The 4th edition of the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival is gearing up to once again delight the Dominican public with world class films, 48 in all, including three Dominican productions. The fun will begin on November 16 to November 21st, as announced by the Festival’s directors.

In the name of the Organizing Committee, Omar de la Cruz, Festival Director, and Yvette Marichal, Director for Public Relations and Marketing, made the announcement at a press conference at the Juan Bosch Library’s Café Filó. They also confirmed the presence of actresses Victoria Abril and Claudia Cardinale.

Six Dominican venues - Santo Domingo, Santiago, Puerto Plata, Cap Cana, Higüey, Nagua and, for the first time, Port Au Prince, Haiti - will host screenings of the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival (DRGFF). This year’s Festival will incorporate several new sections and novel events, such as “Focus on Haiti.” The Festival will focus on Haiti’s creativity and determination in the face of adversity as it pays special recognition to its native son, filmmaker Raoul Peck, whose professional life will be viewed through four of his most representative films in addition to a conversation that will allow viewers to get to know the man and the artist himself. Other special events include a National Tribute to an industry giant for his Contribution to Dominican Film (Irving Vincent); a Lifetime Professional Career Award posthumously dedicated to critic, writer and dramatist, Arturo Rodríguez Fernández and the Festival Tribute to actress Claudia Cardinale. There will also be an international film exhibition showcasing six films from Australia and three from France.

Organizing Committee - Nagua

The Short Film

The Festival views the production of short films as a way of the accruing the knowledge and intellectual development necessary for creative filmmaking. This year the Festival is continuing with the second annual Dominican Short Films Competition. The success and expectation of the competition was clearly expressed by the massive turnout of the 50 officially selected films. Of those fifty entries, 11 will be selected by a jury and will be part of the Festival’s program.

Three of the eleven finalists in the Short Films Competition will be awarded prizes. The winners will be announced on Sunday November 21st on the final night of the Festival in the National Theater. The winning film will be shown at this event.

The first place winner will receive a video camera, a scholarship to study film in Los Angeles and the opportunity to make a short film under the auspices of the Dominican Producer, Audiovisual Panamericana. The second place winner will receive an iMac computer and the third place winner will win an iPad. To better acquaint people with this genre and the creative process, the Festival will include an Exhibition of Mexican Short Films beginning with “Revolution” along with 10 other short films directed by well-known Latin Americans who are working on projects related to the centenary of the Mexican revolution. There will also be a viewing of the vibrant productions of 8 promising young people who are currently working in Mexico and whose names will soon be well-known.

Inauguration

The movie chosen to open the Film Festival in the main hall of the National Theater of Santo Domingo, following the green carpet ceremony on Wednesday the 17th , is “Mother and Daughter” (“Madre e Hija”) by director Rodrigo García, Colombian filmmaker living in the United States. The film is a look at the often complex emotions of motherhood and the close ties that bind mothers and daughters, according to Festival Director, Omar de la Cruz.

Panels, workshops and master classes

In keeping with its annual custom, the DRGFF remains faithful to its slogan “Global Issues, Personal Stories” and once again is planning a series of discussions on relevant world issues. Discussions will follow the film screenings. Topics range from the environment, conservation of the world’s oceans, the worldwide nuclear non-proliferation movement, art as a transformer of life, the consequences of slavery in the Americas and the integration of individuals with handicaps. These are some of the questions and issues the Dominican public will be discussing with the protagonists of the films as well as with other experts who will have been specially invited for the occasion.

There is one area of discussion that will clearly awaken much interest and that is baseball. Several important big league players will be dropping by to join the conversation, such as Juan Marichal and Barry Bonds who will talk about baseball recruitment tactics and how the professional pools function. The debate will take place at the Mauricio Báez Club auditorium.

In addition to this program of discussions, panels and question and answer sessions directed at the general public and students of all ages (more than 10,000 took part in 2009!), there will be ample opportunities for professionals and young filmmakers to meet with high level national and international specialists to talk about co-productions, distribution, web 3.0, makeup and characterization techniques and the how to get the resources to produce one’s work. There will be a 3D workshop with the president of Venture 3D, George Lee and Jon Lanau, producer of “Avatar.” A sound editing workshop will be given by Paul Ottoson, a two-time Oscar winner who recently took home the prize for his work on “The Hurt Locker.” And this is just to name a few opportunities.

However, if there is something about which the DRGFF is especially proud, it is the contribution it made toward the adoption of the Film Law, which it undertook at the first Film Festival in 2006 and culminated this year with the promulgation of the new law. On this occasion, national and international producers and studios will have the chance to learn about and discuss the spirit and details of the Law with the Minister of Culture, José Rafael Lantigua and other representatives who participated in its redaction.

And, of course, the DRGFF wants to help maintain the relationship between the Dominican public and its beloved local actors - those who continue to ply their trade here in the DR as well as those who have gone abroad to seek and have met with success beyond our borders. The “Actor’s Studio” section of the Festival is still on the program in Santo Domingo as well as in the other venues.

The above program is the result of a year-long joint effort on the part of the Festival Organizers, the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) carried out through training and instructional programs of the Global Media Arts Institute (GMAI), as part of its general mission to provide training to promising Dominican professionals in the area of film and television production and to contribute to the advancement of the national multimedia industry.

Through film showings, professional training and educational programs, the 4th Dominican Global Film Festival seeks to inspire, educate and entertain emerging artists, industry professionals, university and students of all ages and film lovers.

Restoration

The DRGFF is joining the movement of professionals from around the world who struggle for the conservation and restoration of the great works of film that have served to highlight important moments in the development of film and audiovisual documents as part of each country’s history and cultural heritage.

Three Films and a Dominican Short Film

The Festival wishes to be a sounding board for local quality film production and is doing just that with the four Dominican productions to be screened at the Festival, which are: Hija Natural (Love Child), a drama directed by Leticia Tonos; 3 al Rescate , (3 to the Rescue), a 3D animation film produced and directed by Gustavo Piantini and Jorge Morillo; Jean Gentil, a drama directed and produced by Israel Cárdenas and Laura Amelia Guzmán and Pedro de Bella Vista, (First Prize Winner of the 2009 Short Films Competition).

The production of this fantastic event would not be possible without the enthusiastic support of the Festival’s 200 plus volunteers who have been involved in every aspect of organizing and putting this event together. The majority of these young students have participated in past Film Festivals in Santo Domingo and other sites.

The Hotel Occidental El Embajador will be the headquarters of this year’s most important film event ever to be held in the Dominican Republic. The Festival is part of an initiative of the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) / Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) to assist in the development of the Dominican film industry.

Six Stages Illuminated by Stars

Like past editions of the Festival, inaugural ceremonies will be held in Santiago, Puerta Plata, Higüey and Nagua prior to the grand opening of the Festival in Santo Domingo. These ceremonies will take place on Tuesday, November 16th.

In Cap Cana, the Film under the Stars gala will be held on Friday and Saturday (Nov. 19 & 20) with the presentation of films and an art exhibition “Santo Domingo: Cradle of the Americas,” by painter, Vasyl Tretyakov.

In Port au Prince on Thursday November 18th, “Film under the Moonlight” program will have its premier. The outdoor venues for these screenings are Parc Historique de la Canne à Sucre and the Kiosque Occyde Jeanty du Champ de Mars.

More Details:

- Ticket prices for film functions at the National Theater, the National Cinematheque, the Pedro Mir Auditorium of the UASD and the Mauricio Báez Club auditorium in Santo Domingo are RD$50, for adults and RD$25 for students and children. Ticket prices are the same in Nagua, Santiago, Higüey and Puerto Plata.
A Global Pass is available for RD$500 and is good for access to all screenings. At the Film Palace Blue Mall, tickets will cost RD$250.

- In Cap Cana, two films will be shown at the Film under the Stars program.

- Rumbo al Festival (Road to the Festival) is a DRGFF Television program that is being broadcast by Digital 15 on Thursday from 8:30 to 9:30 pm and by CTN on Mondays from 9:00 pm and Thursday at 11:00 pm.

- The weekly Rumbo al Festival broadcast will continue until Thursday, November 4, 2010. Starting on Monday November 8 and until Thursday the 12th, there will be daily shows.

- The last two shows, Monday the 15th and Tuesday the 16th, will be broadcast on the eve of the DRGFF inauguration.

- With the consent of the Ministry of Education, junior high and high school students will be able to enjoy the films at the festival during the morning sessions. This year, elementary school students will also attend some films.

- Media covering the event must apply for accreditation. Members of the press can register, but not become accredited, at the Festival website: www.drglobalfilmfestival.org/.

- New at the year’s Festival: the viewing public will be permitted to publish their photos taken during related events on the Festival’s webpage, under Photo Sharing.

- The DRGFF will be offering information on the development of the social networks and its official webpage, as follows:

- On the Web:
4th Dominican Republic Global Film Festival
http://www.drglobalfilmfestival.org/

- On Facebook:
DR Global Film Festival
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/DR.Global.Film.Festival

- On Twitter:
CineGlobalRD
http://twitter.com/#!/CineglobalRD

Sponsors:

The 4th Dominican Republic Global Film Festival is made possible with the generous support of: Cap Cana, Claro, Colorín, Andrade Gutierrez Construction, Indomina Group, Procomunicaciones, Odebrecht, Ruíz Centro, Seguros Constitución, Telemicro International, Coca Cola, Digital 15, Viamar Group, Johnnie Walker, Hotel Occidental El Embajador, Film Palace, Abasto & Servicios, Amhsa Marina, CTN, Induban, La 91FM, Radio Cadena Comercial, Serigraf, Telemicro, Corripio and Thrifty Stores.

Exhibitions, screenings and technical support are facilitated by the UASD, the National Theater, Dominican Cinematheque, the Club Mauricio Báez, the Ministry of Culture, Miravista, Air Ocean, Fundación Memoria de Nación, LVT Subtitlings, RNN, MEE, MEESCyT, Sousa Sistemas, Jupiter, RAM Engineering, Tech Films Solutions, Mia TV Higüey, Canal 25 Santiago, TDN Canal 10 Nagua, Canal 10 Puerto Plata, Premium 98.1 FM, ARTES Magazine, Global Magazine, Francoise Canez Auguste et Le Relais de Chateaublond Foundation, Spanish Embassy-AECID, Embassy of Mexico, Embassy of the United States (Franklin Center), Embassy of Australia, Action Haitienne pour les Nations Unies (AHNU) and Santo Domingo 2010.