The Dominican Republic Participates in 72nd Annual Cannes Film Festival

Santo Domingo, May 13, 2019 – For an eighth consecutive year, the Dominican Republic will promote its growing film industry at the world-renowned Marché du Film of the Cannes Film Festival. The country will participate through the country’s General Film Directorate (DGCINE).

The Festival’s Marché du Film will take place from May 14 through May 25. It is considered to be one of the most important film events in the world, where some 12,000 film industry representatives (producers, distributors, festival coordinators, etc.) from dozens of countries and thousands of film companies come together to promote the industry.

During the film event the Dominican Republic will have its own stand, from where the country’s film industry will be promoted as an attractive international movie industry destination. At the same time, the members of the Dominican delegation will meet international colleagues and have the opportunity to present its future or completed projects.

“To participate in the Festival’s Marché du Film is a transcendental step for our film industry, because it promotes – at the international level = the quality of work that is being produced by our filmmakers. It gives the industry the possibility of exploring other markets, engage in coproduction opportunities, creation and distribution. This is the ideal stage to promote the Dominican Republic as a film destination in the region, and where the facilities provided by our country and its film industry can be highlighted in important international media outlets,” explained Yvette Marichal, DGCINE’s Executive Director.

Dominican Republic Delegation at the Cannes Film Festival

The delegation is headed by Yvette Marichal and consists of 26 representatives from the national film industry: Omar de la Cruz, Carlos Cabral, Desiree Reyes, Francis Disla, Alan Nadal, Luis Arambilet, Danilo Reynoso, Lía Chapman, Luis Cepeda, Armando Guareño, Ana Iris Gómez, Pericles Mejía, Luis Rafael González, Katherine Bautista, Paula Cury Melo, Iván Bordas, Zamantha Díaz, Schisell Joaquín Mena, Marcos Moreno, Fernando Blanco, Karla Groizard and Martín Díaz Bello. Also included in the delegation are Dominican journalists Severo Rivera, Alfonso Quiñones and Rubén Peralta.

How is the delegation selected? Months before the Festival officially begins, the DGCINE Directorate announces among the members of the local film industry the possibility they have of participating in the international event. Immediately, many jumped at the opportunity to participate. Once they met all the requirements established by the Directorate in order to participate, they were included in the delegation. Those selected participated in a special workshop, led by Tanya Valette, director of the movie department of the Altos de Chavón School of Design in the D.R. The workshop provided the participants information on the methodology to follow, and how to best prepare the particular portfolios they wanted to present at the event. The goal of the workshop was to prepare top-quality portfolios for their eventual presentation at the Festival.

D.R. Agenda at the Cannes Film Festival

Aside from the promotional material that will be exhibited at the D.R. stand during the Marché du Film, the Dominican Film Directorate will carry out a full agenda of activities to make its presence known during the event. Some of the events include meetings with foreign film companies interested in learning more about the country’s tax incentives for the film industry and the wide variety of shooting locations the country has to offer.

As has been the tradition each year, there will be a Meet & Greet event included in the agenda. This is a special space where all those interested in the local film industry can ask pertinent questions and receive the correct information. Also, there will be space for the presentation of future projects, negotiations, and possible coproduction agreements between foreign companies and the Dominican Republic. During this event the Dominican delegation will exchange ideas and information with film personalities and movie industry representatives from all over the world.

Dominican Films to be Presented at the Festival

This year the Dominican Republic will introduce a new concept at the Festival that originated in the local Fund for Movie Promotion (FONPROCINE), titled DR FONPROCINE WIP (Work in Progress). The idea is for the Dominican delegation to present at the Marché du Film a movie whose script won the FONPROCINE contest in the Best Script Category and that is currently in the post-production process. This year, the winning script is Por eso vengo al río [That’s Why I Come to the River, unofficial translation], a documentary by Fernando Blanco.

This documentary is one of four Dominican films that will be presented at the Marché du Film. The films are:
• La fiera y la fiesta [The Beast and the Feast, unofficial translation] by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas
o Wednesday, May 15, 12:00 p.m. (Local French Time), Palais G
• El proyeccionista [The Projectionist] by José María Cabral
o Monday, May 20, 3:30 p.m. (Local French Time), Riviera 2
• Por eso vengo al río [That’s Why I Come to the River, unofficial translation] by Fernando Blanco
o Tuesday, May 21, 11:30 a.m. (Local French Time), Palais H
• Colours, by Luis Cepeda
o Tuesday, May 21, 2:00 p.m. (Local French Time), Palais G
“We are proud of the films selected because they will present at the Cannes Film Festival the new generation of Dominican filmmakers as well as the production of established representatives of the Dominican film industry. Three of the films have participated in various international festivals, such as La fiera y la fiesta (Berlin International Film Festival); El proyeccionista (Miami Film Festival) and Por eso vengo al río (Panama International Film Festival], where it won the second place award in the “First Look Category,” explained Ms. Marichal.

Another novelty introduced this year’s Festival is the DR Global in Cannes, an initiative of the Global Film Festival (FCGD), in coordination with DGCINE. Through this initiative there will be a special presentation of the Dominican film Colours, film director Luis Cepeda’s opera prima. The film won the People’s Choice Award at the recently held FCGD Festival.

“The Festival’s Marché du Film will always be an important space to carry out important business opportunities for our delegation, as well as to promote our industry. And, as we’ve done years before, we are sure that the Dominican Republic’s film industry will come out winning,” highlighted Ms. Marichal.