Santo Domingo, November 20, 2011

“GWB” Plays to a Full House in Santo Domingo

Dominican-American production, “GWB” filled the house with film buffs from the neighborhood surrounding the Mauricio Baez Cultural Center as well as invited guests at the 5th edition of the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival (DRGFF) on Saturday.

In Jonathan Ullman’s feature debut, “GWB” captures Washington Heights, the Dominican neighborhood that lives around New York’s George Washington Bridge in upper Manhattan. The barbershops, the markets, the street activity, the music and the sense of community in this close-knit neighborhood all come to life in the movie.

Director/writer Ullman, who has lived in the neighborhood for the past 4 years, told viewers after the screening on Saturday that they shot the film in 16 days on a budget so low he didn’t even want to reveal it. But the low budget didn’t stop him from getting high quality actors to take part in the film. “The hottest Latino actors in New York mixed with new and up-and-coming actors,” said Ullman. “We barely had money for rehearsals but these actors are so talented and natural that I gave them the latitude to use their own dialogue.”

Ullman believes the level of dedication to the film from the mostly Dominican and other Latino cast springs from their sense of responsibility and desire to show their culture and traditions and to cast their neighborhood in the bright light it deserves.

Carrying the film was main protagonist Rayniel Rufino, Dominican actor and musician raised in Washington Heights. He made his debut in the film “Liberty Kid” and went on to co-star in the baseball drama “Sugar” an indie film featured at the DRGFF two years ago.

Raúl Esparza, four-time Tony Award nominee and Luis Ramos, whose film credits go back 32 years, added to the star power of the film. Ramos, raised in the Bronx, said that older actors should help the up-and-coming ones to focus and work hard.

“There were no Latino actors when I started out when I was 12. I nearly got tossed out of the School for Performing Arts but my mother was always behind me, encouraging me to do the right thing,” said Ramos who plays the wise Uncle Jose in “GWB.”

The 12-year-old New York native, Antonio Ortiz, plays Javy who, along with his best friend Robbie (Cruz Santiago) are two whimsical pre-teens who embark on a life-changing experience when they stumble upon a ton of money. They waste no time concealing their substantially more than “pennies from heaven” under the George Washington Bridge. They immediately begin making plans to change their mundane lives with the help of this unexpected windfall. However, unbeknownst to them, a ruthless gangster, Nevada (Raúl Esparza) is turning the neighborhood upside down in search of the thieves who had the audacity to steal his crime-drenched money.

When Nevada discovers the boys have his money, he threatens Javy's uncle, Jose (Luis Ramos), to tell him where Javy is. Jose quickly informs Javy’s older brother and legal guardian Diego (Rayniel Rufino) that Javy’s life is in danger. After learning about this unfortunate situation, Diego immediately pulls together all of his trusted and protective neighborhood brothers to help him hide Javy and recover the money.

The decision to use the money to permanently escape or to confront Nevada weighs heavily on Diego who already has many other responsibilities, like a good job as a cook at a fine restaurant and his 18-year old pregnant girlfriend Ana (Alejandra Metz).

“GWB” is more than your everyday thug, cat and mouse game. Director Jonathan Ullman and his talented group of actors give us an authentic and candid look at the predominantly Dominican neighborhood community that lives around this iconic New York Bridge.