Dominican Film Festival in New York Screens GFDD-produced Short Films

Saturday June 29th, 2013

New York, June 29, 2013

A day before the II Dominican Film Festival in New York (DFFNY) came to a close, New York audiences had an opportunity to enjoy the most enlightening of Dominican short films produced by a new generation of Dominican filmmakers as well as established ones.

The highlight of the program were two short films, Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) productions; the winner of the first Globo Verde Dominicano competition in 2012, Our Backs to the Sea, and The Growth of Lake Enriquillo: Environment, Social and Scientific Implications. To GFDD’s delight, the audience received the films with interest and showed their support and understanding of the problems that the films touched upon — in particular raising public awareness about pressing environmental issues.

For the first time, GFDD partnered with Cine Art Entertainment Productions, and the leadership of DFFNY under its director Armando Guareño, joining in efforts to promote Dominican film industry and reinforce the vital and expanding economic and cultural relationship between the Dominican Republic and the United States. DFFNY’s goal is to spread knowledge about Dominican Cinema, its relation to history, politics and social life, as viewed by the film makers, through the subject matter and aesthetic approach.

The Festival, which closed on June 30, 2013, and which successfully showcased 20 quality Dominican Films, was in part made possible through the collaboration of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, in the support of its mission to present the Dominican Republic in the best aspects and facets providing for the world what the country has to offer. Films covering a range of universal themes, such as love, redemption, perseverance, humour as well as addressing global emerging problems, including environmental protection, preservation of nature and people’s awareness about it. Many of the screenings included Q and A with the filmmakers and prominent experts on the topics, making the Festival a real agent for dissemination, top-level discussion hub and outreach of the issues raised by the Festival’s film productions.

About GFDD-produced Short Films

De Espalda al Mar (Our Backs to the Sea)

Our Backs to the Sea is the winner of the first Globo Verde Dominicano 2012 award, born from the DR Environmental Film Festival as an annual competition of shorts dedicated to environmental issues. The series of short films masterly depict the enchanting nature of the Dominican republic, particularly its coastal and marine ecosystems. The shorts raise the problem of environment protection and the contribution of the society to preserve it.

El Crecimiento del Lago Enriquillo (The Growth of Lake Enriquillo: Environment, Social and Scientific Implications)

Lake Enriquillo which is located in a rift valley that extends from Port-au-Prince Bay in Haiti to near Neiba Bay in the Dominican Republic. For the past seven years it has grown from 164 km2 to 350 km2. The 16 minutes short film presents a recent research conducted to investigate why Lake Enriquillo has been growing and, therefore, addresses the environmental, social and scientific implications of this phenomenon.

Related link:

http://dffnyc.com