary
scheda film] (France) by Antoine de Bary, a comedy that broaches the subject of immaturity and childishness, the main character of which is a man who was a child movie star and who is now unable to find a job; The Art of Return [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Pedro Collantes
scheda film] (Spain) by Pedro Collantes, consisting of ten scenes that illustrate the alienation and disorientation felt by an actress who returns to her city after a long period away; Gagarin [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Fanny Liatard e Jérémy Tro…
scheda film] (France) by Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh, portraying intergalactic adventures in a colossal block of flats in Paris that is about to be cleared; and Apples [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Christos Nikou
scheda film] (Greece/Poland/Slovenia) by Christos Nikou, set – much like the present day – during a strange pandemic as it talks of memory and a fulfilling life.

Last of all, it’s worth highlighting that REC Tarragona and Filmin have programmed REC 20_20, a channel that is reshowing some of the films that have screened at the gathering over the last few years: movies that proved popular with the critics and the audience alike, and which, for some inexplicable reason, have never been released on the commercial cinema circuit in Spain.