The Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) and the Instituto Técnico Superior Comunitario (ITSC), will present an environmental film cycle over several weeks to promote sustainable development and environmental awareness among the entire student community, teachers, and others involved in this educational institution.

The first film shown as part of this joint initiative between the DREFF and ITSC was LandFill Harmonic, which was enjoyed by more than 70 people, both students and professors, on October 30th.

In the following weeks, other films will be presented such as SlingShot, Cotton Road, and Dark Side of the Chew, among others.

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.

About the ITSC
The Instituto Técnico Superior Comunitario (ITSC) is a public, state-run institution that provides upper level technical degrees while meeting academic qualifications in different areas normally included in continuing education. The ITSC, which began its teaching endeavors in January 2013, currently offers a curriculum in 27 professions, distributed in the 7 healthcare areas: computer/information technology, liberal arts, hospitality, building and construction as well as industrial and electromechanical areas.

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.

More information:
www.dreff.org
www.dominicanscreenings.org

The Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) and the Alliance Française in Santo Domingo will be screening two environmental films to promote sustainable development and environmental awareness for the community of students, professors, and friends of the French educational organization, as well as the general public. Both selected films—The LightBulb Conspiracy and The E-Waste Tragedy—are French co-productions directed by European filmmaker Cosima Dannoritzer.

The screenings will be part of the programming of the Festival Internacional Cervantino to be held November 5–8, 2015, at the Cinemateca Dominicana. Participants can attend this popular and prestigious cultural event in Santo Domingo completely free of charge.

About the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF)
DREFF is an initiative of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister organization in the Dominican Republic, Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode). DREFF offers the Dominican public a platform for information and debate on environmental and sustainable development issues as well as related challenges and best practices, while also celebrating the country’s beauty and natural wealth. For more information: www.dreff.org

About the Alliance Française of Santo Domingo
http://www.afsd.net

About the Festival Internacional Cervantino
http://www.afsd.net/index.php/culturales/16-contenidos-menu/culturales/agenda/203-festival-cervantino-en-santo-domingo

Garbage or Resource? A Dominican Republic Experience was nominated and screened at the 8th Competitive CMS Vatavaran Environment & Wildlife Film Festival and Forum 2015. As part of this recognition, GFDD’s short film will be broadcasted on select television channels in India for the next two years.

Audiences enjoyed learning more about the Dominican Republic’s experience in recycling with the screenings of GFDD’s short film in the most renowned environmental film festival in India, which took place October 9-13, 2015. CMS Vatavaran will now take relevant films to the next travelling edition of the festival to five river front Indian cities in 2016, and will broadcast select films on an on-air festival.

Garbage or Resource? A Dominican Republic Experience, produced by Natasha Despotovic GFDD/Funglode, is one of its kind in its genre in the country, that shows us how recycling has become a significant economic opportunity for Dominicans. The message is clear: trash is no longer just trash, rather it has value. As long as trash can be utilized, it is not trash.

Garbage or Resource? has been screened at over fifteen different international film festivals since its production in 2013, and has won several awards including Best Documentary at the Miami Short Film Festival (MSFF), Best Documentary at the Green Lens Environmental Film Festival, and the Second Place Fan Coral Award at the Reef Renaissance Film Festival.

More information:
http://vat2015.cmsvatavaran.org
http://garbage.dreff.org
www.dreff.org

In light of recent attacks in Ankara, Turkey, the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) and other members of the Green Film Network (GFN) are expressing their support for Bozcaada International Festival of Ecological Documentary (BIFED), a fellow international film festival.

The BIFED was organized in order to create a platform that nurtures the hope. The hope is that through the festival, the residents of Bozcaada, farmers, producers, scientists, artists, and all our guests will be informed about the current technological developments, disasters and innovations, the most recent documentary techniques, and also platforms that will enable the youth, the farmers, and the producers of the island and the surrounding area to be informed about the latest technological developments.

A statement released on the GFN website states “Documentary films are extraordinary alternative source of information. No wonder that documentaries – and documentary film festivals – are the first ones to be under the eye of the government censorship. That’s why Festivals like BIFED are so important now. Because they take a stand.”

The 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 encourage initiatives and projects that might help people ponder about the environment. The DREFF has been a proud member of the GFN since January 2015.

www.greenfilmnet.org
www.bif ed.org
www.dreff.org

The Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), a GFDD initiative, was represented last night at the opening of the Planet in Focus Film Festival, which takes place in Toronto until Sunday, October 25th. The festival is Canada’s leading environmental film festival, and the first of its kind in the world. This year marks its 16th anniversary, and boasts a full schedule of film screenings and events for the industry, as well as activities aimed at primary and secondary school students.

Last night, the Royal Cinema hosted the opening gala during the Toronto premiere of After the Last River with filmmaker Victoria Lean, followed Q&A session with Lean and special guests from Attawapiskat indigenous community. Amy Millan of the band Stars was also in attendance to receive her Canadian Eco-Hero Award for her work with USC Canada’s “I Am a Seed Saver Campaign!” The previous night, Dr. Vandana Shiva received the International Eco-Hero Award in a beautiful ceremony that included the screening of the short movie The Living Seed and a very special keynote from Vandana Shiva.

Collaboration
The DREFF and Planet in Focus work together in collaborative projects throughout the year. During the last edition of the DREFF, the Dominican Festival, in partnership with Planet in Focus Film Festival of Toronto, Canada, organized a workshop to teach participants the basics of how to make their own short environmental films, using iPads and iMovie in all phases. Canadian filmmakers Emily Hunter and Andrew Nisker, and Alessandra Cannito, Festival & Programs Manager of Planet in Focus, were the instructors

Today, Miryam López, Communications Manager for DREFF and GFDD, attended the Industry Day at the Center for Social Innovation (CSI) Annex. This event is organized by Canadian filmmaker Mark Terry, who is a friend and collaborator of DREFF and has presented films in its past editions.

Planet in Focus is an environmental organization dedicated to the visual arts with programming throughout the year. Its mission is to “produce, promote, and disseminate artistically made films and videos that explore and tell stories about the world in which we live.”

The Festival, which is ongoing until Sunday, October 25th, presents and promotes environmental films and videos in all genres: documentary, animation, experimental, short films and drama, by Canadian and international filmmakers. According to the organizers, its objective is to enlighten, engage, and entertain people from all backgrounds through film.

In turn, the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) aims to raise awareness among the Dominican public and to deepen its understanding of current environmental issues. DREFF is also dedicated to celebrating the natural beauty and diversity of the Dominican Republic, as well as providing information and proposals that contribute to their appreciation and to promote their conservation and sustainable use.

The DREFF team, which celebrated its sixth edition in September 2015, works throughout the year to bring to the Dominican Republic the best films during each of its editions and to create networks with members of the industry from all over the world and, thus, serve as a catalyst for the creation of projects and programs that promote good practices in the area of the environment, resulting from the interaction between youth and the general public with teachers.

More information:
planetinfocus.org/
www.dreff.org

The audience at the 18th United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF) learned about recycling and ways to use garbage as a raw material to create art and new products and a source of income. The GFDD film, “Garbage or Resource? A Dominican Republic Experience” was chosen to be screened at the festival held in California October 15-25 and was received yesterday with a very warm welcome. The Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto was the venue to screen the GFDD movie along with another productions related to environmental issues and socioeconomic development. Miryam López, Communications Manager at GFDD, participated in the Q&A section after the screening along with the founder and Director of UNAFF, Jasmina Bojic.

Lopez also participated with other filmmakers in the Opening Night, last Thursday, at the Aquarius Theatre of Palo Alto with a full house. The opening speech was given by the Mayor of Palo Alto, Karen Holman.

“Garbage or Resource?” has been screened at over fifteen different international film festivals since its production in 2013, and has won several awards including Best Documentary at the Miami Short Film Festival (MSFF), Best Documentary at the Green Lens Environmental Film Festival, and the Second Place Fan Coral Award at the Reef Renaissance Film Festival.

A 28-member UNAFF jury agreed that the film was in line with the this year’s theme, RUNNING OUT OF TIME, which continues the ongoing celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and focuses on time-sensitive aspects of the Millennium Development Goals.

About the film
“Garbage or Resource? A Dominican Republic Experience” is produced by GFDD/Funglode and directed by Natasha Despotovic. It covers the unseen dangers of the 340 open-air landfills that can be found in the Dominican Republic, and the cultural changes which are creating initiatives that convert this “problem” into an opportunity for development.

Through various corporate and educational projects, the viewer observes how– aside from the obvious environmental benefits– recycling enables economic development through the generation of new companies and industries.

About the UNAFF
The UNAFF was founded by Stanford educator and film critic Jasmina Bojic with the participation of the Stanford Film Society and the UNA Midpeninsula Chapter, a community-based nonprofit organization. The film festival celebrates the power of international documentary films dealing with human rights, the environment, the protection of refugees, famine, homelessness, racism, disease control, women’s issues, children, universal education, war, and peace.

More information:
http://garbage.dreff.org
www.unaff.org
http://www.unaff.org/2015/schedule.html
www.globalfoundationdd.org

Executive Director of GFDD and DREFF, Natasha Despotovic, presents films and serves on festival jury.

Three Dominican-made films were screened at the CinemAmbiente film festival in Turin, Italy this October. The GFDD productions Value of Life and Garbage or Resource? A Dominican Republic Experience, both directed by Natasha Despotovic, and 7 Gramos, directed by Jonatán Vila Gómez, were shown at the festival on October 8th. Despotovic, executive director of GFDD and DREFF, was present at the festival to present the films and serve as a juror within the festival.

Value of Life is the newest short production from GFDD, with plans to expand into a feature length film within the next year. Garbage or Resource? A Dominican Republic Experience is another GFDD production which has been shown at over 15 film festivals around the world, and received multiple awards including Best Documentary at the Miami Short Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Green Lens Environmental Film Festival, and the Second Place Fan Coral Award at the Reef Renaissance Film Festival. 7 Gramos is the winner of the DREFF 2015 Globo Verde Dominicano Award, and was presented at CinemAmbiente as part of the prize.

The Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) works in partnership with CinemAmbiente as a fellow Green Film Network member. The Green Film Network (GFN) brings together some of the major film festivals that happen annually around the globe with focus on environmental issues. Their network objective is to coordinate the events of the associated festivals, promote and distribute films worldwide and encourage initiatives and projects that might help people ponder about the environment.

About CinemAmbiente
CinemAmbiente – Environmental Film Festival has presented outstanding environmental films in a year-round program of initiatives that promote cinema and green awareness.

Founded and directed by Gaetano Capizzi, the Festival has been jointly organized with the National Museum of Cinema – Maria Adriana Prolo Foundation since 2006.

CinemAmbiente is a member of the Green Film Network, which unites major international environmental film festival.

The CinemAmbiente program features over selected 100 films screened in the national and international competition categories, as well as in the special categories Panorama, Focus, Retrospectives, and Ecokids. Besides film presentations, the program includes debates, meetings with the authors, exhibitions, book presentations, theater and concerts, and events in and around Turin.

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.

More information
www.globalfoundationdd.org
www.cinemambiente.it
http://www.cinemambiente.it/programma_festival_cinemambiente/2015-10-08.html
www.greenfilmnet.org