Santo Domingo, November 18, 2011

“Good press coverage can rescue a film even if it’s bad.”

This is the view expressed by Manny Ruíz, Mexican reporter and film producer, at the panel “The role of the press in the film industry” held at the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) auditorium.

The press as the fourth force can save or destroy a film project and with it the careers of luminaries and professionals alike. What goes down on paper has more weight than the ink used by the critic to give a thumbs up or down for a film. From this point the work of the film writers can be as vital a component as the film itself.

This was the topic of Saturday’s panel at the auditorium of Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE). “The role of the press in the film industry” given by three experts in the field: Manny Ruíz, Mexican reporter and film producer; Michael Buchanan from the BBC of London and Jean Renaud of CNN, who is also an independent film producer.

Manny Ruíz talked about the importance of the role played by the press in the positioning of film productions. He explained that directors should take very seriously the work of the person in charge of managing public relations with the press in that this has everything to do with the success of the movie.

“It is recommendable not to take any chances; it is not healthy to hire your cousin who knows how to write. It is essential to hire professionals. A good press job can rescue a film even if it’s bad.” 

The panelists talked about the importance of press articles. They must be well-written and impart the most relevant information of the film in an attractive way. If this is the case, the interesting articles themselves will make it into the good publications.

Along this same line, Michael Buchanan told those at the panel that he erases any message that comes to him with the slightest mistake or error.

“If I find an error, I don’t even bother opening the email because I feel that the writer is wasting my time,” he said, stressing the importance of having qualified and professional writers doing the work.

Speaking about press conferences and activities organized to promote films, Manny Ruíz put special emphasis on punctuality and discipline in terms of reporters’ schedules. “Reporters are very busy people. No matter what country you are in, if you call a press conference or event, it better begin on time. This is the only way you will project a professional image.”
Buchanan pointed out that journalists are not interested in events that last ten minutes where there is a superficial conversation about the film or the actors. They like to have exclusive access where they can get information to write a good story.

Ruíz talked about the importance of blogs and specialized media outlets and said he urges film producers to get to know who they are and what they’re doing in that they are very important in guaranteeing good movie reviews and positioning.
Jean Renaud talked about understanding and using correct film language in the movie world. “Producers need to learn to correctly introduce the elements of the culture that identify them,” he said. In the visual language of his films, he added, this would be the only way of building stories that are truly interesting to an audience.

He ended his talk urging those present. “All of you who aspire to become film  communicators must become sensitized. It is easy. You simply must become selective communicators. A good technique to learn the language of film is to watch the television programs with the sound turned off in order to decode the feeling of the images.”

This panel was part of the 5th edition of the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival (DRGFF) which has been underway from November 15 to 20 in the DR and Haiti with screenings and workshops in Santo Domingo, Santiago, Puerto Plata, Nagua, Higüey and Port au Prince.