Baní to Celebrate Second Edition of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival

New York, September 5, 2012

Centro Cultural Perelló in Baní, Dominican Republic will transform into a projection hall from Thursday, September 6, to Saturday, September 8, in celebration of the Second Edition of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), organized by Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE).

On August 29 at Centro Cultural Perelló, Yamile Eusebio, DREFF Director of Operations and Julia Castillo, Director of Centro Cultural Perelló, officially announced the films that would be screened and the activities that would take place in Baní at the center. During their interventions, both Ms. Eusebio and Ms. Castillo encouraged ecologists, environmentalists and everyone in support of environmental conservation to support this initiative.

“The Film Festival is a project of great importance for the country, as it contributes to raising awareness regarding protection of the environment. GFDD, FUNGLODE and Centro Cultural Perelló share common areas of work – art, education and environment. We encourage you to make this initiative your own,” expressed Ms. Castillo.

Ms. Eusebio also highlighted that each film screening will feature a presentation by an expert related to the environmental topics presented in the films.

During the three days in which the Festival will be celebrated in the municipality of the province of Peravia, five films and one short will be screened.

The formal inauguration of the Festival in Baní will take place Thursday, September 6 at 6:30 pm and will premiere the film Someplace with a Mountain, directed by Steve Goodall. The 2012 film is a USA-United Federation of Micronesia production. Max Campos, specialist in water and climate change from the Organization of American States (OAS), will be the evening’s featured speaker.

Early on in the day on Thursday at 10:30 am, DREFF will screen Life: Challenges of Life, directed by Martha Holmes, a 2009 United Kingdom production.

On Friday, at 10:30 am, the program will continue with screenings of Dominican film Terra, directed by Juan Emilio Yanes, and short film Anna, Emma and the Condors, a 2011 USA production directed by Katjia Torneman.

Later in the day on Friday, at 6:30 pm, the residents of Baní will have the opportunity to enjoy the film In Organic We Trust, a 2012 USA production, directed by Kip Pastor.

On Saturday, September 8, at 4:00 pm, the Festival will premiere the film Revenge of the Electric Car, a 2001 production directed by Chris Paine.
All screenings and panel discussions and question and answer sessions to follow are free and open to the public.

From September 5 to 9, 2012, the Second Edition of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) will present 24 environmental documentary films in the cities of Santo Domingo, San Francisco de Macorís, Santiago, Punta Cana, Baní, Puerto Plata and Sosúa.

The First Edition of DREFF, launched by GFDD and FUNGLODE in September of last year, raises awareness and deepens understanding of environmental issues among Dominican audiences, while celebrating the beauty and diversity of the country's natural heritage. Through screening a diverse selection of high-quality films on matters of environmental concern, and organizing panel discussions with environmental experts, filmmakers and other stakeholders, the Festival seeks to foster dialogue and to inspire Dominican audiences to adopt practices that will ensure the health and environmental sustainability of the country.

By bringing together youth, scholars, experts, activists, filmmakers, representatives of public, private and nongovernmental institutions and the general public, the Festival promotes programs and projects that contribute to environmental protection, conservation and sustainability.

Collaborators
The realization of DREFF 2012 is made possible thanks to support and contributions from our collaborators:

Centro Cuesta Nacional (Arrecife), Banco de Reservas (Colibrí), Fundación Vida Azul, Panorama Verde, Odebrecht, Uepa.com, Uepa Radio, PUNTACANA Resort & Club, el Proyecto Nautilius, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic, Sueños de Colores (Dreams in Color), la Revista Flow (Flow Magazine), el Centro Cultural Perelló (Perelló Cultural Center), the Embassy of Spain in the Dominican Republic, , Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU) (Pedro Henríquez Ureña National University), the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic, Clúster Turístico del Destino Puerto Plata (Tourism Cluster Destination Puerto Plata), la Universidad Católica Nordestana de San Francisco de Macorís (Catholic University Nordestana de San Francisco de Macorís), el Centro Cultural Narciso González (Narciso González Cultural Center), Centro León, CEDAF, Terra and RENAEPA, among others.

Related links:
www.drenvironmentalfilmfestival.org
www.environmentaldictionary.org
www.globoverdedominicano.org