GFDD and FUNGLODE Present Second DR Global Film Festival

Santo Domingo, October 21th, 2007

With a list of more than 25 confirmed high quality films and a longer list of renowned actors, actresses and film directors, organizers of the Second Dominican Republic Global Film Festival (DRGFF) are putting the final touches on the program which promises to be one of the best film events of the year taking place in the Dominican Republic.

The second edition of the Festival will take place Wednesday, November 14, to Sunday, November 18, in the cities of Santo Domingo, Santiago, Puerto Plata, Higüey and Nagua. The Festival will feature Film Screenings, Workshops, Panels, Professional Gatherings and Social Events. Films will be screened in a variety of venues including the Malecón Center, the Pedro Mir Library, the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), the FUNDGLODE Auditorium and the Cinemateque Dominicana.

The Festival will open with a Red Carpet Event the evening of November 14 at the National Theater in Santo Domingo. Important national and international film figures will be present for the Gala Opening. During the preceding night, November 13, other Red Carpet Events will be held in Santiago, Puerto Plata, Higüey and Nagua.

Show times and ticket prices as well as ticket office locations will be announced soon.

Events being held at the FUNGLODE Auditorium and the Leon Center in Santiago will be open to the public. Information concerning these activities will be announced in the coming weeks.

Natasha Despotovic, DRGFF Director, GFDD Executive Director and FUNGLODE Vice President, and Nicole Guillemet, DRGFF Program and Production Consultant, head the Festival’s executive team. Last year’s Festival proved to be an enormous success attracting the best in dramatic and documentary film.

Six films premiered during DRGFF 2006 (November 8-12), were later nominated for Academy Awards.

Babel by Alejandro González-Iñárritu, received six academy nominations. Guillermo Navarro, Director of Photography for Pan’s Labyrinth, participated in last year’s Festival. He later won an Academy Award for his work.

The film, The Inconvenient Truth, was also premiered during the 2006 Festival. This ground-breaking documentary on climate change was fundamental to Former US Vice President Al Gore receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in confronting the dangers of global warming.

The Academy Award for Best Male Actor went to Forest Whitaker, Lead Actor in The Last King of Scotland, presented during DRGFF 2006. Volver was also first screened in the Dominican Republic. The film’s protagonist, Spain’s Penelope Cruz, received a nomination for Best Female Actress during the 2006 Academy Awards.

DRGFF, founded by Dr. Leonel Fernández, President of the Dominican Republic and Founder and Honorary President of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), is the only film festival that takes place in five cities and presents films in public universities.

DRGFF plays a leading role in nurturing film culture in the Dominican Republic by bringing the best of international narrative and documentary film to a wide audience. The Festival raises awareness and deepens understanding of global challenges while using film as a modern platform for the discussion of political, social and economic issues. It supports capacity building, provides network opportunities for Dominican professionals and fosters the development of a strong and sustainable national film industry.