The REC – Tarragona International Film Festival inaugurated its ‘Mutating Identities’ programme this Thursday, 5 November, at CaixaForum Tarragona with a screening of Nomad Shadow (2025), the debut feature film by director Eimi Imanishi. The event was attended by Belén Sánchez, the film’s producer; Anna Chwaliszewska, art director; Xavi
G. Puerto, director of REC; and Maria Glòria Olivé, director of CaixaForum Tarragona.
The programme, which forms part of the lead-up to the 26th edition of REC, invites audiences to reflect on origins, displacement and the construction of a sense of belonging. As Xavi G. Puerto explained, “Origins have not ceased to matter, but they are no longer the only point of reference when it comes to defining a person’s identity.”
Nomad Shadow: A look at displacement and Sahrawi identity
The film follows Mariam, a young Sahrawi woman who, after being deported from Spain to Morocco, faces the clash between the independent life she had built and the expectations of her culture of origin.
During the presentation, Belén Sánchez, producer of Nomad Shadow, highlighted the importance of raising the visibility of Sahrawi culture and emphasised the film’s connection to the region: “Taking part in REC is an honour, because it feels like premiering the film at home as well, since it is a Catalan production.” Sánchez also stressed the importance of bringing a type of cinema that rarely reaches commercial theatres to audiences in Tarragona.
The event also offered an insight into the challenges of filming in Algeria, presented by Anna Chwaliszewska, the film’s art director, who highlighted the international and predominantly female nature of the crew.
For her part, Maria Glòria Olivé, director of CaixaForum Tarragona, praised REC’s track record as a platform for discovering new talent and highlighted cinema’s ability to bring different realities and perspectives closer to audiences.
The programme continues every Thursday in November
Following the opening screening of Nomad Shadow, the ‘Mutating Identities’ programme will continue at CaixaForum Tarragona with three more films, screened every Thursday at 7:00 pm:
- 12nd November: Ceniza en la boca, de Diego Luna (Mexico, 2026).
- 19th November: Tres mujeres, de Leyla Bouzid (Tunisia, 2026).
- 26th November: Nina Roza, de Geneviève Dulude-De Celles (Canada, Italy, Bulgaria y Belgium, 2026).
This programme serves as a prelude to the 26th edition of REC – Tarragona International Film Festival, which will take place from 2 to 8 December.
For more information about the festival and its programme, visit festivalrec.com.
