The screening was followed by a panel that included Guy Reid, the director of the film, Christoph Ferstad, the photography director, Karim Mella, the president of the Siempre Más Foundation, and Semiramis de Miranda, the Director of Print and Digital Publications of the Festival.

(Santiago, September 9, 2015) The film Planetary inaugurated the 5th Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) on Wednesday, September 9th in Santiago. The festival is an initiative of Funglode (Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo) and the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD).

After the screening of the film, a discussion panel took place and included Guy Reid, the director of the film; Christoph Ferstad, photography director; Karim Mella, the president of the Siempre Más Foundation; and Semiramis de Miranda, Director of Print and Digital Publications of the Festival.

The activity was held at the Eduardo León Jiménez Cultural Center in Santiago as a part of the program which took place from Tuesday September 8th to Sunday September 13th, in 11 cities across the Dominican Republic. Students at Hermano Miguel Primary School and Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes Female Polytechnic School were present in the audience.

Planetary is a provocative and impressive wake-up call, a cross between continental cinematography and the exploration of our cosmic origins as well as our future as a species.

Reid and Ferstad said that through Planetary, they wanted to show two different points of view, that of space and the Earth. After the end of the meeting, the students said that they were happy about the effort of the festival to raise the awareness of the Dominican population through films that connect with the public.

The trilogy of documentaries Reserva de la Biosfera: Jaragua, Bahoruco, y Enriquillo and their director, Máximo Rodríguez, sensitized the students at Professor Juan Bosch School during a screening and forum at Funglode.

The screening of the documentaries Reserva de la Biosfera: Jaragua, Bahoruco y Enriquillo, produced by the Propagas Foundation and directed by the Memoria de Nación Foundation, provoked reflections among many children who watched the images and listened to testimonials with surprise during the screening offered at Funglode (Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo) as a part of the 5th Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF).

As the host of the students and the director of the film produced by the Propagas Foundation and directed by the Memoria de Nación Foundation, Máximo Rodríguez was satisfied to see the reaction that his work caused in children and the worries triggered by the produced content.

Some of the questions asked after the screening were about which animals are in danger of extinction and what would happen if Lake  Enriquillo were to disappear.

Angela Duvergé, the coordinator of the advanced class at Professor Juan Bosch School, came to Funglode with 50 sixth and seventh grade students and left very satisfied, in her own words. For her, the outcome of the activity was “excellent.”

The teacher maintained that the initiative should go even further, and that the school should make a sustained effort to develop awareness among children regarding the extinction of animals and the dangers faced by biodiversity.

It would be, she said, a part of the program that the school has implemented on the environment, through basic actions such as giving older students the task of teaching younger students to not litter.

Eliana López Díaz, a seventh-grader, gave her particular opinion on what she saw: “I thought the discussion was interesting and good, because it teaches us something,” she said. “We saw that this country isn’t just beautiful, and that it has a lot of diversity.” She added: “I didn’t like how the companies are cutting down trees, because that isn’t good for us, and I also saw that there are a lot of birds and reptiles in danger of extinction.”

The Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo Reserve was declared a Biosphere Reserve in 2002 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Reserva de la Biosfera: Jaragua, Bahoruco y Enriquillo is a collection of three documentaries on these areas: Jaragua National Park, a marvelous combination of beauty and biodiversity; Bahoruco Sierra National Park, a natural symbol of Dominican heritage; and Lake Enriquillo and Cabritos Island, a unique landscape on the geography of the eastern side of the island. This area, with a total surface area of 5,770 km², includes landscapes of unique and extraordinary beauty, an impressive amount of biodiversity made up of the most diverse coastal, maritime and land ecosystems, a large amount of endemic flora and fauna, and invaluable genetic resources.

The documentaries Reserva de la Biosfera: Jaragua, Bahoruco y Enriquillo were produced by the Propagas Foundation and directed by the Memoria de Nación Foundation.

The Dominican Máximo José Rodríguez is a well-known director and photographer with a large amount of experience in developing advertising in his country. He has been behind important local and international advertising campaigns and is the director-founder of the Memoria de Nación Foundation.

The Central University of Continuing Education was the site chosen for the screening on Wednesday, September 9^th, with the producer, Jillian Hall, present.

San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic- The City of San Francisco de Macorís and the Central University of Continuing Education (UCNE) enjoyed the screening of the film Yakona as a way to inaugurate the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF).

Jillian Hall, the producer of Yakona, participated in the forum that followed the screening. The story of the Yakona River was shown to an audience that lives close to another water basin, the Yuna, which is a point of reference in their productive lives and link with nature.

Reverend Father Isaac Garcia de la Cruz, the dean of the institution, was present at the opening ceremony, which included the participation of more than 250 students.

Yako-na means “growing waters” in the language of the natives of the San Marcos River, in Texas. This documentary  is a visual journey through the crystal clear waters of the San Marcos River and its headwaters at Spring Lake. The story takes the viewer from prehistoric times, through the modern era, on an impressionistic journey from the perspective of the river.

Matilda Días, one of the students present, praised the quality of the film. “I loved how the whole story of the river is told without words,” she said, adding that she would like it if the story of a river could be told in a similar way in the Dominican Republic.

Hotel Villa Serena served as a venue for the screening of the film on Wednesday September 9.

The Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) was inaugurated on Wednesday September 9^th in Samaná with “Antarctica: On the Edge,” a documentary film based on the melting of Antarctica and its impact on the planet.

Those participating in the event, held at the Villa Serena Hotel, Las Galeras, included Maribel Guevara, programmer of the Environmental Film Festival in Washington; Marina Dvornik, hotel manager; and Paul Goris, coordinator of the Center for Education Studies of the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode).

Following the screening some 160 people, including children, adolescents, and adults, took part in a question and answer session on the impact of climate change around the world.

The DREFF will show “Shark Girl” on Thursday the 10^th and “Exuma” on Friday the 11^th, as part of the DREFF Film Festival underway from Tuesday September 8^th to Sunday the 13^th in eleven cities around the Dominican Republic.

Yesterday, Bonao got decked out to inaugurate the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF). The municipal band and a parade of students from various schools welcomed the German director Jakob Kneser, who presented his film Gambling on Extinction at a very special place: Oasis Cinema.

Gambling on Extinction is a powerful documentary that takes the viewer from the killing fields in Kenya and South Africa to the trading hubs of Vietnam and China with undercover investigators, rangers, ex­poachers, conservationists, and buyers. It is a story is about greed and a merciless battle over a limited resource: wild elephants and rhinos.  Ivory and rhino horn have become lucrative commodities.  It  is  now  a  20  billion  dollar  a  year  business,  and  has  been  taken  over  by  powerful,  connected,  heavily  armed  international syndicates.

Before an enthusiastic audience that filled the room and in the presence of various local authorities, Jakob talked about the film with people both young and old after the screening, as well as about his personal experience as a filmmaker and a person during the filming of his eye-opening documentary. Among the hosts were Wellington Mejía, the owner of the theaters, and Julio Valentín, the executive director of Cándido Bidó Museum.

About Jakob Kneser
Jakob Kneser grew up in Munich and Bonn. After graduating in philosophy, history and religious sciences, Jakob Kneser has been working as editor at a music TV channel based in Cologne, before making a name for himself as a director and author.  Since 2002 he has made numerous reports, features and documentaries for arts and science television programs such as ARD, ZDF, 3Sat, and ARTE. Since  his  film End  of  a  Legend  in  2006  he  has  been  working closely with a&o buero film production, becoming partner of the company in 2010. Jakob lives with his family in Bonn.

GFDD/Funglode held an inauguration screening of The Wisdom to Survive at the Centro Cultural Monina Campora in San Juan de la Maguana on Wednesday September 9 at 6PM. The screening, which took place as part of the fifth edition of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF – www.dreff.org), was held before a packed audience of over 110 high school students and members of the public.

The screening focused on the topic of climate change and discussed how individuals can evolve and take action in the face of climate change.

Marc Jourdan, GFDD UN Representative & Environmental Programs Coordinator, provided words of welcome thanking Centro Cultural Monina Campora for hosting the screening and the audience for their attendance. He emphasized the importance of promoting dialogue on the issues of environmental protection and climate change. Following the screening, fielding numerous questions from the audience about renewable energy, waste management, and the concept of a green economy, Outreach Representative Angela Alston took part in an animated debate about what mankind can do to overcome and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Enio, a student from Colegio Padre Guido Gildea told GFDD “It was a very good film that I identified with as we all live on this planet. We need to find solutions for it or we will die with it”.

Commenting on the level of responsiveness of the local community to the screening, Angela Alston explained that “Dominican audiences are different, they listen differently, they were clearly taking in what was going on, but they were also talking and they were maybe processing during the movie. They came with questions that showed they had been affected by the movie, and they cut through the heart of what needs to happen.”

About The Wisdom to Survive
Climate change is here. Will we have the wisdom to survive? The film features thought leaders and activists in the realms of science, economics, and spirituality discussing how we can evolve and take action in the face of climate disruption. Featured are Bill Mc Kibben, Joanna Macy, Roger Payne, Hershelle Milford, Quincy Saul, and more.

About the Festival
Since its creation in 2011, the Dominican Environmental Film Festival – an initiative of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Funglode (Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo) – provides the Dominican public with a platform for knowledge and discussion on the environment and sustainable development, its challenges and best practices, as well as a way to celebrate the beauty and unique diversity of the Dominican natural environment.

With a variety of films to choose from and many panels, workshops, seminars and community activities, the DREFF promotes dialogue and the exchange of knowledge and experience, inspiring the Dominican public to act in a way that contributes to the appreciation, conservation and sustainable use of environmental resources.

To see the trailers for the films, click here.

To see the complete program, click here

The screening took place at the Sosúa Bay Grand Casino, with the participation of students from Jamao al Norte High School and the provincial authorities.

The 5^th Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) was inaugurated on Wednesday, September 9^th in Puerto Plata with the screening of the film Shark Girl.

The event, which took place at the Sosúa Bay Grand Casino, included the participation of Jakaira Cid, the Executive Director of the Pyuerto Plata Tourism Cluster; Ileana Neumann, the Mayor of Sosúa; Raquel Sierra, the Mayor of the Cabarete District Committee;  Julio Almonte, Vice-Minister of Tourism; and Tomás Callender, President of the Association of Hotels of Sosúa and Cabarete.

In addition, middle school students at Jamao al Norte High School, military and police forces, and Deborah Ruiz, from Young People of the World (Jóvenes del Mundo) were present.

The film Shark Girl tells the story of Madison Stewart and her passionate fight to save creatures that almost of all of us fear: sharks.

After the screening of the film “Landfill Harmonic” at the Funglode auditorium, Yamile Eusebio presented the prize to Favio Chávez, the conductor of the orchestra.

This Wednesday, September 9^th, following the screening of the film “Landfill Harmonic,” the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF by its English acronym) acknowledged the hard work of the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura from Paraguay.

Yamile Eusebio, the Director of Operations for the festival, presented Favio Chávez, the conductor of the orchestra, with the Colibrí Prize. “This is to acknowledge the work that all of you do and most of all, it is a way to thank you for your participation here, because this way the Dominican Republic can welcome your music,” Eusebio said.

The film “Landfill Harmonic,” which was presented at the Funglode (Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo) auditorium, focuses on the orchestra, which is a Paraguayan musical group whose instruments have been completely built out of garbage. It is a part of the screenings at the 5^th DREFF, which takes place from September 8^th to the 13^th in 11 cities in the country.

“We are very happy that this story might influence other people. And that way, we can show that people can dream and reach their potential if they have one concrete thing: an opportunity,” Chávez affirmed at the end of the feature-length film.

The orchestra’s conductor insisted that the instruments are what catch people’s attention. “But they are literally garbage; what turns this into a sort of art or something beautiful is the talent of the members,” he highlighted.

Chávez encouraged audience members to not limit themselves due to a lack of resources. “You don’t need lots of things to be able to do something for others; it’s possible to do a lot with very little,” he said.

After the end of the question and answer session, during which the audience was enthusiastic, the orchestra played three musical pieces: “Libertango” by Astor Piazzolla; “Canon in D Major” by Johann Pachelbel; and “Nothing Else Matters” by the rock group Metallica.

Engineer Evelin Montero said that the film gave her an inspiring message: “To do what you want to do, even if you don’t have the economic resources, equipment, or any other things. You always need to try with what you have at hand.”

“It transmits a message of overcoming difficulties and solidarity. The story was a little sad and was also interesting. This film and the orchestra motivate me do to community work to help the needy,” said Beina Morillo, a medical student.

The screening of the documentary and subsequent discussion with the film’s director, Jakob Kneser, marked the successful start to the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) 2015 at APEC University, with the participation of dozens of students who are beginning their first semester in Ecology studies.

The documentary Gambling on Extinction shows the death camps of elephants and rhinos in Kenya and South Africa and the distribution centers in Vietnam and China, where elephant ivory and rhino horns are illegally sold. Using undercover investigators and the testimonies of forest rangers, former poachers, conservationists, and buyers, Mr. Kneser illustrates the story of greed.

The illegal wildlife trade generates $20 billion dollars a year and is controlled by powerful international businesses, organized investors and heavily armed warlords.

Maria Margarita Cordero, Director of UNAPEC’s Department of Social Sciences, led the activity with great enthusiasm. She invited the students to see the film and meet with the director, as a way of maximizing the experience and better understanding the issue through a documentary based on thorough research.

Elina María Cruz, Director of Communications for the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) thanked the students for their participation at the event held in the Salón APEC de la Cultura. In the name of the DREFF, Ms. Cruz invited the students to attend the rest of the screenings that are part of this year’s Festival

Students from the Departments of Economics, Business Administration, Marketing, and Advertising who are taking Ecology courses applauded enthusiastically at the end of the film as an expression of their satisfaction with Kneser’s message in Gambling on Extinction.

“The film was very educational. I think it filled its purpose in terms of raising awareness of the general public with respect, in this case, to illegal hunting,” said Ms. Cordero. And, for that reason, she added, “We must support and continue these types of initiatives.”

Kneser said he was satisfied with the question-and-answer format with the audience. “I had not done this before because the film has only been shown on television and the Internet, so I was not able to see the reaction of the audiences.”

Among his responses to the viewers, Kneser emphasized the need to take action to confront the illegal poaching of animals – particularly rhinos and elephants – in order to sell their ivory and horns.

He said his film was made with the goal of creating awareness of the problem and to generate pressure on governments to make decisions to remedy the situation.

Marketing major Javier Pérez was among the students who appreciated the lessons learned: “The film was good because it had a message for everyone in the world about what is happening in Africa and about the illegal sale ivory and rhino horns in Asia.”

The auditorium at UNIBE filled steadily with students, many of whom were wearing white scrubs for their medical classes. The quiet excitement in the air reflected the viewers’ anticipation of the film. Resistance, a documentary produced by Michael Graziano that explores the over-use of antibiotics in our world, is very relevant to this audience, as many of them attend UNIBE for their medicinal and dental degrees.

The screening began with a few words of welcome by Cesare Guillermo, a member of the Funglode staff, and Milagros Rodriguez, Environmental Sustainable Group Coordinator of UNIBE. Through a translator, Graziano thanked the audience for being in attendance and hoped they would enjoy the film. A Q&A session directly followed the screening, along with some statements from Dr. Gustavo Rojas, Professor of the Medical School at UNIBE. Dr. Rojas spoke of his opinions on the documentary and opened the floor for questions and discussion.

After many thoughtful questions and statements, some of which came from professors in the audience, Graziano was asked his opinion on what should be done next in the fight against antibiotic resistance. He replied that “Future leaders in medicine- like yourselves- can make a difference. It’s a problem for the whole world, but it can be changed. We all need to ask questions, spread the word, and spread the education.”

The session closed with some kind words from Loraine Amell Bogaert, Dean of International Affairs at UNIBE. She thanked Graziano for his time and for sharing his film, and encouraged those in the audience to do what he suggested in spreading the word. “I hope all medical students at our facility can see this film,” said Bogaert. “It covers a very important topic, and I think it could be useful for all to see.”

Resistance will be screened at other locations during the DREFF this week. To find more information, click here.

About the DREFF
Since its creation in 2011, the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF)- an initiative of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) -has been providing Dominicans with a platform of knowledge and debate on the environment and sustainable development, along with its challenges and best practices while celebrating the unique beauty and wealth that is the Dominican Republic’s natural heritage.

With a diverse selection of films and numerous panels, workshops, seminars, and community activities, the DREFF promotes dialogue and the exchange of knowledge and experience, inspiring Dominicans to adopt actions that contribute to the appreciation, conservation, and sustainable use of their environmental resources.

DREFF app:
Apple (iTunes): https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dreff/id1029535649?mt=8
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.sched.dominicanrepublicenvironmen2015

www.dreff.org / info@dreff.org
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