Dominican born Freddy Vargas was speaking on a panel about "The value of the short film"

(Santo Domingo, Nov 15, 2012).- As part of the 6th Dominican Global Film Festival’s series of free panels, well-known Dominican film producer and director, Freddy Vargas, gave a panel on “The Value of the Short Film.”

Vargas told the attendees, many of them multi-media students, at the Technological Institute of the Americas (ITLA) that each short film is made in a unique way and represents a particular challenge when taking into account all that needs to be done with the actors, the filming and the amount of time everything takes.

Thanks to advances in technology, the costs of making short films has become much cheaper. “Today one can make a short film using their cell phone,” said Vargas.

He advised, however, that prior to making a short film, one should research and study the topic fully in order to present a fully formed idea. He added that it is necessary to plan all the details and to coordinate with all involved personnel who will be helping move the project forward.

Freddy Vargas said that the Dominican Republic is making progress in the area of short films and, in fact, some are even better than the feature films being made. “I have a lot of faith in this generation that are making films the country,” said Vargas.

Many of the multi-media students at ITLA who attended the panel were able to interact and ask questions of Freddy Vargas on various aspects related to the world of film.

About Freddy Vargas
Filmmaker Freddy Vargas, born in the Dominican Republic and raised in the United States, showed off his early film talent at St. John’s University, with his short films Uptown and Víctor.  Even before these shorts, he worked as a production assistant on I Like it Like That for Columbia Pictures. Two of his screenplays were made into films, Buscando Un Sueño and Pasaporte Rojo and he made two more shorts, Rice & Beans and Greenbacks. In 2006, he shot his 6th short film, La Mujer de Columbus Circle which was shown at the New York International Latino Film Festival 2007 where it also received a the HBO award and, at the same festival, an award for his screenplay, Hispaniola. In 2008, he finished his 8th short film, Pinchos & Rolos, which he showed at the New York International Latino Film Festival. That same year, the short film closed the International Film Exhibition of Santo Domingo 2008, with Pinchos & Rolos, which he is intending to make into his first feature film in 2013. In 2012, he made his first documentary, Los Rostros Detrás de las Muñecas, about the Dominican women who work at the famous Alexander Dolls factory in New York. His current project is Milk of Hope with well-known Dominican actress Cheddy García.