It was a night to remember, without a doubt. Once-in-a-Lifetime. A heartfelt homage to the youth of the Dominican Republic who, with all their hopes and dreams and strengths shine among the best of the king of sports. The Second Edition of the Dominican Global Film Festival was inaugurated Wednesday night with the premier of the film Sugar, a North American film that tells the story of a Dominican baseball player from San Pedro de Macorís who wants to get into the Major Leagues to lift his family out of poverty.

The renowned guests walked down the red carpet, greeted by whistles and shouts of joy as they entered the National Palace. Among the 1,400 guests, there was a sizable number of important baseball players including: David Ortiz, Pedro Martínez, Sammy Sosa, Robinson Canó, Dámaso Marte, Daniel Cabrera, Julio Lugo, Ramón Santiago, Hansley Ramírez, Francisco Cordero, Rafael Soriano. The immortal Cesarin Gerónimo, Miguel Diloné, Pedro González, Osvaldo Virgil, Luis Mercedes and José Canó. Dominican President Leonel Fernández presided over the colorful event in which dozens of national and international film and entertainment celebrities were also on hand.

Hundreds of children, wearing sports uniforms, waited at the theater doors to see with their own eyes the sports idols they adored as they filed in, with cameras flashing and filming. Once in the hall, the emotion could not be contained. Before Sugar was presented, a short documentary was shown about the work and travel done over the past year by the team that organized the film festival. The report was made by the Institute of Global Media (IGM).