The National Folkloric Ballet Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary

The National Folkloric Ballet Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary Santo Domingo, May 27 2015

The fourth edition of the Dominican Film Festival in New York (DFFNY) announces its official programming, which includes the participation of more than 50 films in what has quickly become the largest event of the Dominican film industry outside the Caribbean country. DFFNY will be held from June 24 to June 28 and will feature the presence of some of the island’s most renowned actors and directors who will screen their films and conduct workshops during the five days of the festival. The program includes a wide and diverse range of genres, ranging from comedy to police drama and suspense, as well as documentaries and animations. The opening of the festival will be held on Wednesday, June 24, at 7:00 pm, with the New York premiere of the film Dólares de Arena, directed by Laura Amelia Guzman and Israel Cardenas and starring legendary actress Geraldine Chaplin.

The slogan of this year’s DFFNY is ¡Así Somos! (This is the way we are!). The festival includes a varied program of Dominican films and co-productions from countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Venezuela and the United States. Its venues are: the Alumni Auditorium of Columbia University Medical Center, 650 West, 168 Street (corner with Broadway), the Hall of Fame Theater of the Armory Foundation, 216 Fourth Washington Avenue (168 Street) and the Theatre of the Dominican Commissioner of Culture in the United States, 541 West 145 Street, second floor.

The closing of the festival will be held on Sunday, June 28, at 7:00 pm, with the long awaited documentary Yo soy la Salsa: La Vida de Johnny Pacheco, which pays tribute to the life and career of one of the most renowned Dominican musicians of our time. There will be a special screening of the blockbuster Código Paz, directed by Pedro Urrutia and starring Nashla Bogart, José Guillermo Cortines, El Alfa, Mozart La Para and Secreto.

“Every year we work steadfastly and with enthusiasm to offer our audience a varied program featuring the best of Dominican cinema,” said Armando Guareño, DFFNY’s Founder and CEO. “With our 2015 slogan ¡Así Somos!, we refer to the richness of the Dominican culture, with genres and visual proposals that reflect our wide-ranging artistic and cultural diversity.”

The festival also serves as a platform for those who work in the Dominican film industry, allowing both, the new generation and the established filmmakers, the possibility of promoting their work. DFFNY’s fundamental mission is to promote the seventh art, as well as to attract the interest of the public toward the Dominican culture in New York. The main goals of the festival are to grow and strengthen the “Dominicanidad”.

Another DFFNY fundamental purpose is to educate through seminars and workshops with filmmakers and actors, as well as to offer spaces for one-on-one dialogue with industry professionals. For the first time, a five-day workshop called “La voz interior del actor” (The Actor’s Inner Voice), taught by renowned Dominican actor Juan Fernández, will be offered; also, a two-day workshop on film production: “Cómo hacer una película y no morir en el intento” (How to Make a Movie and Not Die Trying), taught by renowned Dominican producer Kendy Yamoreth.

With the photo exhibition “Mujeres dominicanas en Hollywood y Televisión” (Dominican Women in Hollywood and Television) DFFNY pays tribute to the presence of Dominican women in the North American film and TV industries; actresses such as Zoe Saldaña, Michel Rodríguez and Celinés Toribio, are proof of that presence. Alongside this exhibition, there will be a panel called “La mujer dominicana en la pantalla” (Dominican Women on the Screen), which will reinforce this tribute to the Dominican women working in the film industry. Both events will take place at the Cultural Center of the Dominican Alliance.

The following are some of the DAFFNY 2015 films:

• 339 Amín Abel Hasbún. Memoria de un Crimen, directed by Etzel Báez.
  
• Bestia de Cardo, directed by Virginia Sánchez Navarro and starring Angélica Aragón, Jorge Luis Moreno and Cheddy García.
  
• El que Mucho Abarca, directed by Ronni Castillo and starring Carlos Sánchez, Luz García, Georgina Duluc and Denisse Quiñones.
  
• La Extraña, directed by César Rodríguez and starring Frank Perozo and Evelyna Rodríguez.
  
• Los Paracaidistas, directed by Archie López and starring Cheddy García, Daniel Sarcos, Fausto Mota, Morzat La Parra and Cuquín Victoria.
  
• No Hay Más Remedio, directed by José Enrique Pintor and starring Iván García, Ángel Haché, Salvador Pérez Martínez.
  
• Un Lío de Dólares, directed by Francis Disla and starring Fausto Mota, Lizardo, Richard Douglas, and Manolo Azuna.
  
• Una Breve Historia de Amor, directed by Alan Nadal Piantini and starring Isaac (Panky) Saviñón, Alba García, Richard Douglas, and Alan Nadal Piantini.
  
• La Última Intervención, directed by Giovanny Blanco and starring Hemky Madera, Alyssa Abreu, Katherine Dickson, Wanda Colón and Nercido Mota.
  
• Lago Enriquillo, Preludio del Cambio Climático, documentary directed by Fernando Báez.

DFFNY remains a platform that provides opportunities for filmmakers and film lovers to meet and exchange new ideas. In the usual spaces dedicated to short films, the “Dominicanos en la diáspora” (Dominicans in the Diaspora) program, which promotes the Dominican talent based in the United States and around the world, as well as the program “Filmes cortos, grandes historias” (Short films, Great stories), where films by new filmmakers with a fresh perspective on the profession may be enjoyed.

In this edition, the program “Mujeres en el cine” (Women in Film) celebrates the work of female filmmakers whose voice and creativity represent, in a genuine and powerful way, their female perspective. Finally, “Loco Amor” (Crazy Love) will explore the complexity of romantic relationships today.

DFFNY is organized by Cinema Art Entertainment Productions, in collaboration with the Dominican Global Film Festival. Among its sponsors are the Dominican Republic Directorate General of Cinema (DGCINE), Columbia University Medical Center, the Chamber of Commerce of Washington Heights and Inwood, Telemicro International, Apple Bank, the Hispanic Federation, Delta Airlines, Councilman Ydanis Rodríguez, the New York Presbyterian Hospital, the Dominican Republic Office of Tourism, Univision New York, Unimas New York, the Armory Foundation, Univision Radio, the Dominican Commissioner of Culture in New York, Latin Trends Magazine, Dyckman Beers, Emblem Health, among others.

The list of movies, schedule of presentations and high-resolution photos are available at: www.dominicanfilmfestival.com. For interviews with Armando Guareño and the participating filmmakers, please contact Diana Vargas at 917-658-7735 press@dianavargas.com or Gabriela Vazquez / 917-653-1015 /gabrielavazro@gmail.com

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