Behind the Scene
The Project
How This Began
O Castro Art Village didn’t begin here. It began many years ago, around a kitchen table.
Growing up in Iran, during the Iran–Iraq war, after a revolution and under the shadow of a newly established dictatorship, Davoud’s real education didn’t happen in classrooms. It happened in his family kitchen.
That kitchen was always full ; of people, voices, ideas. Poetry readings, intellectual debates, long discussions about cinema, history, philosophy. Conversations that stretched late into the night. Learning that didn’t feel like learning; it felt like life.
That space became an informal university. A place where culture survived through sharing.
From Elsewhere to Here
Years later, after working both as a civil engineer and a filmmaker, and feeling the necessity for meaningful cultural regeneration in Rural areas, Davoud began imagining how to rebuild that same spirit; somewhere else, in another landscape.
At different times, that idea was meant to take shape in Japan, then Canada. Instead, it found its home in Galicia.
In the heart of the Ribeira Sacra, in an abandoned village slowly returning to life, O Castro Art Village emerged, not as a replica of the past, but as its continuation.
A kitchen of the world again. This time surrounded by forests, hills, and river valleys, and filled with great people.
What We Are Building Here
O Castro is not a finished project, it’s a living one.
Everything we create here helps sustain the place itself.
Our lodging, residencies, events, and cultural activities fund O Castro as a creative residency and cultural institution.
At its core, the project is dedicated to:
rural cultural regeneration
artistic experimentation
meaningful creative work
and positive local impact
We believe culture doesn’t need grand buildings to matter, it needs time, care, and shared tables.
Responsibility to the Land
Being here comes with responsibility.
Safeguarding the forest, respecting the landscape, and continuously improving our sustainability standards are not add-ons — they are central to how O Castro exists.
We work carefully with what’s already here:
building lightly
consuming consciously
and protecting the ecosystem that makes this place possible
The land is not a backdrop. It’s a collaborator.
A Living Continuation
O Castro Art Village is many things at once:
a place to work
a place to rest
a place to gather
a place to think
But above all, it’s a continuation of a simple idea:
That culture grows best where people feel at home,
and … where a kitchen is always open.
The People Behind It
Davoud Gerami
Filmmaker, mentor, storyteller.
For over 25 years, Davoud’s work spans documentary, fiction, and experimental practice. At O Castro, he offers optional mentorship, not as a guru, but as a seasoned colleague:
project feedback
story development
editing and structure guidance
conceptual clarity
He’s not here to tell you what to do, only to help you sharpen what you already want to say. And only if you want.
Tatiana Alonso
Cultural producer, organizer, caretaker of possibility.
Tatiana keeps the village humming quietly:
coordinating residencies
shaping the rhythms of life here
ensuring that the practical side of being here is smooth and human
She believes that clear space makes clear work possible.