The Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival strengthens the collaborative relationship between the Dominican and Spanish film industries in its 49th edition, as expressed at an event held within the framework of the event.
The Festival’s director, Manuel H. Martín, and the director of the Dominican Republic’s General Directorate of Cinema (DGCINE), Marianna Vargas Gurilieva, led an event at which four Dominican film projects in the development and financing stage seeking Spanish co-production were presented.
The four projects selected for presentation in Huelva are representative of the current Dominican film scene and are headed by a new generation of filmmakers who demonstrate the diversity of voices and themes in the industry in the Caribbean country. These are the productions “El sueño”, by Victor Piñeyro; “La mansa”, by Karlina Veras; “Maguana Racing”, by Juliano Kunert; and “PostPartum”, by Yinna de la Cruz and producer Cristian Mojica.
“El sueño” is a universal and popular story, interesting for its references. “La mansa”, a story with a peculiar tone, with passages through Spain. “Maguana Racing”, a striking project, with a peculiar premise and “Pospartum”, another popular and universal story, with the possibility of integrating a Spanish cast.
Marianna Vargas Gurilieva highlights the positive outcome of the meeting, underlining that “we continue to take important steps to make Dominican talent visible and to promote our co-productions with Spain. Increasingly, we are seeing how Dominican cinema is positioning itself in major international festivals, as we have not only a growing industry, but also experienced human capital and an extensive variety of locations that make us the region’s film hub for international and national film co-productions.”
“We have been working for years with Dominican institutions and festivals and programming the works of their filmmakers and this year could not be different. That’s why we are very happy that Huelva has become a meeting point for these new projects that connect our cinematographies. It is an opportunity for them, but also for us as a festival to generate relations between both industries,” said Manuel H. Martín.
The Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival and the DGCINE signed an agreement within the framework of the Marché du Film of the Cannes Film Festival 2023, to work together to carry out activities to promote co-production between Spain and the Dominican Republic in the 49th and 50th editions of the festival.
This agreement has resulted in a significant presence of the Dominican film industry at this year’s festival, where two Dominican productions were selected for the Official Selection. On the one hand, the film “Boca Chica” (2023), which is part of the Official Selection of Feature Films, and also the short film “Solita en la Noche”, in the Official Selection of International Short Films.
In addition, as a pre-Festival activity, a Dominican film series was launched on the Filmin platform, consisting of 11 films and 1 short film, for international distribution.
These include “Una película Sobre Parejas” and “Miriam Miente” by Natalia Cabral and Oriol Estrada, the latter winner of the Colón de Oro at Huelva 2018; “Perejil” and “Carpinteros”, by José María Cabral; “Bantú Mama”, by Iván Herrera; “Jean Gentil” and ‘”La Hembrita”, by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas; “Liborio” by Nino Martínez Sosa; “Carajita” by Ulises Porra and Silvina Schnicer; “Cocote”, by Nelson Carlo de los Santos; “Flor de azúcar”, by Fernando Báez Mella, and the short film “Mofle”, by Fernando Henríquez.
Source: presidencia.gov.do
