This Wednesday, May 7, marks the start of the 21st edition of Play-Doc, the International Film Festival held in Tui, Galicia—an unmissable event for lovers of documentary and auteur cinema. Until May 11, the border town will become a hub for filmmakers, audiences, and audiovisual professionals, offering a program that combines works by established directors, heritage restorations, and a strong presence of contemporary Galician cinema.
The opening day immediately sets the festival’s multidisciplinary tone. Traspielas, a performance by singer-songwriter Su Garrido Pombo, opens the program with a piece that blends traditional Galician music with poetry and stage experimentation. It will be followed by the screening of Quieres salir puedes entrar, a short documentary by Pablo Villalobos Leal portraying the poet Carlos Oroza on the centenary of his birth. These two pieces foreshadow the spirit of this edition: a dialogue between the ancestral and the contemporary, between cultural memory and new forms of expression.
Highlights of the International Competition include Fogo do vento, by Marta Mateus, and Bogancloch, by the always surprising British filmmaker Ben Rivers—both previously screened in competition at Locarno. Also competing are 7 promenades avec Mark Brown, by Pierre Creton and Vincent Barré; La chambre d’ombres, by Colombian director Camilo Restrepo; Flamenco, by Jean-Claude Rousseau; Sincero, apaixonado, by Margaux Dauby and Raúl Domingues; and El tercer paisaje, by Spanish filmmaker Julen Etxebarria.
Staying true to its cinephile spirit, this year Play-Doc presents retrospectives and special screenings that celebrate the legacy of cult filmmakers such as Monte Hellman, Elaine May, and Michael Roemer. The program also includes rarities like the home movies of Galician filmmaker Bernardino de Lamas and a curated selection of rediscovered gems from the history of Indian cinema. The lineup is rounded out with concerts, expanded cinema, workshops, professional encounters, and events held in heritage sites.
Galician cinema also takes center stage in the Galicia Competition section, featuring films such as Deuses de pedra, by Iván Castiñeiras; Maroun regresa a Beirut, by Feyrouz Serhal; O silencio herdado, by Lucía Dapena González; and Te separas mucho, by Paula Veleiro, alongside a strong lineup of short films by local filmmakers.
Additionally, three Galician projects currently in development will be presented: Kiro, by María Yáñez, about a legendary Galician pop singer; Despois das cidades, an audiovisual essay by Xacio Baño; and Notas entre silencios, a forthcoming music documentary by Fon Cortizo. Through this commitment, Play-Doc reaffirms its support for local creation and its vision of cinema as a space for resistance, exploration, and collective experience.
