Omar de la Cruz, Director of the Global Media Arts Institute and the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival, attended the meeting in Havana, Cuba. At the meeting, Santo Domingo was chosen to be the venue of next year’s meeting.

The Global Media Arts Institute (GMAI) of the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) and the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival participated in the First Meeting of African, Caribbean and Diaspora Filmmakers, organized and held in Havana, Cuba. There was ample representation from both regions.

At the meeting, Director of the Dominican Global Film Festival (DRGFF) and the GMAI, Omar de la Cruz welcomed the proposal to hold next year’s meeting in Santo Domingo in July, 2012.

De la Cruz took the opportunity at the meeting to announce that the upcoming Dominican Global Film Festival will be dedicated to the continent of Africa. The Havana meeting was attended by filmmakers, representatives of film schools and cultural authorities from African and Caribbean countries as well as officials from the UN Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO).

Representing Dominican organizations and organizers of the most prestigious film festival, De la Cruz took the opportunity in his speech to call for unity for the distribution of Latin American and African film in both regions. He also proposed that Telesur be designated the official channel for the promotion and dissemination of Afro-Caribbean events.

In addition, he advocated that at least two films made in Africa should be included in every edition of any film festival organized in Latin America thereby contributing directly to the promotion of African films. He announced that this will be the policy of the DRGFF from now on.

He also committed to including Latin American and African movies in the organization of film cycles held in the Dominican Republic.

To read the final declaration of the meeting, click here.