The Minister of Culture Emphasizes the State’s Confidence in the Development of Filmmaking in the Dominican Republic

The Minister of Culture Emphasizes the State’s Confidence in the Development of Filmmaking in the Dominican Republic
Santo Domingo, May 15, 2014

The Minister of Culture, José Antonio Rodríguez, highlighted the support that the State has been providing to Dominican filmmaking, and advocated for it to convey an authentic Dominican image that is rich from the technical stand point.

The official made the statement at the formal presentation of the cultural cluster “Filmmaking as Country Brand”. The project is coordinated by the National Competitiveness Council, the Ministry of Culture, and the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic.

Rodríguez said that filmmaking, a formidable cultural industry, and its audible companion, music, will receive unprecedented support with this cluster.

“Until recently, the State never explored the idea of tapping filmmaking, although we saw other countries with similar socioeconomic and cultural conditions do it well”, he said.

He argued that with the Film Industry Law: “We saw that some benefitted greatly from blockbuster films and other things, while others put a lot of effort to provide us not only with quality movies but also with a Dominican stamp, a way of making films that identifies us. And here we have a problem that sends theorists scrambling: our insular identity.”

The meeting took place in the Multipurpose Hall of Torre Empresarial. The event was attended by Rodríguez; the President of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), Ligia Bonetti; the Vice President of the Association, Circe Almánzar; the Minister of Industry and Trade, José del Castillo; the Director of the National Competitiveness Council, Andrés Van Der Horst; and, Julio Brache, Vice President of AIDR.

Rodríguez said that the 34 films that have been made after the enactment of the Film Industry Law demonstrate the support that the Government has given to this sector of cultural industries.

However, he said that the State’s support has nothing to do with the quality of the films that have been made so far, and to contribute to the quality, the Ministry of Culture is committed to the establishment of the Institute of Film Arts, which is expected to be well underway in 2015.

The Minister of Culture also stressed that, just three months into his administration, he signed an agreement with the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, to establish the Satellite Account wspecially for cultural industries, which will allow assessing the industries’ contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He said that, within these industries, filmmaking plays a very important role and, with this information, State planners will have an essential tool for budget allocation for the State’s investment in Culture.

For her part, the President of the Association of Dominican Industries, Ligia Bonetti, praised the contributions of the Cultural Industry, which includes filmmaking, advertising, television, crafts, architecture, music, publishing, design, mobile applications, and the web, etc.

She noted that, according to UNESCO, cultural and creative industries contribute about 7% to the world economy, and between 2% and 8% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of many national economies.
Cultural Industry also provides the added value of creating direct and indirect employment; it contributes to increase exports and to generate foreign exchange; it fosters the development of social trust and national pride; and it allows an appreciation of brands and products, attracting tourism and generating sustainable resources.

Bonetti said that, although the Cultural Industry is wide, filmmaking can be a country brand because, since the enactment of the Film Industry Law in 2010 and until 2013, 37 films have been shot in the country, compared to 101 productions that were made in the previous 88 years. This shows a very rapid growth.

“Filmmaking has not only grown, but it has great potential to serve as enclave for  all productive sectors, because it is connected to agriculture, financial services, infrastructure, tourism, telecommunications, retail, other cultural activities, to manufacturing and many other sectors. Filmmaking is an ideal way to contribute to the country’s image, because it allows showcasing the virtues of the Dominican Republic”, said Ligia Bonetti.

The meeting was attended by personalities from the film industry of the Dominican society, including: Leticia Tonos, Miguel Ángel Muñiz, Pinky Pintor, Rubén Abud, Armando Almánzar, and Che Castellanos.