Dominican Filmmaker René Fortunato Wins Platinum Remi Award in Houston International Film Festival

Dominican filmmaker René Fortunato won the Platinum “Remi Award” for creative excellence at the 42nd WorldFest Houston International Film Festival for his feature length documentary, “Bosch: Presidente en la frontera imperial” (Bosch: President on the Frontier Empire) .

The Houston International Film Festival is one of the most important film festivals in the United States as well as being the third oldest.

The 42nd version of this well-known film event was celebrated in Houston, Texas from April 17-26. There were more than 4,300 films of various genre from more than 40 countries around the world.

The participating countries include China, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Thailand, Nigeria, England, Mexico, France, Germany, Spain, Russia, Bosnia, Iraq, Iran, Canada, India, Pakistan, Italy, Taiwan, Israel, Japan, Hungary, Vietnam, Serbia, Poland, Greece and the United States, among others.

The Houston International Film Festival is one of the most important film festivals in the United States as well as being the third oldest.

Fortunato found out that he won the prize in a letter from the president and director of the Houston Film Festival, Mr. Hunter Todd, who contacted the Dominican filmmaker in the name of the Board of Directors of the Festival to congratulate him for the quality of work he presented and to let him know he won the Remi Award in one of the ten categories of the festival.

“Bosch: Presidente en la frontera imperial,” Fortunato’s feature length documentary that won the award and the distinction for the Dominican Republic covers period of Bosch’s popular presidency of 1963 and the coup that ended his constitutional rule seven months later.

With original music by Manuel Tejada, narration by Felipe Gil and René Alfonso, and special participation of Gustavo Olivo and Miguel Susana, this 95-minute film is part of the new Dominican film is currently being shown in theaters in Santo Domingo and the Coliseum Cinema, on 181st Street and Broadway in New York.

Festival director, Hunter Todd, ended his letter to René Fortunato with a quote from award-winning British director Ridley Scott, known around the world for his films “The Duelists,” “Blade Runner ” and “Thelma & Louise,” to name a few. Upon winning the same award years ago at the Festival, Scott said “The Houston WorldFest, in this business of film, validates excellence.”