Funglode Art Gallery Hosts Photo Exhibit of 18 Students from New York Film Academy

September 14, 2016

The exhibition, “Dominican Republic and its Environment,” is part of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival running all week until September 18.

Santo Domingo – The Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), inaugurated the photographic exhibition “Dominican Republic and its Environment” on Tuesday, September 13. The photo show is a display of work done by 18 students from the Film Academy (NYFA).

On display at the Art Gallery of the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode), the show includes the following photographers: Lotta Lemetti, Sayana Cairo, Daryl Spiegel, Nadav Freeman, Brittany Mitchell, Nina Coleman, Ganesan Venkata Krishnan, Ordiger Akil Mitchell, Ana Paula Henriqye Tizzi, Kimico Chan, Salma Gabri Rojas Oliver, Louise Wateridge, Ali Rehan, Eun Nym Cho, Maciej Stachowicz, Kingi Kingibe, Mengmeng Lu and Nipun Nayyar.

The photographers traveled to the Dominican Republic on three occasions, with the assignment of telling visual stories about their experiences in photos taken in Terrenas, Samana, under the direction of Professor David Mager.

Three representatives from NYFA, invited by DREFF 2016, took part in the project. They included Gil Enrique Matos, director of Inscriptions for Latin America and the Caribbean; Michael Cortina, equipment manager and assistant coordinator of Acting & Musical Theatre, and Claude Kerven, director of the NYFA film program, who will be in the country this week giving several workshops and master classes in Santo Domingo, Santiago and Punta Cana.

Mr. Matos said the artists participating in the exhibition are students of Artistic, Commercial and Sports Photography. “At the New York Film Academy we want students to learn how to take all types of photographs. All our programs are very practical and, as you can see, we give them a camera to use for creative projects from the first day they are here,” stressed Matos.

He said he was happy about the students’ photos, “not only that they took pictures of beaches, bathing suits, the sea, the traditional as well as stereotypical, but they also captured different aspects of what one sees here from day to day.”

Michael Cortina, equipment manager and assistant coordinator of Acting & Musical Theatre-NYFA talked about the work he does with the students. “What you see here in front of you is a demonstration of the diversity of our students.”

Referring to the art of creating  stories with audiovisuals, he talked about brevity. “The interesting thing about making a film is that you have 90 minutes to tell a story…with photography you have to condense everything you want to say into just one image.”

Claude Kerven, program director of the film program for the New York Film Academy, spoke about the relationship between the Academy and the DREFF.  “What unites us, although this is a festival mostly dedicated to documentaries, it is about wanting to tell a story with pictures,” he said.

The welcoming speech at the exhibition was given by Funglode’s Director of Communication, Elina María Cruz, who thanked the NYFA for its support of DREFF. “I think it has been an interesting undertaking and it is great that the Environmental Film Festival has garnered interest from such a prestigious organization as the New York Film Academy.”

Ms. Cruz underscored the work of the photographers. “They did a sociological diagnosis of the Dominican Republic. We appreciate that they are students from New York who came to see us with eyes that transcend tourism, with an ideology of how beautiful we are as a country of sun and surf.”

The exhibition includes photographs of landscapes, portraits, food and social content. The exhibition will be open to the public from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm daily until September 18^th.

About the DREFF
Since its creation in 2011, the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival has been providing Dominicans with a platform of knowledge and debate on the environment and sustainable development, as well as examples of best practices to achieve them, while celebrating the unique beauty and natural heritage of the Dominican Republic. With a wide selection of documentaries and numerous panel discussions, workshops, seminars and community activities, the DREFF seeks to promote dialogue and the exchange of knowledge and experience with the goal of encouraging Dominicans to take measures that will contribute to the appreciation, conservation and sustainable use of the country’s unique natural resources.

www.dreff.org / info@dreff.org
Twitter & Instagram @MuestraCine / Facebook MuestraCineMedioambiental
#DREFF and #YoSoySostenible

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•