Check out the complete program of the Tabaca Film Fest, choose your favorite activities and book your tickets here.
FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER
Two panthers pulled the chariot of Dionysus, god of wine, on his journeys. We can’t think of a better beast to open the doors of the third edition of the Tabaca Film Fest.
And we’ll do it with another debut: it will also be the first evening that Celler de Bresca opens its doors to the general public. An inspiring project created to recover abandoned land and bring vineyards and olive groves back to life.
Cinema, mountain wine and olive oil in an exceptional setting, with breathtaking views and the Geganta Adormida presiding over the valley. A magical, one-of-a-kind night, with very limited capacity.
Price: €10 (everything included)
Where: Celler de Bresca
Booking required. Very limited capacity.
Please arrive 15 minutes in advance.
Car sharing is recommended. Parking available in front of the winery.
Warm clothing is also recommended, as some activities will take place outdoors.
EIXAM – 19 min / Fiction / Direction: Eugenia Sampedro / Spain / Catalan / 2025
Maria travels with her friend Zoe to a quiet village in Mallorca to spend a winter holiday. But what begins as a peaceful getaway slowly takes a disturbing turn.
TEETAN – 15 min / Fiction / Direction: Hadi Rezayati Charan / Iran / Talysh / 2025
Every few years, during the first three days of winter, the inhabitants of a village must offer a sacrifice. On the first day, a father mysteriously disappears, leaving his son completely alone, forced to face the weight of what seems like an inevitable fate.
ENTRE MITGERES – 10 min / Fiction / Direction: Andreu Oliva / Spain / Catalan / 2025
Pau, a young man with little commitment to farming, has long postponed rebuilding the emotional relationship he lost with his father. The recent death of his mother and the lack of qualified personnel in the fields will lead Pau to rethink his next step.
RADIX – 4 min / Animation / Direction: Anne Breymann / Germany / No Dialogue / 2025
Two creatures meet in a tree. Their encounter leads them deep into the roots… and beyond.
FLEURIR – 30 min / Documentary / Direction: Amanda Meunier / France / 2024
A young film student decides to portray the women in her family who live in the Pyrenees and dedicate themselves to rural life. Through her camera, she delves into their daily lives and family bonds, building an intimate story about the mountains, work, and oral transmission.
SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER
The Minotaur awaits us at the centre of the labyrinth. And to reach it, we’ll venture deep into the Era d’Ortega in the beautiful enclosed village of Peramea, one of the most remarkable corners of the Baix Pallars, which will host a night of cinema, memory and music.
We’ll enjoy a session of Tabaca Film Fest finalist short films, culminating in the premiere of “Mite, càmera i acció”, a documentary that recovers myths, legends and oral memory from the Pallars Sobirà. Some of its protagonists will join us for this very special evening.
Afterwards, we’ll share some food and, as night falls, the powerful voices of the female trio Silvestres will perform a repertoire that recovers and reinterprets traditional songs.
Price: €10 (everything included)
Booking required. Very limited capacity.
Where: Era d’Ortega, Peramea
Warm clothing is recommended, as some activities will take place outdoors.
SANG DE BOU – 17 min / Fiction / Direction: Clàudia Munuera / Spain / Catalan / 2026
In a world without resources and with a devastated sea, Emma, an ambitious young fisherwoman desperately fighting to make a living, will seek the help of her friend Albert, who is more conformist and reserved.
L’ÚLTIM REFLEX – 1 min / Animation / Direction: Pablo Jiménez / Spain / Catalan / 2026
A mirror maker creates a piece unlike any other. Upon contemplating it, a vision deeply moves him and leaves him profoundly disturbed.
ADIEU SOLEIL – 20 min / Fiction / Direction: Hakim Atoui / France / French / 2024
It is the end of summer, and the heat is suffocating. An 11-year-old girl and her family eagerly await the solar eclipse everyone is talking about, but everything takes an unexpected turn.
MERCERIA LÍDIA – 8 min / Documentary / Direction: Ingrid Miralles / Andorra / Catalan / 2025
This documentary uncovers the history of a haberdashery in Andorra la Vella: Merceria Lidia. A story told by its owner, her granddaughter, and even the haberdashery itself. A testimony about the passage of time, memories, and love.
MITE, CÀMERA, ACCIÓ! – 42 min / Documentary / Direction: Tabaca Film Fest / Spain / Catalan / 2026
A journey through the heritage, culture, and folklore of Pallars through the eyes of different grandmothers, grandfathers, and myths.
SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER
Four sessions named after beasts and films for all ages: children, young people and adults. You can come to one, two… or all four.
There will be prize draws and surprises, and you’ll be able to vote for your favourite shorts and help decide the Tabaca Film Fest Audience Award.
The Cucafera, one of the most festive and lovable creatures in our traditional bestiary, will open this Sunday of cinema.
A session specially designed for the youngest members of the family —and, of course, for the adults who want to join them— with a selection of short films to discover creatures, fantastic worlds and surprising stories through cinema.
And pay attention, because before they leave, our youngest spectators will receive a very sweet surprise.
Free session.
Booking recommended.
Where: Cinema Els Til·lers, Sort
Ages 7+
Apropa Cultura partner activity
TOTS ELS MEUS COLORS – 5 min / Animation / Direction: Anna Solanas i Marc Riba / Spain / Catalan / 2023
After the death of her mother, a girl loses all her colors. Will she be able to get them back?
THE SUN IS BAD – 3 min / Animation / Direction: Rachel Mow / United States and Hong Kong / Chinese / 2023
Set in 1980s Hong Kong, a strong-willed little girl tries to destroy the sun to stop it from melting her city. And to do so, she uses her toys and whatever she can find!
A WALK INTO THE AFTERLIFE – 4 min / Animation / Direction: Jiyun Jeong / Luxembourg / No Dialogue / 2024
A small black cat embarks on a journey to the garden of the afterlife in search of a magical flower.
HOOFS ON SKATES – 12 min / Animation / Direction: Ignas Meilūnas / Lithuania / No Dialogue / 2024
In a fairytale winter wonderland, two friends are having a great time skating on a frozen lake when, suddenly, a strange and unknown world opens up beneath them. Now they will have to learn to interact with “the others” without letting fear and prejudice dominate them.
COLORED MEMORIES – 4 min / Animation / Direction: Annaïs Affolter / France / No Dialogue / 2026
Amidst the ruins of her devastated city, a little girl looking for food follows a magical hummingbird whose drops heal the war-torn walls, only to face the fragile boundaries between hope and reality.
THE BOY WHO CHEATED DEATH – 5 min / Animation / Direction: Pipou Phuong Nguyen / France and Vietnam / No Dialogue / 2025
A boy tries to hide his mother from Death. Together they embark on a game of hide-and-seek, while Death becomes their relentless predator.
PENINSULA – 5 min / Animation / Direction: Angèle Vergoni, Sarah Vanhoeck / Belgium / No Dialogue / 2025
A woman wakes up in a tiny forest inhabited by strange-looking, very small people. Slightly embarrassed, she decides to explore the rest of this unusual place in search of somewhere she won’t bother anyone.
GÖKOTTA – 14 min / Fiction / Direction: Kay Oceans / Spain / Spanish / 2025
After a dream about a forest guardian, Samuel, a young man unmotivated by adult life, remembers a story from his childhood: one day he found a small village of goblins in the middle of the forest.
What’s one of the best plans for a Sunday morning in Sort? A classic morning at the cinema.
The Urco, the mysterious black dog of Galician folklore, invites us to a session where extraordinary powers, stories shaped by war, worlds that not everyone can see and distant childhood memories will coexist. Creatures, memory, reality and fantasy come together in a new selection of Tabaca Film Fest finalist short films.
And afterwards? You’ll still have the whole Sunday ahead of you, but you’ll already have travelled to distant lands and times.
Free session.
Booking recommended.
Where: Cinema Els Til·lers, Sort
PLÀNCTON – 23 min / Fiction / Direction: Irene Moray / Spain / Catalan / 2025
Joel has hidden his feelings for a long time. But the return of an old love begins to reopen his scars.
KUKERI – 13 min / Fiction / Direction: Kourosh Ahari / Bulgaria / Bulgarian / 2024
In a remote village in Bulgaria, an ancient ritual intended to protect a baby ends up unleashing a supernatural force.
GRITA – 3 min / Fiction Animation / Direction: Ulises Rivera / Spain / Spanish / 2025
When lost time accumulates, when what really matters is postponed, routine suffocates the inner drive, and it seems it’s too late, an intimate, sometimes chaotic shock can erupt, capable of reordering the course of life.
SAURÍ – 19 min / Fiction / Direction: Josep Solé i Blasi / Spain / Catalan and Spanish / 2025
Angelina, a woman who lives alone with her animals on the banks of the Ebro river, hears an explosion and discovers a body floating downstream. Could it be Jaume, her son who disappeared during the Civil War?
GALLINA – 16 min / Fiction / Direction: Fernando Reinaldos / Spain / Spanish / 2025
In a rural setting in Spain, a ten-year-old boy loves spending time at his grandmother’s house, playing with his little sister and his best friend. But everything transforms when an innocent game can turn into betrayal.
A preview of a selection of short films that the Tabaca Film Fest will share with local secondary schools the following week.
Vibrant stories about change, identity, transformation, fears and new ways of seeing the world, inspired by the Phoenix, that extraordinary bird that dies and is reborn from its own ashes.
Free session.
Booking recommended.
Where: Cinema Els Til·lers, Sort
Apropa Cultura partner activity
UNDERGROUND INVADERS – 8 min / Animation / Direction: Shera Courtalhac, Ines Molinier, Victor Lesaffre, Maëlle Metaireau, Dana Guyot, Ines Dolivet, Meggie Bernier / France / French / 2024
Three young adults, obsessed with the horrors of the modern world, find themselves trapped in the depths of an underground subway, which progressively transforms into a nightmare.
DARSHAN – 18 min / Fiction / Direction: Alberto Allica / Spain / Spanish / 2025
Abhinav feels suffocated by the small Hindu community in Madrid and dreams of escaping to a rave with his friends in search of another kind of ecstasy. A series of strange events foreshadow the inevitable collision between the two worlds he belongs to.
EDUCACIÓN FÍSICA OBLIGATORIA – 13 min / Fiction / Direction: Pablo Porcuna / Spain / Spanish / 2026
The Spanish government imposes compulsory physical education in the upper secondary school course. This new rule hides a secret that completely changes life in a high school. History speaks about fear, youth and obedience.
SEMPRE, SEMPRE – 19 min / Fiction / Direction: Marc Esquirol / Spain / Catalan / 2026
Martina accidentally crosses paths with Gerard in Barcelona. Their conversation opens a crack in the present, and time folds in on itself: the fog of the Pyrenees and a morning in a nursery return like a physical memory.
CHAIR ADOLESCENTE – 10 min / Fiction / Direction: Pablo Cabel / France / French / 2025
A high school student discovers that his body is changing in a way that goes far beyond the usual transformations of adolescence. Hoping to get closer to his girlfriend, he will do everything possible to get rid of this strange metamorphosis.
GEEKITA – 11 min / Fiction / Direction: Renaud Parra / France / French / 2025
Addicted to screens, Eva is an unapologetic geek, to the despair of Koki, her loyal pet. When the collector’s figure of her dreams finally goes on sale, the situation quickly slips out of her hands.
We’ll finish our Sunday of cinema with a big beast.
The Tarasque, a legendary creature from French tradition, half animal, half monster and difficult to tame, will lead us to one of the most acclaimed French fantasy films of recent years: Le Règne animal, by Thomas Cailley.
A father and son embark on an adventure about metamorphosis, nature and the beast that perhaps lives inside all of us. A fantastic, wild and deeply human fable to bring a full day of cinema in Sort to a close.
Presented at the Cannes Film Festival, the film received 12 César Award nominations and won 5, including cinematography, original music and visual effects.
Free session.
Booking recommended.
Original version with Catalan subtitles.
Where: Cinema Els Til·lers, Sort
Apropa Cultura partner activity
LE RÈGNE ANIMAL – 128 min / Fiction / Direction: Thomas Cailley / France / French / 2023
In a world plagued by a wave of mutations that gradually transform some humans, François does everything possible to save his wife, who is affected by this mysterious illness. As society is pushed into a new order, he will begin a quest alongside Émile, his 16-year-old son, that will change them forever.
THURSDAY 24 SEPTEMBER
For four days, the Reial Alfolí in Gerri de la Sal will become Tabaca territory: cinema, culture and wild beasts.
The journey will begin with the official opening ceremony of the third edition of the Tabaca Film Fest, followed by a new session of finalist short films. But we won’t be alone: mysterious characters will accompany us throughout the evening and, in their own way, make sure we reach our destination. Pack your bags.
Afterwards, we’ll share a wild welcome dinner inspired by the most ancestral flavours of the Pallars, created by Jaume Mora, renowned chef at Fonda Farré in Baro, one of the benchmark establishments for local Pallars cuisine.
And when it seems the night is coming to an end, Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the underworld, will open one final door…
Price: €15 (everything included)
Booking required. Limited capacity.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
Warm clothing is recommended, as some activities will take place outdoors.
BARLEBAS – 20 min / Fiction / Direction: Malu Janssen / Netherlands / Dutch / 2024
In the year 1595, a woman accused of witchcraft refuses to be silenced. Her free spirit and powerful voice will eventually inspire a new generation.
DISSECCIÓ D’UNA INCOHERÈNCIA EN CRISI – 16 min / Fiction / Direction: Nausica Serra / Spain / Catalan / 2025
Three little girls in an absurd and banal argument about how to make a paper airplane. Three adults in a sophisticated and cultured confrontation about the specifics of a historical event. Discomfort is served, hovering over the idyllic setting of a young family.
MATER BENEFACTA – 12 min / Animation / Direction: Marc Riba i Anna Solanas / Spain / No Dialogue / 2024
In a convent in dictatorship-era Spain, nuns offer refuge to young girls in need of help.
CARTA D’UN ARBRE ALS HUMANS – 9 min / Experimental / Direction: Ventura Durall / Spain / Catalan / 2026
In a Mediterranean landscape suffocated by heat and rural abandonment, a tree finds its voice and writes a letter to humanity, demanding an urgent pact with nature.
SER UN HOMBRE – 20 min / Fiction / Direction: Lucas Parra / Spain / Spanish / 2025
Miguelito, an innocent seven-year-old boy, accompanies his father and grandfather on a hunt that will change him forever.
FRIDAY 25 SEPTEMBER
Artemia is a tiny crustacean from an ancient lineage, capable of living where almost nothing else can: in water with extremely high salt concentrations. The perfect guide to discovering one of Gerri’s greatest treasures.
We’ll visit the Museu de la Sal and the Reial Alfolí, an emblematic building that over the centuries has served as a salt warehouse, school, theatre and shared community space. We’ll discover Gerri’s salt-making history and celebrate a small but remarkable achievement: this year, traditional salt production has returned, thanks to the effort and commitment of an entire village.
Free activity.
Booking required. Limited capacity.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
Half horse, half impossible creature, the Alicorni will invite us to leave the known world behind for a while.
One of the festival’s most dreamlike and hypnotic sessions, with short films that will take us towards strange, intimate and unexpected territories. Cinema to surrender to, to look a little further and perhaps reach places we didn’t know existed.
Price: €3
Booking recommended. Limited capacity.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
Apropa Cultura partner activity
PER BRUIXA I METZINERA – 24 min / Fiction / Direction: Marc Camardons / Spain / Catalan / 2025
Cebriana, a woodcutter from a village in the Pre-Pyrenees, discovers a strange bonfire in the mountains in the dead of night. In the darkness, a mass of fire and light burns fiercely, consuming everything.
EL CUERPO DE CRISTO – 12 min / Animation / Direction: Bea Lema / Spain / Spanish / 2025
Suffering from an unrecognized mental disorder, Adela seeks answers in popular rituals. She feels something is watching and harming her, and only religion seems to understand her. During a visit to a healer, she confesses the disturbing origin of her suffering.
STALLION Y LA BOLA DE CRISTAL – 19 min / Fiction / Direction: Christian Avilés / Spain / Spanish / 2026
In his dark and silent room, a reclusive teenager, consumed by a burning desire, casts a spell. While violent visions distort his reality, a bubble threatens to burst; something has to break.
UNA DANZA NON SANCTA – 7 min / Experimental / Direction: Tiago Almança / Spain / Spanish / 2025
Every winter, in Luzón, a small village in Castilla-La Mancha, an ancestral ritual returns. The inhabitants, covered in soot and adorned with horns and cowbells, delve into the darkness to become demons.
NINGÚ BORDA – 20 min / Fiction / Direction: Júlia Coldwell / Spain / Catalan / 2025
Candela leads a monotonous life working at her family’s dry cleaner in an inland town. During the town festivities, she has a sad incident with her car, but decides not to confess it to avoid ruining her nephew’s birthday.
Dragons, griffins, impossible beasts and creatures born from human imagination since time immemorial. If this year we’ve decided to fill the Tabaca with beasts, we couldn’t have found anyone better than Joan de Déu Prats to help us understand where they come from and what they tell us.
A writer and great expert on fantastic and legendary imagination, he will invite us to explore the universe of mythological animals, their stories, their symbols and everything that humans have projected onto them.
An opportunity to go a little beyond the myth and discover what lies behind the beast.
Free activity, no booking required.
Recommended for adults.
Limited capacity. Free entry, first come, first served.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
Apropa Cultura partner activity
The Aatxe, a spirit from Basque mythology that takes the form of a red bull, appears at night and inhabits caves and hidden places. This session will also take us into uncomfortable territory.
Dystopias, desires, unsettling futures and realities that sometimes feel like fiction. A selection of short films that will hold up a mirror to us and invite us to ask where we are going, and what remains of us along the way.
Price: €3
Booking recommended. Limited capacity.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
EL REGALO – 14 min / Fiction / Direction: Lara Izaguirre Garizurieta / Spain / Spanish, Basque, French / 2025
Desirée, Samara, and Aurora leave their neighborhood on the outskirts of Bilbao for the city center to buy a gift for their niece. However, the simple task ends up getting complicated.
GYNOID – 20 min / Fiction / Direction: Celia Galán / Spain / Catalan / 2025
Two strangers participate in a robotics experiment where they must solve a riddle. As the test progresses, the boundaries between artificial intelligence, identity, and the perception of reality blur, giving rise to a disturbing psychological game.
I WALKED THROUGH THE WALL – 8 min / Fiction / Direction: Pablo Larcuen / Spain / English / 2025
A woman who feels trapped in a life dedicated to serving her family accidentally discovers she has a strange power.
MY MOTHER IS A COW – 15 min / Fiction / Direction: Moara Passoni / Brazil / Portuguese / 2024
Twelve-year-old Mia is left in the care of her aunt at the family ranch, on the edge of the Brazilian Pantanal, a region devastated by wildfires. Missing her mother’s affection, she will have to learn to live with untamed and unpredictable nature, while the threat of a deadly jaguar looms over the family.
LES IMATGES ARRIBAREN A TEMPS – 6 min / Experimental Documentary / Direction: Jaume Carrió / Spain / Catalan / 2025
Recent natural disasters have had an emotional impact on filmmaker Jaume Carrió, who reflects on loss and analyzes how society captures and preserves memories.
MY BROTHER MY BROTHER – 15 min / Animation / Direction: Abdelrahman Dnewar, Saad Dnewa / Egypt / Arabic / 2025
In a desolate and unsettling landscape, a man reviews his life of dependence, control, and constant tension. The world around him seems to respond to his emotional state, transforming the landscape into a reflection of his inner conflict.
The Sphinx posed riddles to travellers. We’ll answer with pencils, imagination and a deck of cards yet to be invented.
Jesús Rosan, artist and long-time accomplice of the Tabaca, will invite us to create our own Tarot cards inspired by animals, symbols and elements from the Pyrenees. Tarot as a tool for exploration and self-knowledge, but also as a space for play and creation.
What would a Tarot deck born in the Pyrenees look like? Come and draw a card —and, above all, start thinking about the question you’ll ask it.
Free outdoor activity. Ages 7+.
Booking recommended. Limited places.
Where: Xiringuito de la Sal · Gerri de la Sal
Activity co-organised by the Parc Natural de l’Alt Pirineu
Apropa Cultura partner activity
Half woman, half dragon, the Víbria is one of the fiercest creatures in our imagination. And the last film session of the day certainly won’t be here to tickle us.
Poetry, wounds, rage, desire and revenge come together in a selection of short films that will bring us closer to stories shaped by conflict and characters who refuse to bow their heads. An intense session that will not leave us indifferent.
Price: €3
Booking recommended. Limited capacity.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
LOQUITA POR TI – 19 min / Fiction / Direction: Greta Díaz / Spain / Spanish / 2025
Alma is in the midst of adolescence, focused on José, the golden boy everyone desires. The setting: a capea where the boys prove they are pure machos and the girls grumble, hoping to catch their attention. Alma struggles to be seen, but the only creature that pays her any mind is a strange animal that won’t stop looking at her.
WHITE FLAG – 15 min / Documentary / Direction: Perviz Rostemi / Iran and Iraq / Kurdish / 2026
A man and a woman living in a village on the border of Kurdistan have lost their son and daughter-in-law in bombings. Together, they collect the remnants of war scattered across the surrounding mountains and bring them home.
GEOMETRIA BÀSICA DE LA MUNTANYA DEL MONTSIANELL – 4 min / Experimental / Direction: Antoni Grañana / Spain / Catalan / 2025
A director, sent by the Geometric Institute of Terres de l’Ebre, embarks on a seemingly scientific mission: a geometric exploration of the Montsianell mountain in Amposta.
DOG AND WOLF – 20 min / Fiction / Direction: Terézia Halamová / Czechia / Czech / 2025
Rudo is a 25-year-old stripper who has decided to embrace a life of endless partying and sleepless nights. As he drifts through the chaos of the night, surrounded by drugs, music, and dancing, memories of his ex-partner, Misha, haunt him, reminding him of broken promises and the bonds he has lost.
SEÑUELO – 16 min / Fiction / Direction: Martha G. Ayerbe / Spain / Spanish / 2025
Martín, a shy and sensitive boy, accompanies his father and his father’s boss on a day of hunting. The day will bring to light the tensions and frustrations of these two men, testing Martín’s worth.
Arnau Obiols comes to the Tabaca Film Fest with “Ocelltambor”, his latest work: a sonic universe born from attentive listening to nature, mountains and silence. Voice, percussion, flabiol, electronics and sounds collected from the landscape meet in music that is free, ancestral and utterly personal.
An invitation to listen differently. To close your eyes and enter the forest. And who knows? Perhaps, somewhere between sound and silence, we’ll discover one of the most emblematic and mysterious creatures of the Pyrenean forests: the capercaillie.
Free activity, no booking required.
Limited capacity. Free entry, first come, first served.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
SATURDAY 26 SEPTEMBER
What lies beneath the waters of a lake? Scottish legends say that Kelpies, mysterious water horses, inhabit the depths of their lochs and fjords. Montcortès has plenty of theories of its own…
We’ll begin by discovering, together with an expert from Geoparc Orígens, the geological features of this exceptional lake and the landscape around it. We’ll continue with Gratitud Pallars to learn about the micro-reserves they are developing in the area, discover what regenerative tourism means and ask ourselves what we can do to leave a slightly better footprint on the world.
An outing to walk, observe, learn and look at Estany de Montcortès with new eyes.
Free activity. Ages 8+.
Booking required. Very limited places.
Meeting point: Estany de Montcortès car park (junction with the Peracalç track).
Suitable footwear and clothing, water, a hat and sun protection are recommended.
The Basilisk, a fantastic creature with the body of a reptile and a gaze capable of killing, will lead us through a session of transformations.
Growing up, changing, discovering who we are and learning to live with everything we gradually leave behind. A selection of short films about moments of transition, with all their light, discovery and, sometimes, their wounds too.
Price: €3
Booking recommended. Limited capacity.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
Apropa Cultura partner activity
LAS COLILLAS DE MI CASA – 19 min / Fiction / Direction: Eduard Amado / Spain / Catalan and Spanish / 2025
Amanda lives alone, trapped in her routine. She works at her tobacco shop and attends flamenco classes with her friend Maribel. Her son Pol, taking advantage of a casting call in Barcelona, returns home by surprise for a couple of days.
A DOG’S LIFE – 9 min / Animation / Direction: Sophie Olga de Jong, Sytske Kok / Netherlands / Dutch / 2025
When her grandmother’s dog dies, her granddaughter Luna helps bury it. But what happens when you die and end up underground? The grandmother avoids answering the question, and Luna decides to find out for herself what lies beneath.
ABATA – 24 min / Documentary / Direction: Aner Etxebarria and Pablo Vidal / Spain / Basque / 2026
In 1955, fascinated by the ingenious hunting of pigeons with wooden paddles and nets, Orson Welles directed the documentary The Land of Basques. Today, from a hut on the border between Navarre and France, a veteran pigeon hunter reveals the secrets of this tradition of more than 700 years, which is on the verge of disappearing.
PLUJA D’ESTIU – 13 min / Fiction / Direction: Teo Nicolau / Spain / Catalan / 2026
For his 18th birthday, Oriol invites his high school friends, whom he hasn’t seen since before the pandemic, to his family’s summer house. Despite the desire for a post-pandemic reunion, a sudden rainstorm seems to sink Oriol.
MAL DE MADRE – 21 min / Fiction / Direction: Irene Baqué / Spain / Spanish / 2025
Sixteen-year-old Lita has been afraid of lizards since childhood. Every summer she returns to Lagartera, a village where family traditions are deeply rooted. During the Corpus Christi celebration, while her grandmother helps her dress, Lita discovers the origin of this fear that has accompanied her all her life.
The Qilin is a creature from Chinese mythology associated with kindness, prosperity and the arrival of fertile times. This morning it will help us discover the ancestral seeds of the Pallars Sobirà, and the strategies that allow something so tiny to begin a new life.
With biologist Helena Barril, we’ll create our own Seed-Character using a variety of materials. Nature never stops surprising us —and neither does our creativity!
Free outdoor activity. Ages 5+.
Booking recommended. Limited places.
Where: Xiringuito de la Sal, Gerri de la Sal
Activity co-organised by the Parc Natural de l’Alt Pirineu
With the collaboration of Esboïga (Associació de varietats locals de l’Alt Pirineu)
Apropa Cultura partner activity
Since its birth, cinema has never stopped asking big questions. About who we are, where we come from, the origin of life, what is real and what might exist beyond what we are capable of seeing.
For thousands of years, humanity looked for answers in myths. Then science arrived, and the two paths separated. But perhaps today, as quantum physics offers new answers, science and myth are not as far apart as we might think.
Javier Urrutia, professor of aesthetics and film expert; Sebastián Grinschpun, physicist and science communicator specialising in the physics of the Universe; and Blanca Pujals, architect and researcher into scientific infrastructures, will discuss how cinema has represented all these questions. We’ll revisit major films and filmmakers who have dared to look in this direction: other realities, the limits of perception, the Universe and everything that still escapes us.
A little cinema, a little quantum physics, a little myth and, probably, a certain dose of cosmic vertigo.
To guide us, Gerió, the three-bodied giant of Greek mythology who, while pursuing Pyrene, gave rise to the Pyrenees. Or so the legend says.
Free activity, no booking required.
Limited capacity. Free entry, first come, first served.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
In the afternoon, the Panarrat (bat in Pallarese), a creature of the night traditionally associated with superstition and fear, will take us towards the darker corners of the imagination, with stories about visceral hatred, ancestral recipes and forced exile.
Price: €3
Booking recommended. Limited capacity.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
EL FANTASMA DE LA QUINTA – 17 min / Animation / Direction: James A. Castillo / Spain / Spanish / 2025
In 1819, an aging Francisco de Goya steps away from public life and retires to the Quinta del Sordo, where he will shape some of his darkest works.
CARA DE CONA – 17 min / Fiction / Direction: Guillermo de Oliveira / Spain / Galician / 2026
Moncho has lived and worked for years in a small village in rural Galicia. His inner peace is disturbed by the arrival of Pardavila.
LA DISSIDENTE – 22 min / Fiction / Direction: Nicolas Vimenet / France / Chinese and French / 2025
Hua Liu, a 60-year-old Chinese poet, receives help from her daughter to obtain a long-term visa that will allow her to spend her retirement in France with her family. But Hua Liu is hiding a secret that will follow her wherever she goes.
BORSCHT – 14 min / Fiction / Direction: Vika Evdokimenko / United Kingdom / English, Russian, Ukrainian, and Polish / 2025
Trying to impress the boy she likes, a young woman prepares a family recipe following the instructions left by her late grandmother. But the task becomes much more complicated than she could have ever imagined.
KRÀLIK – 13 min / Fiction / Direction: Alessandro Rocca / Italy / Slovak / 2025
A father is tormented by a recurring nightmare in which his son kills him. Life on the farm becomes increasingly difficult as their territory shrinks.
Throughout history and across many cultures, the scarab has been used as an amulet of protection and regeneration. At the Tabaca, we invite you to discover the amulets of our own folk tradition.
With Natàlia Saldaña, a great expert in the ancestral uses of plants, we’ll explore herbs from our surroundings traditionally used to ward off witches, evil spirits and misfortune. We’ll learn how amulets, potions and other preparations were made to purify and protect the home and its inhabitants.
A little botany, a little folk wisdom and, just in case, a little protection.
Free outdoor activity for adults. You may come accompanied by children aged 6+.
Booking recommended. Limited places.
Where: Xiringuito de la Sal · Gerri de la Sal
Apropa Cultura partner activity
Can you find love in the mountains? Can you go out partying and end up seeing the light? What are we willing to do to be free? How far will we go to pursue our dreams?
The Mulassa will take us through a session full of characters who search, desire, fight, make mistakes and keep moving forward. Stories of life, inheritance, freedom and mountains, with protagonists who, each in their own way, are trying to find their place in the world.
Price: €3
Booking recommended. Limited capacity.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
L’AMOUR ÇA N’A PAS DE PRIX– 14 min / Documentary / Direction: Amanda Meunier / France / 2023
An endearing portrait of love and loneliness in the mountains of the French Pyrenees.
LUZ DIABLA – 11 min / Animation / Direction: Gervasio Canda, Paula Boffo and Patricio Plaza / Argentina / Spanish / 2025
Martín, a young urban raver, is involved in a strange road accident while traveling to a party in the heart of the Argentine Pampa. Seeking refuge in a mysterious rural tavern, paranoia progressively takes over him.
EL PRÍNCIPE NIGERIANO – 17 min / Fiction / Direction: Marcel Sesplugues / Spain / Catalan and Spanish / 2025
Guillermo works in a real estate agency and dreams of moving to Miami. To achieve this, he accepts a deal with his neighbor Carme, who wants to buy an apartment.
MAJONEZË – 22 min / Fiction / Direction: Giulia Grandinetti / Italy / Albanian and Serbian / 2024
Elyria lives with her family in a remote mountain village in Albania, under the inflexible authority of her father. Trapped in an oppressive society, she finds it increasingly difficult to contain the anger growing inside her.
They say griffins, half lion and half eagle, guarded the most precious treasures. This will be the moment to discover who will take home the awards from the third edition of the Tabaca Film Fest.
We’ll reveal the jury prizes, announce the Audience Award that you will have helped decide throughout the festival, and welcome filmmakers and some very special guests. There will be prize draws, gifts and a few more surprises.
And all of this with Esperanceta de Casa Gassia as our mistress of ceremonies. From this point on, we can’t guarantee much. Only that she’ll take us wherever she wants.
Free activity.
Booking recommended. Limited places.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
The Mantícora is an impossible beast. A mixture of creatures that, against all odds, somehow works.
After the awards, the formalities are over.
Las Duras return to the Tabaca and PdPijas make their official debut. Two generations, two universes and a single dance floor.
The final night of the Tabaca cannot be explained. It has to be danced.
Free activity, no booking required.
Limited capacity. Free entry, first come, first served.
Where: Reial Alfolí · Gerri de la Sal
SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER
Much has been said about witches. But few people have studied them as deeply as Pau Castell.
A medieval historian born in Tremp, professor at the Universitat de Barcelona and one of the leading experts on witch-hunting in Catalonia, he has spent years tracing archives and court proceedings to reconstruct a history that was particularly intense in the Pyrenees.
And the Pallars occupies a surprising place in this story: did you know that the earliest known European legislation against the crime of witchcraft, dating from 1424, originated in the Valls d’Àneu?
At the Tabaca, Pau Castell will introduce us to little-known cases of Pyrenean witchcraft, some of them originating in the Baix Pallars itself. Accused women, trials, fears, beliefs and persecutions that took place much closer to us than we might imagine.
The Striga, that nocturnal female figure that has crossed the European imagination for centuries, will inevitably hover over the room.
Free activity, no booking required.
Limited capacity. Free entry, first come, first served.
Where: Reial Alfolí, Gerri de la Sal
Apropa Cultura partner activity
Japanese legend says that the Baku, another hybrid beast, devours nightmares. This afternoon, it will have plenty of work to do.
After moving us last year with “Un poble sota les aigües”, Cooperativa Alba Jussà returns to the Tabaca with a proposal that is difficult to classify: theatre and cinema coexist on the same stage, with more than twenty performers and an absolutely overflowing imagination.
“Somnis perversos”, directed by Eduard Muntada, will introduce us to the mischief of the minairons, the wrath of Zeus and the unsettling Charon through a theatre piece that includes three short films created by the performers themselves.
Myth, cinema, theatre, humour and creativity in their purest form. One of the most singular proposals of this edition, and the best possible way to bring it to a close.
Free activity, no booking required.
Limited capacity. Free entry, first come, first served.
Where: Reial Alfolí, Gerri de la Sal
Apropa Cultura partner activity
And between one film and the next… SUPO-SUPO
The cinema room at the Reial Alfolí will be flanked by two spaces where the imagination —and the conversation— can continue beyond the screen.
At the entrance, you’ll be able to visit “Protegiu-nos de tot mal”, Jordi Borràs’s magnificent exhibition, a visual journey through beliefs, rituals and forms of protection that still survive in our territory.
And at the exit, you’ll find SUPO-SUPO.
In Pallarese, fer supo-supo means to meet by chance, to unexpectedly cross paths.
At the Tabaca Film Fest, SUPO-SUPO will be an informal meeting space to chat, browse, discover and be surprised. There will be a small selection of local products and crafts, a beer bar, merchandise, a reading area… You’ll also find the audience voting table and other little things that will be happening along the way.
Because the festival continues when the lights come back on in the cinema: in the conversations, the coincidences and the encounters.