On Thursday, November 26, GFDD/Funglode organized a special screening of the documentary La Montaña at the 27 de Febrero Naval Base of the Dominican Navy.

This event, held as part of the DREFF Environmental Film Screenings series, was arranged especially for cadets, candidates, and recruits of the Dominican Navy and included the participation of Commander General Vice Admiral Edmundo Felix Pimentel and the president of the Association of Navy Officers’ Wives of the Dominican Republic (ADEOARD), María Orietta García de Félix.

The activity aimed to offer guidance to the naval family, especially future senior and junior officers and new recruits, on good practices for facing the challenges of life, as well as the importance of effort in fulfilling goals.

In collaboration with the Fundación Siempre Más, chaired by Karim Mella, GFDD is screening this documentary in different venues around the Dominican Republic. “Our aim with these screenings is to turn young people into protectors of the environment, while testing and learning the value of individual effort, teamwork, comradery, and discipline, as well as the necessary skills to overcome obstacles and achieve personal goals in both the present and the future,” explained GFDD’s coordinator of Environmental Programs in the Dominican Republic, Omar Shamir Reynoso, who arranged the presentation of the film.

Screening of Environmental Films. The Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival maintains a Year-Round Environmental Film Screenings program, which offers the opportunity to audiences around the country to enjoy the most interesting films on environmental issues that have been shown in previous editions of the Festival. This widens the scope of efforts to raise awareness and deepens the existing understanding of environmental issues among the Dominican public.

More information:
www.globalfoundationdd.org
www.dominicanscreenings.org

Inspired by the films screened during the 4th and 5th Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), a group of young people have decided to raise awareness on the importance of sharks for preserving biodiversity through a new softball team: the Las Galeras Sharks.

This team has taken the messages of films screened at the Las Galeras Villa Serena Hotel – among them Extinction Soup (DREFF 2014) and Shark Girl (DREFF 2015) – very seriously, and aim to support shark protection through their sport. “Shark hunting is an activity that’s still being practiced, especially due to the search for their fins – much sought after above all to prepare the famous ‘shark soup’ – and it’s taking these populations to the edge of extinction,” explained team manager Ricardo Jiménez.

Team member Fernando Vásquez de León, for his part, says, “It’s a fact that sharks need much greater protection, because if we lose them, as key predators in the food chain, the consequences could be terrible. Other forms of aquatic life will suffer the knock-on effects of their extinction. Everyone can help protect sharks!”

According to the members of this particular team, lots of people, due to lack of awareness, are afraid of sharks and have the idea that the oceans would be safer without them. “And although the evidence shows the opposite, there are still a lot of people who believe that sharks are human killing machines and they certainly don’t want to share the water, swim, or boat near them.”

These youths affirm that sharks are losing the battle for their survival, as each year humans kill more than 100 million of them. Although lots of sharks are trapped by fishing, others die due to human ignorance and fear.

“Sharks have existed for around 400 million years. They are intelligent (they can even be trained), and to lose them within the lifespan of a single generation of humans just because of our irrational fear and greed is undoubtedly something we cannot be proud of,” noted team captain Ricardo Jiménez.

A worrying case, according to the players, is that of the hammerhead shark, recognized worldwide for its distinctive head, and which was added to the official list of endangered species and could disappear very soon if appropriate measures are not taken. “Our softball team is supporting this cause.”

About DREFF
Since its creation in 2011, the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival, an initiative of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode), has offered Dominicans a platform to learn and debate about sustainable development and environmental issues, as well as related challenges and best practices, while celebrating the incomparable beauty and wealth of the Dominican Republic’s natural heritage.

By screening a broad array of films and holding numerous panels, workshops, seminars, and community activities, DREFF promotes dialogue and exchange of knowledge and experiences, thereby inspiring Dominicans to adopt practices that contribute to appreciating, conserving, and sustainably using their environmental resources.

In the latest edition of DREFF, held between September 8 and 13, some 120 screenings of a total of 37 films were shown in 11 cities and 30 different venues around the country. One of these venues was the Villa Serena Hotel in Las Galeras, Samaná.

For more information:
www.globalfoundationdd.org
www.villaserena.com

Within the framework of the XXI International Conference on Climate Change (COP21), to be held soon in Paris, the Alliance Française, in collaboration with the Dirección General de Cine, organized a free film series called “Tierra! Acción! Entender la Crisis Medioambiental” (Earth! Action! Understanding the Environmental Crisis), that was held at the Cinemateque in Santo Domingo from November 5th – 8th. The Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), through its Year-Round Environmental Film Screening program, took part in the series with two films by European director Cosima Dannoritzer: The E-Waste Tragedy and The Light Bulb Conspiracy. Omar Shamir Reynoso, Coordinator of GFDD Environmental Programs in the Dominican Republic, presented both films.

At the end of each screening, Mr. Reynoso spoke with the audience about the DREFF and its Environmental Film Screening program. As coordinator of the GFDD’s Environmental Programs in the Dominican Republic, he explained that, since its creation in 2011, the Dominican Environmental Film Festival – an initiative of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) – has been providing the Dominican public with a platform for knowledge and debate on the environment and sustainable development, their challenges and best practices, and an opportunity to celebrate the unique beauty and wealth of Dominican nature and resources.

With a wide selection of films and numerous panels, workshops, seminars, and community activities, the DREFF promotes dialogue and exchange of knowledge and experiences, while inspiring the Dominican people to take action that contributes to appreciation, conservation, and sustainable use of environmental resources.

Reynoso also commented on the DREFF Year-Round Environmental Film Screening program that “offers an opportunity for schools, community centers, businesses, and governmental and non-governmental institutions to enjoy – free of charge – the most interesting films on environmental issues that have been shown at previous DREFF festivals.”

More information:
www.globalfoundationdd.org