Dominican Republic Global Film Festival – Wednesday 18 November to Sunday 22 November

by AirBourne / November 6th, 2009

Movie-going is one of the tourist attractions in the DR. Quality and variety of films comes with low cost of tickets. Tickets to weekend films cost around US$3, for popular films. And Santo Domingo frequently holds film festivals, bringing the unusual to the city and some interior cities all year round.

For instance, this November, the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival (DRGFF) will once again be screening world-class films and premieres for local audiences, with 32 feature-length and documentary films from Wednesday, 18 November to Sunday, 22 November at 7pm.

DRGFF is being held in five locations this year – Santo Domingo, Santiago, Puerto Plata, Cap Cana and Nagua – and in eight theaters.

“Touched,” a Shalim Ortiz production about domestic violence, opens the festival on 17 November. It will be screened at the main theater of the National Theater in Santo Domingo after the red-carpet ceremony. DRGFF will open in Santiago with “La Soga,” by Dominican filmmaker Manny Perez. The event will close with the film “Sol Caribe“, which is about the history of merengue and Dominican culture, in Santo Domingo.

In Cap Cana, two films will be shown via “Cine Bajo las Estrellas.”

Through film screenings, professional training sessions and educational programs, the 2009 Festival seeks to inspire and educate emerging artists, industry professionals, elementary, high school and university students and fervent film fans.

What sets DRGFF apart from other film festivals is that it is being celebrated simultaneously in four cities and that it includes specialized programs for middle school and high school students and thematic panel discussions. DRGFF 2009 will hold nine discussions on a range of topics ranging from food security and animal rights to gender equity.

As part of DRGFF’s central theme, “global issues, personal stories“, the event will screen 32 high-quality documentary and feature length films that highlight pressing contemporary global issues and stories of personal challenge and achievement.