|
News
GFDD and FUNGLODE Announce Third Edition of Dominican Republic Global Film Festival
New York, October 20, 2009
The edition of the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival (DRGFF) will once again bring world-class films to the Dominican public, with 32 feature-length and documentary films, from Wednesday, November 18 to Sunday, November 22.
DRGFF will be held in five cities – Santo Domingo, Santiago, Puerto Plata, CapCana and Nagua – and in eight theaters. Yamile Eusebio (Director of Planning, Development and Marketing), Omar de la Cruz (Technical Director), and Asunción Sanz (Director of Institutional Relations) made the announcement in the name of the organizing committee. Also present was Secretary of Culture José Rafael Lantigua, member of the managing body of the cultural event.
The film that will inaugurate the Festival is “Touched,” a Shalim Ortiz production about domestic violence. It will be shown in the main theater of the Teatro Nacional after the red-carpet ceremony. DRGFF will close with the film “Sol Caribe”, which is about the history of merengue and Dominican culture.
Through film screenings, professional training sessions and educational programs, the 2009 Festival seeks to inspire and educate emerging artists, professionals in the industry, elementary, high school and university students and impassioned film fans.
As part of DRGFF’s central theme, Global Issues, Personal Stories, the international cinematographic event will present thirty-two high-quality documentary and feature length films that call attention to pressing global issues of our time and uphold stories of personal challenge and achievement.
Global Issues, Personal Stories
This year we will contemplate the sustainability of food production at the local and international level; assess our relationship with the world’s oceans and its creatures; embrace music and dance as a vehicle for self-empowerment; develop greater understanding of the impetuses and impacts of transnational migration; overcome adversity; and revel in the success of personal triumph.
Five Locales
DRGFF 2009 will be held in Santo Domingo, Santiago, Puerto Plata, Nagua and the tourist complex CapCana. Red-carpet ceremonies will be held at the opening event in each of these cities.
Panels, Workshops and Master Classes
The Festival’s offering of professional panels and training workshops with over thirty renowned international industry experts is designed to provide up-and-coming filmmakers and seasoned professionals with the necessary tools to achieve success both nationally and internationally. This year’s program will offer an inside look into the many facets of the industry, including cinematography, subtitling, film restoration, professional networking, the world of international film festivals, and filmmaking that affects social change. Via the coordination of professional panels, workshops and masters classes, the festival organizers, Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), strive to develop year-round training programs through their Global Media Arts Institute (GMAI), as part of their overall mission to provide training to emerging Dominican professionals in the field of film and television production and to contribute to the advancement of the country’s multimedia industry.
What sets DRGFF apart from other film festivals is that it is simultaneously celebrated in four cities and that it includes specialized programs for middle school and high school students and thematic panels. DRGFF 2009 will feature nine thematic panels on diverse topics ranging from food security and animal rights to gender equity.
Dominican Short Films
This edition of the Festival will also, for the first time, showcase a series of short films created by Dominican filmmakers. This year, DRGFF launched a country-wide Short Film Competition in order to identify aspiring local talent. Through the creation of this new initiative, the Festival further contributes to its main objectives: advancing the Dominican short film industry; promoting local productions and the film community; enriching local film culture; and providing Dominican professionals the opportunity to form networks and increase the visibility of local productions at the national and international level.
Film as an Artistic Medium
We believe that film as an artistic medium has a special capacity to shape how we view ourselves, others, and the challenges facing the global community. We believe it has the power to inspire, challenge biases and preconceptions, and provoke compassion and solidarity.
More details
- Admission to the functions will cost RD$50 for adults, and RD$25 for students and children.
- DRGFF will open in Santiago with “La Soga,” by Dominican filmmaker Manny Pérez
- In CapCana, two films will be shown via “Cine Bajo las Estrellas”
- Starting October 15, the television show “Rumbo al Festival” will be shown on Digital 15 from 8:30 - 9:30pm each night, on Antena Latina every Sunday at 10 a.m., and on CTN on Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. (the week prior to the festival it will be shown daily).
- With approval from the Ministry of Education, it will be possible for elementary and middle school students to enjoy the Festival’s films in the morning sessions.
- Members of the press who wish to cover the event need to obtain accreditation at the Festival’s website www.drgff.org
- The inauguration of DRGFF will take place on November 17
|
