Xose Ivan Villarmea Alvarez

Xose Ivan Villarmea Alvarez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art History at the Faculty of Geography and History, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Spain. He is affiliated with the Humanities Research Institute (iHUS) and the IDEAHS research group, where he conducts interdisciplinary research in film and visual culture. His academic work bridges art history, cultural studies, and urban theory.

His research interests focus on the intersections of cinema, memory, and urban transformation. Key areas include documentary and non-fiction film, particularly psychogeographical and urban self-portraits; the representation of trauma and memory in Iberian and Lusophone cinema; austerity and crisis in contemporary Spanish and Portuguese film; and the politics of representation in Galician and transnational cinema. He also explores how digital technologies and economic constraints shape new cinematic forms.

Villarmea Alvarez’s publications reveal a consistent thematic trajectory across recent years, analyzing how films serve as agents of urban and social change. His work often centers on subjective and performative documentary modes, examining how filmmakers use personal and collective memory to challenge dominant narratives. He has contributed to major edited volumes and journals in multiple languages, reflecting a transnational scholarly profile.

• Documenting Cityscapes: Urban Change in Contemporary Non-Fiction Film (monograph)
• Memórias em Movimento: História e Trauma nos Cinemas Ibero-Americanos (co-edited volume)
• Jugar con la Memoria. El Cine Portugués en el Siglo XXI (co-edited volume)

He has advised and collaborated on numerous research projects related to Iberian cinema and urban representation. His work is supported by institutional affiliations with USC and iHUS, and he participates in international academic networks in film and cultural studies. Villarmea Alvarez leads and contributes to research initiatives that emphasize interdisciplinary and transnational perspectives in the humanities.