The Intersectoral Council for the Promotion of Cinematographic Activity (Cipac) and the General Directorate of Cinema (DGCINE) held the awards ceremony for the twelfth edition of the Public Competition of the Fund for Cinematographic Promotion (Fonprocine) 2023, at its facilities. The seven winning projects, announced on December 15, received prizes totaling 18.5 million pesos.
In addition, details were announced about the Fonprocine 2024 Advisory Program, which benefits participants of the 2023 call for proposals who did not win, so that they can strengthen their projects for future applications.
The DGCINE announced at the event that the 2024 call for entries will include the first Minority Co-Production Support Line, which seeks to turn Fonprocine into a space where collaboration between Dominican filmmakers and other countries is encouraged. The actions seek to facilitate and encourage film co-production and promote a synergy that further enhances our national film label.
In this sense, Marianna Vargas Gurilieva, general director of the DGCINE said that ”we are in a great moment to insist on the creation of dumbbells that continue to position the DR in the international arena as we have been doing so far. We have facilities in terms of incentives, infrastructure, locations and specialized human capital. In addition, we have already made 33 co-productions and have signed agreements with Ibermedia, the Kingdom of Spain, Puerto Rico, Italy, Uruguay and Argentina”.
Regarding the awards, he said that ”we must emphasize the rigor with which the members of the jury choose the winners, a criterion evidenced by the impressive international success achieved by numerous projects recognized in previous editions. This unwavering commitment to quality ensures that only the most outstanding productions are honored, thus consolidating the reputation and relevance of the award. This year, we reaffirm our commitment to cinematic excellence and its lasting impact on the international scene.”
Among those present at the event were Cristian Ceballos, Deputy Director of ProIndustria; Brigitte Veyne, Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Action of the French Embassy in the DR; Juan Marcio Migliorisi, Head of the International Area of the Uruguayan Film and Audiovisual Agency (ACAU), and other industry personalities. In addition, Vicente Santos, a Dominican actor who has participated in Fonprocine winning projects in previous editions such as Cocote and Mirian Miente, conducted the awards ceremony.
Fonprocine 2023 award-winning projects
Cipac announced last December 15 the winners of this edition, among which are: first films, in the category of Project Development, ”Las Flores” by director Katherine Diaz, of the production house Yohima SRL, awarded with DR 750,000.00; and ”Tivonage” by director, producer and screenwriter Miguel Batista, of Infrarrojo Films SRL with DR 750,000.00.
Gregorio Rodríguez, winner of the Ibermedia Program with his project Loading is the producer of ”Cimarrón”, winning project in the category of Short Film Production, directed and scripted by Manuela Hidalgo, of Casa Latina Films SRL, which received a prize of DR 600,000.00.
”Cabezú” by director Ramón Rivera, was awarded in the Animation Short Film Production category with a prize of DR 900,000.00. Jeure Tavare, producer of this project was selected by Unesco Habana Sur to participate in PIDS Enguien, an animation and visual effects festival. He was also selected for an artistic residency at the Fábrica Italia.
The Ibermedia 2023 winning project, ”Tres Balas”, also won the Fonprocine 2023 in the Documentary Production category. The initiative is by director Genesis Valenzuela and producer Wendy Espinal together with their production house Colectivo Cinematográfico 81 SRL and was awarded DR 3,000,000.00.
In the Fiction and/or Animation Feature Film Production category, with a prize of DR 7,000,000.00 and the advice of the company Cineate to elaborate the communication strategy when it is to be released, was recognized ”La Herencia de los Ramírez” by director and producer Brahyam Humphreys, of Elegido Comics SRL. This project is one of the beneficiaries of the Fonprocine 2022 Advisory Program, which demonstrates the positive results of the initiative.
The project ”Nieta de mi Abuela”, which in 2022 won the FONPROCINE in the Documentary Production category, wins in 2023 in the Documentary Postproduction category, with the award given by the production house Pulpo Post, which entitles it to the use of its studios. Its director and producer Tatiana Fernandez, from the production house Cine Carmelita SRL, receives the award valued at more than 4.3 million pesos.
Jury of the award
Among the distinguished members of the jury that participated in the 12th edition of the Fonprocine Public Competition were renowned experts in various categories.
In Project Development, Agustina Chiarino, Natalia Cabral and Iván Herrera were among the experts. For Short Film Production and Feature Film Fiction and/or Animation Production, Samuel Chauvin, Anabelle Aramburu and Diego Cepeda. In the category of Animated Short Film Production, the evaluation was in charge of Tomás Pichardo, Bea Bartolomé and João Gonzalez.
In the Documentary Production section, the members of the selection committee were Marcio Migliorisi, Héctor Ulises Montás and Martha Orozco. In Documentary Post-production, Ernesto Maxwell, Tabaré Blanchard and Homer Mora participated. The diversity and experience of this panel of jurors guarantee a rigorous and fair evaluation of the participating projects.
DGCINE – Caribbean Cinemas Agreement
The agreement signed between the DGCINE and Caribbean Cinemas in 2021 provides the conditions for the winning films to be exhibited in all Caribbean Films Distribution theaters nationwide for a minimum period of 2 weeks. In addition, the producers of audiovisual projects are accompanied in the design of the distribution and marketing strategy for the films and their release.
Pepe” Fonprocine 2020-2021 winning project
The film ”Pepe”, by director Nelson Carlo de los Santos, winner of the Fonprocine 2020-2021, makes history by being the first Dominican film to be selected in the Official Competition of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).
At a press conference held at the Cinemateca Dominicana on Monday, January 22, details of the film’s important participation in the main section of one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world were announced.
This historic nomination marks a milestone for Dominican cinema as it is the first time that a film from the country is part of the official competition of a festival of this category.
About Fonprocine
The Film Promotion Fund (Fonprocine) consists of resources destined to the promotion and stimulation of the production of Dominican cinematographic works, as well as the promotion and dissemination of national and international cinematography in related activities.
The main objective of this fund is to provide economic support for the creation of new films, as well as to offer the opportunity for new talents to develop through the creation of these projects.
Source: Presidencia.gob.do
