The Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic signed a collaboration agreement with the aim of promoting sustainable social-economic development and environmental awareness in the Dominican Republic. Natasha Despotovic, Executive Director of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), and Bautista Rojas Gómez, Environment and Natural Resources Minister, signed the agreement, the goals of which include promoting a culture that encourages the proper management and use of natural resources in Dominican society.

Both institutions, according to the agreement, understand the importance of being catalysts for developing projects and programs that promote best practices in the area of environment and sustainable development. Programs and projects in these areas are the “fruit of interaction between young people and the general public with professors, experts, activists, filmmakers and leaders in public, private, national, and international sectors.”

According to the agreement, both parties will foster a culture that promotes the proper management and use of natural resources in Dominican society as well as elevate awareness of sustainable social-economic development in the country. This will be done while promoting the exchange of experiences, research, diffusion of knowledge, and environmental sensitivity in general in those areas wherein both have obvious interests.

Ms. Despotovic explained that the GFDD understands that in order to contribute to sustainable development in the country, it is of fundamental importance to join efforts and establish relationships between organizations and related initiatives,  “as the Foundation has been doing for the past 12 years.”

The agreement states that the Ministry will collaborate with activities undertaken by DREFF, held every September around the entire country. The Environment Ministry, among other things, will facilitate experts who will enrich the Festival’s panel discussion and workshops, which are part of the DREFF Festival.

In addition, the Environment Ministry will promote DREFF-related environmental programs held throughout the year, such as ReCrearte, EcoHuertos, Premio Globo Verde Dominicano, RDescubre, and the Environmental Film Screening program. DREFF, for its part, will support the diffusion of activities and programs planned by the Ministry with a view to raising environmental awareness and education throughout the country.

About DREFF

Since its inception in 2011, the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), an initiative of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), provides the Dominican audiences a platform for knowledge and debate on the environment and sustainable development, their issues and best practices, while celebrating the beauty and unique wealth of the Dominican nature.

Through the screening of a diverse selection of the best films that deal with issues of major national and international relevance, and the organization of discussion panels, courses, seminars, and field visits, DREFF not only promotes dialogue but also inspires the Dominican public to take action to ensure the health and sustainability of the environment.

Partnering with some of the most important institutions in the field, including the Green Film Network (GFN), every September, during each of its editions, DREFF organizes over 80 free screenings in 14 cities and nearly 30 venues throughout the Dominican Republic.

In keeping with the commitment of GFDD to contribute to the sustainable development of the Dominican Republic and of the world in a concrete way by creating practical platforms for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, DREFF has developed five programs that operate throughout the year and work closely with the community: ReCrearte, EcoHuertos, RDescubre, the Globo Verde Dominicano Award, and the Year-Round Environmental Film Screenings program.

Related links:
www.dreff.org

Seeking to encourage young Dominican filmmakers, the Globo Verde Dominicano Award and the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) presented yesterday in Santo Domingo, at Funglode’s headquarters, the workshop “Creating and developing concepts for short film documentaries”. During a lively class led by documentary filmmakers Suzan Beraza and David Byars, 60+ participants had the opportunity to learn basic techniques for developing a documentary film and some “secrets” to creating works of impact.

For example: how and where to find ideas; interviewing techniques and how to deal with characters and filming techniques, in addition to the basic structure of a documentary.
Suzan Beraza, founder of the Reel Thing company, in addition to having presented some of her documentaries, such as Bag-it and Uranium Drive-in, in previous editions of the DREFF, she is also part of the International Advisory Committee and has been a judge of the Globe Verde Dominicano Award.

For his part, David Byars, apart from being a director of independent documentaries, has also been a cameraman, editor and sound engineer of the documentary film Uranium Drive-in. Currently, both of them are filming in the city of Puerto Plata, in the Dominican Republic, the documentary film No soy puta (I Am Not a Whore!), which addresses sex tourism from the point of view of women.

The GFDD Multimedia Manager, Alexandra Tabar, encouraged young people to practice what they have learned in developing their projects, so that they can submit them to the fourth edition of the competition, which will announce the winners during the fifth edition of the DREFF, scheduled to take place between September 8 and 13, 2015.

As part of the workshop, the Globo Verde Dominicano Award also gave 10 participants the opportunity to receive one-on-one guidance from Beraza and Byars, who served as mentors to the winners in their respective projects.

The Globo Verde Dominicano Award seeks to encourage young Dominicans to make films and documentaries capable of raising awareness on the importance and preservation of the environment and sustainable development.

Related Links:
www.globoverdedominicano.org
www.dreff.org

The Dominican Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) and its Globo Verde Dominicano Award are organizing a free workshop for young filmmakers as well as a chance for 10 participants to receive personalized professional advice.

The goal of the workshop, “Creating and Developing Concepts for Short Documentaries” for young filmmakers and potential competitors of the fourth edition of the Globo Verde Dominicano competition, seeks to encourage students and professionals to create audiovisual material capable of generating awareness around the importance of environmental conservation and sustainable development.

Suzan Beraza, founder of the “Reel Thing”  and director of such documentaries as Bag It! and Uranium Drive-In – both previously screened at DREFF – along with David Byars, documentary and short film director, will talk about generating ideas and how to develop them when the time comes to make a short documentary.

As a complement to the workshop, the Globo Verde Dominicano Award will give ten participants the opportunity to receive personalized advice, wherein filmmakers can present their ideas and receive comments and feedback from Ms. Beraza and Mr. Byars.

The event will be held on Thursday, May 14th at the offices of the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode), at 6:00 PM.

The Globo Verde Dominicano Award recognizes the best audiovisual work concerning the environment, and exhibits it to a national and international audience. In 2015, the fourth version of the competition will consist of four categories: Short Films, Public Service Announcements, Photography, and a special category for High School students, Globo Verde Junior.

Related links:

www.globoverdedominicano.org

www.dreff.org