DREFF Screens Eco-Films at III Edition of the International Autodidactic Photography Festival in Cuba

DREFF Screens Eco-Films at III Edition of the International Autodidactic Photography Festival in Cuba
Holguín, Cuba, May 9, 2014

ThThe Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) participated with the III Edition of the International Autodidactic Photography Festival in the province of Holguín, Cuba May 3-9, 2014 under the title; “Human Species’ Impact on the Environment”. The event, which was held in one of Cuba’s most populous provinces, was originally orchestrated as an international competition for amateur photographers, and continues to serve as a showcase for audio-visual arts programming promoting  peace, human rights and an urgent need for the protection of our environment.
DREFF joined in with the exciting and informative program of activities by showing the general public eight of its documentary and short films over a 4-day period. The program included twice daily film screenings between May 3-6, at the Ateneo Cinematográfico Hall at Maceo/Frexes and Aguilera, and will help raise awareness and promote best practices around the principle DREFF themes: ocean conservation; climate change; sustainable agriculture; and environmental pollution.

Viewers were treated to the following DREFF films: Planet Ocean, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, 94 min; What Would Darwin Think? Man v. Nature in the Galapagos, Jon Bowermaster, 48 min;  The Polar Explorer, Mark Terry, 52 min; Someplace with a Mountain, Steve Goodall, 52 min; Voices of Transition, Nils Aguilar, 52 min;  Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Lucy Walker, 39 min;  Trashed, Candida Brady, 98 min; and Garbage or Resource? A Dominican Republic Experience, Natasha Despotovic, 17 min.

Following the screenings, audiences were able to participate in interesting and passionate exchanges about the themes represented within each film. The consensus was that there needs to be a continuation of environmental screenings in future years and an effort to extend the concept to other Festivals around the country.

Cristiana Cruz Minier, coordinator of the EcoHuertos program, was in attendance to represent GFDD/FUNGLODE in the cultural exchange.  In addition to a summation of what EcoHuertos is doing on a national level in the DR,  Cristiana was able to exchange experiences with similar programs in Cuba, visiting three organic farms to find out about how they operate and benefit the community. She also paid a visit to the Holguín Botanical Seed Farm to learn how they fertilize and produce seeds.

GFDD hopes the partnership will lead to increased collaboration in this area between Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and will help augment audiovisual material from the region within the DR Environmental Film Festival, to which Holguín organizers have been invited this year, September 10-14, 2014.

Links:
www.romeriasdemayo.cult.cu
www.baibrama.cult.cu
www.dreff.org
www.eco-huertos.org