Special sessions on the Haitian environmental challenges will be held tonight at 7pm in San Juan de la Maguana and tomorrow at 7pm in FUNGLODE, Santo Domingo.

The IV Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) is dedicating several screenings and discussion panels to analyze the environmental challenges that Haiti and Dominican Republic face and the climate change impact over the Hispaniola Island.

DREFF is being celebrated all over the Dominican Republic, September 10-14, 2014, and will be screening films such as “Extinction in Progress” and “Save the Devil” which deal with Haitian environmental and sustainability challenges. After the screenings, discussion panels with national and international experts will be moderated to go deeper into these topics.

GFDD-FUNGLODE celebrates these special screenings and activities to foster awareness on climate change and sustainable development issues in Dominican Republic and abroad.

Extinction in Progress summary: The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is still struggling to get on its feet from the disastrous 2010 earthquake. But the real problem Haiti faces in the near future is the complete degradation of its natural resources. Today, forests cover less than two percent of its territory and scientists predict a mass extinction of Haiti’s biodiversity. Over a three-year period, a team of scientists and naturalists travel to the most remote locations in Haiti to investigate the current state of its biodiversity. Surprisingly, they discover almost 50 new species and rediscover species thought to be lost, including one of the most endangered mammals, the Hispaniolan solenodon.

Save the Devil summary: One is a family of Haitian farmers struggling daily to feed their children and one is a family of birds formerly thought to be extinct living in the last place on Earth they can hide. As starving Haitians burn the remaining trees and move further up the mountains to grow food the birds must move or die. Haiti is almost completely deforested and it is only a matter of time before there are no trees left. The bird, called the Black-capped Petrel by scientist and the Diablotín by locals, is a speaker from the future. The bird is an indicator of what is to come. When the little devil is pushed to extinction the people are not far behind.

For more information about DREFF and its program visit: http://www.muestracinemedioambientaldominicana.org/?lang=en

The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister institution in the Dominican Republic,Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), shared yesterday, Wednesday 10, with international guests of the IV edition of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), who were treated to a dinner at the TravesíasRestaurant, located in the heart of Santo Domingo, and specializing in local Dominican food with gourmet fusion.

Prior to the celebration, guests and organizers of the Film Festival enjoyed the official opening of the DREFF, held at thePalacio del Cine de Ágora Mall in Santo Domingo, with the participation of over 20 international personalities of the environment, about 30 national experts, DREFF advisors in the country, and the general public committee. President of GFDD and FUNGLODE, Dr. Leonel Fernández, attended the opening ceremony, as well as Mrs. Natasha Despotovic, GFDD Executive Director, who welcomed everyone.

Filmmakers, producers and organizers of the DREFF enjoyed a pleasant evening, where they exchanged ideas and joyfully celebrated the beginning of a new edition of the DREFF in this its 4th edition, further reinforcing its commitment to the environment and public awareness through special activities, workshops and film showing in cities across the country during the five-day event.

GFDD aims to raise awareness and deepen understanding of environmental problems worldwide among the Dominican public. However, with the DREFF, GFDD also promotes and even celebrates the beauty and diversity of the natural heritage of the Dominican Republic, offering an insight into the attitudes and actions that ultimately contribute to their recognition, conservation and sustainable use .

For the full program please visit www.dreff.org DREFF. Join the conversation on sustainable development promoted by followingGFDDorg GFDD andMuestraCine on Twitter, using the hashtags #RDsostenible and #DREFF.

The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister organization in the Dominican Republic, Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), commenced their IV annual Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), a five-day event held from September 10 to 14, 2014. More than 80 screenings in 10 auditoriums and venues across the Dominican Republic will showcase 37 films including Dominican films, feature and short films as well as GFDD productions related to environmental and sustainable development topics.

The opening celebration was held at Palacio del Cine of Agora Mall in Santo Domingo, starting with a welcoming cocktail for the more than 20 international special guests, more than 30 national experts, the National DREFF Advisory Committee along with the general audience that attended the official DREFF inauguration.

President Leonel Fernández, president of GFDD and FUNGLODE, was present at the ceremony, where Ms. Natasha Despotovic, Executive Director of GFDD, offered the opening remarks after a short video introduction of the Film Festival. Ms. Despotovic acknowledged the presence of special national and international guests including Isabel Turull (General Manager of Palacio del Cine), José Rafael Lantigua, Rafael Suárez, Dominican authorities, public, private and NGO collaborators, and distinct attendees to this edition of DREFF as Richard O’Barry, Stuart Sender, Charlotte Vick, Suzan Beraza, among others.

Each year during the DREFF opening ceremony, GFDD launches a special product or film production, which aims to further contribute to environmental sustainability awareness well beyond the Festival. Ms. Despotovic mentioned previous products created for the first three editions of the DREFF, such as the Dominican Republic Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Environment, the “Garbage or Resource? A Dominican Republic experience” short film and the “How to make an urban garden” guide, part of the Eco-Huertos program.

This year GFDD presented the book Hacia el desarrollo sostenible y economía verde en República Dominicana (Towards Sustainable Development and Green Economy in Dominican Republic), a practical guide for businesses, individuals and households for everyday approaches towards sustainable development. “This book is particularly timely as the United Nations are promoting the Sustainable Goals across the world” said Ms. Despotovic. The official launch of the book will be Saturday, September 13, during the closing ceremony of the Festival.

Special acknowledgement for relevant services and dedications were handed during the opening celebration. Bertha Santana, Coordinator of GFDD program ReCrearte, presented a recognition award to Jakaira Cid, which was received by Julio Adrián García on her behalf; and Cristiana Cruz Minier, Coordinator of GFDD program Eco-Huertos, handed the award to Gaudí Ruiz de González.

Karim Mella, Founder and President of Fundación Siempre Más, received a DREFF special recognition from President Fernández. Mr. Mella is the first Dominican to ever climb the Mount Everest, and is a great leader working with GFDD program RDescubre, fostering educational expeditions to Pico Duarte. A group of students were saluted and wished good luck on their expedition that will start tomorrow, September 11, 2014 to Pico Duarte, and to the cleanups of La Ciénaga and Manabao.

These recognitions were made because of their exceptional and unconditional support to GFDD’s programs and initiatives to promote environmental awareness.

After the acknowledgements Ms. Despotovic introduced Enrico Cerasuolo, Director of Last Call, the opening movie screened to inaugurate the Festival. Mr. Cerasuolo is a renowned documentary director and screenwriter. The movie shows how the book The Limits to Growth, a bestseller worldwide based on a report by a team of brave scientists from the MIT, shook the world 40 years ago. Today their message is more relevant than ever: Planet Earth has its limits. “An infinite growth in a finite planet is impossible” said Cerasuolo.

The DREFF seeks to encourage discussions around sustainable development and environmental global issues, and aims to inspire Dominican audiences to adopt practices that will ensure the country’s environmental sustainability. Numerous screenings of high quality local and international films that deal with a diverse selection of pressing global environmental issues are scheduled throughout the week. Discussion panels, as well as other engaging activities with experts, filmmakers and other stakeholders, will also be available.

GFDD aims to raise awareness and deepen the understanding of global environmental issues among Dominican audiences. However, with the DREFF, GFDD also promotes and celebrates the beauty and diversity of the Dominican Republic’s natural heritage, and offers insight into the attitudes and actions that will ultimately contribute to its appreciation, conservation and sustainable use.

The complete IV DREFF program can be accessed by visiting www.dreff.org. You can also support the sustainable development conversation promoted by GFDD by following @GFDDorg and @MuestraCine in Twitter and using the hashtags #RDsostenible and #DREFF.

The international renowned activist and protagonist of The Cove is the guest of honor of the IV Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF).

(Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) – “It sounds really harsh, but I can say that dolphins, animals that live in family by nature and travel hundred of miles per day, commit suicide when they are caught in captivity. We need to stop that cruelty and society can make it happen by stop attending shows that exhibit those animals”.

The activist Ric O’Barry arrived last night to the country to participate in the IV Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) and this morning attended several radio interviews for the Cuentas Claras and Factor Verde, transmitted by La Nota Diferente frequency of Teleantillas.

GFDD-FUNGLODE’s guest of honor for this edition of the Film Festival talked to the Dominican press about his passion: creating awareness about the gravity of captivity of marine mammals. Among other things, O’Barry said that when a dolphin is taken out of his natural environment the two most important things for him are taken away, his family and freedom in the ocean. Dolphins put into small water tanks consider their companions as strangers and that can take them to live in conditions that lead them to death, including suicide.

The Cove protagonist exhorted Dominican society to become conscious about excessive fishery, contamination and dolphin captivity. “It is important to educate the population on this topics both on this country and globally”, said the marine mammals expert. In addition, O’Barry gave thanks to Dr. Leonel Fernández, former President of Dominican Republic, for prohibiting during his administration, the import of 12 dolphins that were captive in the Taiji dolphin hunter some years ago.

Richard O’Barry has worked on both sides of the captive dolphin issue. He worked for 10 years in the 1960’s within the dolphin captivity industry, when he was employed by the Miami Seaquarium to trained dolphins, including the ones that played the role of Flipper in the popular American TV-series of the same name. When one of the dolphins died in his arms O’Barry realized that capturing and training them was simply wrong. Over the past 40 years he has been recognized by many national and international entities. He has published two books: Behind the Dolphin Smile (1989) and To Free a Dolphin (2000). In 2006, O’Barry became Marine Mammal Specialist for Earth Island Institute, where he is also the Director of Earth Island Institute’s Dolphin Project and Save Japan Dolphins Campaign.

Film Synopsis: The Cove begins in Taiji, Japan, where former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry has come to set things right after a long search for redemption. It is here, under cover of night that the fishermen of Taiji, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and an underhanded market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in an unseen hunt.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister organization in the Dominican Republic Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), will open the IV edition of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) with the screening of Last Call, a movie directed by Enrico Cerasuolo. The DREFF is a five-day event celebrated from 10 to 14 of September 2014 in more than 10 cities across Dominican Republic.

Last Call is a film that analyzes the issue of growth from today’s perspective. In this documentary Cerasuolo, a native of Venice, engages spectators in a compelling story that raises awareness of the urgent need to make the decisions that will safeguard the future of our planet. The film looks at a problem that 40 years ago a team of brave scientists from MIT denounced in the book The Limits to Growth, where they presented their concern about the future of humanity if the pace of global growth continued without any controls.

During the film festival, the filmmaker will participate at the end of some of his film presentations. Enrico Cerasuolo is an experienced documentary director and writer. Since 1992 he is the manager of the production company Audiovisive Zenit Arti in Turin. He has written and directed several international documentaries that have been recognized in national and European festivals, including: From Berlusconi to Garibaldi (2011); The Hidden Face of Fear (2008); Space Hackers (2007); Peter’s Dream (2007); Checosamanca (2006) and The Enigma of Sleep (2004).

To know more about this movie click here.

For more information on the film presentations, activities and the DREFF general program, you can visit. www.dreff.org

The IV Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) has included in its complete agenda a series of artistic and photographic exhibitions to complement the screenings, workshops and discussion panels related to environmental and sustainable development topics. The main exhibitions include:

“Unveiling Haiti’s Beauty: A photography Exhibit by Eladio Fernandez”: from September 10 to 14, 2014, at the Galeria of FUNGLODE in Santo Domingo. This exhibit displays the social and environmental outlook of Caribbean Conservation Photographer, Eladio Fernández, on the Republic of Haiti. The 14 images displayed provide a small window into Haitian culture, it’s urban landscape, and threatened biodiversity. The photographs also offer rarely seen views of the Pic Macaya National Park, a biodiversity hotspot which contain some of the rarest and most threatened species of orchids and amphibians on the planet. Other important biodiversity hotspots such as Massif La Selle and the Presqu’ile of Mole San Nicolas are equally portrayed in this exhibit.

Although some of these areas are of difficult access, many suffer from increasing rates of deforestation and habitat destruction, threatening the extinction of many species of flora and fauna.

“Dominican Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Environment Exhibit”: The 15 panels, on display from September 10-14, 2014 at UNPHU (Salón de Conferencias, Edificio Nº 3 – Avenida John F. Kennedy, Km. 6.5), provide basic knowledge on the Dominican Republic’s unique landscape as well as information on how to protect and conserve our country’s natural beauty. The Exhibit, inspired by the book of the same name, is part of GFDD/FUNGLODE’s goal to raise awareness about Dominican culture, disseminate information about the country and strengthen appreciation of our unique ecology and biodiversity. It also provides an invaluable opportunity for students and visitors to take advantage of this educational experience in the hope of broadening all of our horizons and fostering a sense of national pride in the conservation of our nation’s natural wealth.

“Recycled Art Exhibit – ReCrearte Program”: on September 11, 2014 at the lobby of the Centro Cultural Perelló, Bani.

For more information visit: www.dreff.org

Conferences and panel discussions will take place also in different cities of the country

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Conversations, workshops and roundtables on the environment will be held in various cities in the Dominican Republic, as part of the IV edition of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), held September 10 to 14 at various venues in the country.

National and international experts on climate change and sustainable development issues, as well as filmmakers and producers of several short films and movies that will be screened, will have the opportunity to discuss their experiences and exchange ideas with participants and the public attending the different DREFF activities.

On Friday, 12 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm the workshop “Charting the marine and coastal ecosystems with Google Ocean” will be held at FUNGLODE, with the participation of Maria Montoreano and Charlotte Vick, both from Google Earth. On Saturday, 13 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm in FUNGLODE the conference “Marketing and distribution: discovering the potential of your film” will be offered by the filmmaker Suzan Beraza and Suzanne Harle, Founder and Executive Director of Green Planet Films. On Sunday, 14 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm will be held in FUNGLODE the workshop “The cinema as a means of activism”, with the participation of Allison Argo, Director of Parrot Confidential, Fernando Baez, Founder and President of Unicorn Films and the Grupo Único; Stefanie Brendl, Executive Producer of Extinction Soup  and Ric O’Barry, Founder and Campaign Director for The Dolphin Project.

GFDD aims to raise awareness and deepen understanding of environmental problems worldwide among the Dominican public. Along with the DREFF, GFDD also celebrates the beauty and diversity of the natural heritage of the Dominican Republic and offers insights into the attitudes and actions that contribute to recognition, conservation and sustainable use.

Some of the workshops will also be held after the screening of a short film or movie. For more information on the workshops, visit www.muestracinemedioambientaldominicana.org/talleres/

Children of different ages were able to enjoy yesterday, Wednesday 10, the film Cordillera Central Dominicana: Oasis del Caribe, from filmmaker Máximo José Rodríguez, as part of the special activities that complement the IV edition of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF).

The event took place at the Biblioteca Infantil y Juvenil República Dominicana, where a large group of students also participated in a Q & A with the director of the film.

When approached about the topic selected for production, Rodríguez said that for him the Cordillera Central is the life of the Dominican Republic. “You, the students, are the heirs and, especially, their children. This is the most important environmental asset in the entire Caribbean. My message to you is to care for our planet, our home”.

The DREFF seeks to foster discussions on sustainable development and global environmental issues and aims to inspire the Dominican public to adopt practices that ensure environmental sustainability of the country and the world.

GFDD aims to raise awareness and deepen understanding of environmental problems worldwide among the Dominican public. However, with the DREFF, GFDD also promotes and even celebrates the beauty and diversity of the natural heritage of the Dominican Republic, offering an insight into the attitudes and actions that ultimately contribute to their recognition, conservation and sustainable use.

For the full program please visit www.dreff.org DREFF. Join the conversation on sustainable development promoted by followingGFDDorg GFDD andMuestraCine on Twitter, using the hashtags #RDsostenible and #DREFF.

(Santo Domingo) – Hundreds of students from various schools in Santo Domingo had the opportunity to see the screening of the documentary Garbage or Resource? A Dominican Republic Experience, a film produced by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE).  The film, directed by Natasha Despotovic, Executive Director of GFDD, was presented this morning in the offices of FUNGLODE, as part of the activities of the IV Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival, which takes place from September 10 to 14 in various locations throughout the country.

Children from República de Nicaragua, La Salle and Colegio Amor y Paz schools, as well as other participants of FUNDAZURZA, had the opportunity to enjoy the film that shows in detail how recycling has become an important economic opportunity for Dominicans. Bertha Santana, Coordinator of GFDD program RecreArte, was among the speakers as well as Nicolás Mendoza of FUNDAZURZA, Jorge de los Santos of EcoRed and Yoel Garcia of CEDAF.

Garbage or Resource? A Dominican Republic Experience had received 10 awards since its official launch during last year’s DREFF. Recently, the film was selected as a finalist in BLUE 2014’s International Ocean Film Competition in the Foreign Language category. In the film the viewer notes that besides the obvious benefit to the environment, recycling allows economic development through the creation of new businesses and industries. A short film that inspires moves and calls for action.

For more information on this and other projections of other documentaries, as well as overall program activities DREFF, visit www.dreff.org http://garbage.dreff.org
  http://www.blueoceanfilmfestival.org

Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) will recognize the production and distribution of films on climate change and sustainable development topics with the Globo Verde Dominicano Award 2014. This contest is an essential part of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) to be celebrated September 10-14, 2014; the winners will be announced on Saturday, September 13th, 2014.

The 2014 edition of Globo Verde Dominicano Award provides an unprecedented platform for filmmakers, students and young professionals who wish to get involved in a still little-explored area in the Dominican Republic. With this contest, they have the opportunity to make audiovisual material on issues related to the environment, in addition to showing their work at the DREFF to both local and international audiences.

To find more information about Globo Verde Dominicano visitwww.globoverdedominicano.org. You can also support and enrich the sustainable development conversation promoted by GFDD by following @GFDDorg and @MuestraCine in Twitter and using the hashtags #RDsostenible, #SustainableDR and #DREFF.