The documentary Garbage or Resource? A Dominican Republic Experience, produced by Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode), won Best Documentary Award at the 13th Edition of the Miami Short Film Festival (MSFF), held from December 5 to 12, which showcased over 100 short films. This is the third award that the Dominican film -directed by Natasha Despotovic, Executive Director of GFDD- has received from some of the most prestigious film festivals of its kind worldwide in addition to eleven official festival selections.

“This award makes us proud but above all it let us know that we are in the right direction. Our vision of creating documentary films of social and environmental content that promote sustainable development in the Dominican Republic and around the world is being supported and shared by hundreds of filmmakers and international and local experts,” said Despotovic, who is also Director of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF).

According to its organizers, the MSFF aims to showcase the most captivating and innovative content in short film format. This year the program consisted of more than 100 films, organized thematically, “hoping to represent the full range of human experience that is reflected in the selected filmmakers.”

Garbage or Resource? A Dominican Republic Experience, which is part of the DREFF Short Film Productions Program, shows us how recycling has become an important economic opportunity for Dominicans. Through various business and educational projects, the viewer watches, besides the obvious benefit to the environment, how recycling allows economic development through the creation of new businesses and industries. A short film that inspires, moves and calls to action.

More information about the film and its awards: http://garbage.dreff.org

More information about the Miami Short Film Festival and other winners: www.miamishortfilmfestival.com

The ReCrearte program, an initiative of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), participated last December 9th in the activity “Sharing experiences for the conservation of biodiversity”, in which the Pro-Nature (Pronatura) Fund showed the cooperation work that has been carried out by civil society organizations, government institutions and the private sector to promote the effective management of La Humeadora Mountain National Park.

The French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Embassy in the Dominican Republic sponsored this event, whose main goal was to exhibit, share and appreciate the experiences of best practices and lessons learned from projects that have been carried out in recent years with the sponsorship of the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund (CEPF).

The idea was to visualize on site, through a field visit to La Humeadora Mountain National Park, the outcomes of linking biodiversity conservation and the local communities. In this regard, ReCrearte, through its coordinator, Bertha Santana, attended the event to share some of the experiences it fostered during the course of the four creative recycling workshops it carried out in the community of Guananito, within the area of impact of La Humeadora Mountain National Park, between November 5th and December 2nd, 2014. During these workshops, community women learned about the three golden rules, or the 3Rs, for the proper management of solid waste: reduce, reuse and recycle, and experienced firsthand how recycling waste and transforming it into art can strengthen both the individuals and their communities.

The activity was attended by representatives of various organizations, including Pronatura; the Loma Quita Espuela Foundation; the Sur Futuro Foundation; the Dominican Center for Agricultural Development and Forestry (CEDAF – Centro Dominicano de Desarrollo Agrícola y Forestal), the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), and the French Development Agency, in addition to the administrator of La Humeadora Mountain National Park, experts from the Ministry of the Environment and a representative of the city council of El Puerto.

The Experience of the Community

The group of women from La Esperanza neighborhood in Guananito who participated in the ReCrearte workshops shared their experience through a presentation in which they explained the pieces they created and the materials they used, which included fan grills and discarded fabrics. Community leader Alex Dominga spoke before all the participants and representatives of national and international institutions about the change, “from the emotional to the economic”, that is taking place in their lives after participating in the workshops. She encouraged other women to create handcrafts at home using recycled materials.

At the end of the activity some of the attendees bought a number of the pieces created by the group of women from Guananito, including necklaces made with seeds, curtains, carpets, butterflies made from aluminum cans, and a basket made with a fan grill. “This resulted in an overflow of enthusiasm within the group, because, for the first time, they lived in a surprising way the experience of seeing the benefits their work generated, not only for them but also for the environment,” said Santana.

The ReCrearte Program was created in 2012 in response to the interest shown by the students who participated in Bertha Santana’s Recycled Art workshop during the second edition of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF).

For more information: www.r3crearte.org

GFDD Joined the Commemoration of International Mountain Day

In an effort to continue raising awareness on environmental issues, Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister organization in the Dominican Republic, Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) hosted a special screening of the inspiring Dominican film La Montaña, as part of the activities to commemorate International Mountain Day at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York City on December 12th.

The Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the UN and the organization Hands of New York collaborated with the coordination of this activity, which was held at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium. The event showcased the magnificence of mountaineering, the importance of mountain ecosystems and the significance of overcoming adversity to achieve one’s goals.

Yamile Eusebio, Director of GFDD New York Office, offered welcoming remarks and thanked the support of everyone, especially the students of the International School for Liberal Arts of New York.After that, Ms. Eusebio presented the guests of the panel discussion, which included Rebecca Byerly, independent filmmaker, multi-media journalist and adventure athlete and Iván Gómez, Dominican mountaineer, participant of the first Dominican expedition to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 2011 and main protagonist of La Montaña.

In her turn to speak Rebecca Byerly, journalist and director of the documentary film Women of the Mountain, talked about her experience as an adventure athlete and mentioned that “ultra-marathons are the most challenging task I have ever undertaken in my life”. Byerly showed still pictures of her documentary and emphasized that “as a journalist she felt compelled to document the of life fellow athletes who like her had run marathons in different ranges ofmountains around the world”.

Likewise Iván Gómez, who in July 2012 became the only Dominican who has climbed the highest mountains of the five inhabited continents of the planet, said that “nothing is impossiblein life, as long as we do it with passion and faith. Perseverance, dedication and hard work are needed to achieve your goals”, he pointed out. Gómez informed the audience about the devastating effects of climate change, when he revealed that “this year the number of avalanches in the Himalayas increased and 16 Sherpas died as a result of one, so we can no longer ignore the effects of climate change”.

He also stated that the purpose of the expedition Excelsior, who on 2011 was the first from the Dominican Republic to reach the summit of Mount Everest, was “to prove that we Dominicans can achieve any goal we set ourselves. I retired from mountaineering, as I found it selfish to pursue a personal dream and not devote myself to my family. That’s why this film is now dedicated to you, the audience, to inspire you to reach your dreams, and never give up.”

After the panel discussion, the audience enjoyed the screening of the film, which documents the adventure of the first Dominican expedition to reach the top of Mount Everest, shows the contrast of the highest mount in the world and the low lands of the Caribbean, as the three climbers surpass the difficult track to the top. At the same time, three Dominican children, son of fishermen, start their own challenge in climbing the highest mountain of their island. Two parallel stories that remind us that from the sea to the sky, everyone has a dream and their own mountain to climb.

In 2003 the United Nations General Assembly designated December 11th as “International Mountain Day”. Since then it has been observed every year, to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build alliances that will bring positive change to mountain peoples and environments around the world.

Through its Year Round Environmental Film Screenings program GFDD organizes film screenings across the Dominican Republic that bring interesting and important films to new and remote communities, as well as in the USA. By showing a diverse selection of quality movies on critical environmental issues and organizing discussions and workshops, the year-round film screenings program seeks to foster and inspire dialogue, raise awareness and promote sustainable practices.

To celebrate International Mountain Day the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister organization in the Dominican Republic, Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations, will host an inspiring film screening of La Montaña, showcasing the magnificence of mountaineering and the importance of overcoming adversity to achieve one’s goals. The screening will be at 10am, Friday, December 12th, 2014, in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

The screening, coordinated by GFDD with the collaboration of Hands on New York, will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with GFDD staff, Iván Gómez, one of the Dominican mountaineer to reach the summit of Mount Everest and a representative from the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations.

The purpose of the screening and panel discussion is to celebrate International Mountain Day and educate attendees about the importance of mountain ecosystems.

About the film:
La Montaña is a film which documents the adventure of the first Dominican expedition to reach the top of Mount Everest in Nepal. With stunning images, powerful music, and inspiring achievements, the documentary presents the contrast of the highest mount in the world and the low lands of the Caribbean, as the three climbers surpass the difficult track to the top. At the same time, three Dominican children, son of fishermen, start their own challenge in climbing the highest mountain of their island. Two parallel stories that remind us that from the sea to the sky, everyone has a dream and their own mountain to climb.

About GFDD Year Round Environmental Film Screenings:
As part of its mission to reach more communities, institutions and individuals around the country, GFDD organizes year-round film screenings across the Dominican Republic that bring interesting and important films to new and remote communities, as well as in the USA. By showing a diverse selection of quality movies on critical environmental issues and organizing discussions and workshops, the year-round film screenings program seeks to foster and inspire dialogue, raise awareness and promote sustainable practices.

When: Friday, December 12, 2014 from 10:00am to 1:00pm.
Where: Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, UN Headquarters, New York City.
RSVP: For access to the event as non UN grounds pass holders please RSVP to: Marc Jourdan – mjourdan@globalfoundationdd.org – 212 751-5000 Ext.5028

Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its initiative, Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), will be part of the prestigious global association of environmental film festivals Green Film Network (GFN), starting in 2015.

GFDD’s Executive Director and Director of the DREFF, Natasha Despotovic, expressed her “pride of belonging to this important organization, whose main purpose is to support the work of international directors and to promote films that create awareness of environmental issues”.

Green Film Network (GFN) is a worldwide association of environmental film festivals whose objective is to coordinate the events of the associated festivals, promote and distribute films worldwide and encourages initiatives and projects that might help people ponder about the environment.

For more information visit www.greenfilmnet.org