| PRESS
ROOM: MovieMaker MAgazine
Dominican
International Film Festival
The third time was the charm for the Dominican International
Film Festival, which came into its own this past November
at the Sun Village Resorts and Spa in Cofresi Beach. The
fact that the festival took a giant leap forward in credibility
and relevance it’s third time around was the best
reason for festival director Ed Vincent and his team to
feel good about this event; the fact that it even happened
was a close second. That’s because the festival’s
opening night was only a week after the island of Hispaniola
(shared with Haiti) got slammed by Hurrincane Noel, which
killed 85 people in the Dominican Republic alone. But unless
you were keeping up with the news, you’d never known
any of this went down from the placid poolside screen rooms
at the aptly named Sun Village. From panels to parties to
well-attended premieres, the fest came off as effortlessly
as one’s winter clothing in the tropical paradise
that is the Dominican Republic.
This was the second
year in row that a rep from MM attending the DIFF, and the
2007 event saw a few technical kinks worked out and the
film lineup vastly improved. A few of the highlights of
the international program included Jean Becker’s Conversations
with My Gardener from German, Charles Binanme’s, The
Rocket from Canada and actor-turned-director D.B. Sweeney’s
Two Tickets to Paradise. Documentaries were also prominently
featured again this year, and highlights included Israeli
Limor Pinhasov’s A Working Mom, Bob Ray’s Hell
on Wheels and Finding Kraftland, by Richard Kraft and Adam
Shell.
Special programs
and panels made the third annual DIFF exactly what a festival
should be- an educational, celebratory, social occasion.
The educational included panel discussions on topics such
as “Big-Name Stars for Small-Budget Films”,
hosted by the New York-based producing team of Mark and
Adam Kassan, “Breaking into the Industry”, hosted
by yours truly.
Another interesting
program was the Director’s Cut Children’s Workshop
on acting, instructed by actor Manny Perez and another on
claymation. The Cine Roma section devoted screens to a Spanish-language
series, and was presented free of charge. A highlight of
this section was Chilean director Claudio Dabed’s
hilarious crowd-pleaser Pretendiendo, starring Mexican superstar
Barbara Mori, about a gorgeous woman who decides to make
herself over as an homely matron in order to be taken seriously
and avoid more romantic disappointments.
Organizers presented
several awards: Perez, star of the closing night film Bella,
who hails from a Dominican family with 11 siblings, received
the 2007 Humanitarian Award for his ongoing efforts within
the Dominican community. Dominican actress Dania Ramirez,
best known for her turns as AJ’s girlfriend on “The
Sopranos” and the newest superhuman on “Heroes”,
received the 2007 Rising Star Award. The DIFF attracted
several other familiar faces, including indie stalwart Joe
Pantoliano, star of Joseph Greco’s Canvas.
While clearly just
past its infancy as a destination festival, DIFF is beginning
to walk proudly all on its own. Its mission- to promote
the education and training of young filmmakers and support
independent film- is one that we heartily endorse. Visit
www.domincaninternationalfilmfestival.com
for more info. – Tim Rhys
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