GFDD and FUNGLODE in Association with the Perelló Cultural Center present the third edition of the Dominican Environmental Film Festival in Baní

GFDD and  FUNGLODE in Association with the Perelló Cultural Center present the third edition of the Dominican Environmental Film Festival in Baní

The third edition of the Dominican Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) will take place September 4 to 8 in eight cities: Santo Domingo, Santiago de los Caballeros, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, San Francisco de Macoris, Baní, San Juan de la Maguana and Sosúa. The event will be held in a total of 19 movie theaters, with an interesting program for schools, universities and all communities. All information, updated minute by minute, can be found in English and in Spanish at www.dreff.org.

OPENING OF THE FESTIVAL IN BANÍ:

The Festival’s formal opening will take place on Thursday, September 5, at 6:30 pm, at the Perelló Cultural Center in Baní.

Planet Ocean: An excellent documentary by directors Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Michael Pitiot and their teams, in partnership with the OMEGA company and with the scientific sponsorship of Tara Expeditions. The film shows extraordinary images of our wonderful oceans: the source of life on our planet. Planet Ocean was presented at the 2012 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (RIO+20), Brazil, during the month of June, and it is a collaborative effort that seeks to explain some of the great natural mysteries of the planet. At the same time, it emphasizes the importance for humanity to learn to live in harmony with the oceans. 

To give audiences a taste of what to expect, herewith is a brief preview of the films to be screened:

Otter 501: A young woman finds an otter pup on a windswept beach after a storm. Still looking at that wet and shivering ball of hair, the young woman makes a phone call using her cell phone, thereby starting a story about the otter’s struggle for survival and the efforts of humans to protect a species as representative as this one.

Combining drama and documentary narrative techniques, Otter 501 tells the true story of a young orphan otter that was carried by the current to the coast of northern California when it was less than a week old. The “501” otter, as it was called, was rescued by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Conservation and Research Program, and became part of an innovative adoption program which provided an adoptive mother to raise him for several months, so that it could develop the necessary skills to survive in the wild. In addition to this fascinating story, which offers a second chance to the 501 Otter, the documentary also tells the story of the young Katie, who dreams of becoming a marine biologist and who, upon discovering the orphaned otter on the beach, decides to volunteer at the aquarium. Otter 501 mixes original images with tools of social media to create a hybrid of facts and fiction that ventures into a new narrative style and away from the traditional documentaries on nature.

Lorax: In Search of the Lost Truffula: Dr. Seuss’s classic children’s book, which revolves around the environmental theme, comes to the big screen to offer us the story of a young man who comes face to face with a cranky creature in a forest when he decides to leave his artificial city in search of a tree. Ted lives in a city where nothing is what it seems; everything is plastic, including the plants. Hopeful and captivated by the beautiful Audrey (voice by Taylor Swift) who dreams of one day seeing a real tree, Ted leaves the city in an act of courage, determined to discover the flora and to grant her wish. That is when the young adventurer crosses the Lorax, a tiny defender of nature that has a mustache and does not tolerate the intrusion of humans. The more he knows the Lorax, the more he understands the reasons for his new friend’s bad mood.

Minds in the Water: is an award winning documentary that recounts the odyssey of professional surfer Dave Rastovich and his friends in their efforts to protect dolphins, whales and the oceans they all share. Through Dave’s journey, a five-year adventure that took him all over the world from Australia to the Galapagos, Tonga, California, Alaska and Japan, we witness the surfer’s struggle to awaken the interest of the community to help protect the ocean and its inhabitants.

PAD Yatra: A Green Odyssey: tells the adventure of 700 people who embark on a trek through the Himalayas to offer their services on the planet’s “Third Pole,” a glacial region that is currently ravaged by climate chaos associated with global warming.

Barely making their way through the most treacherous terrain on the planet, the travelers spread their message of green compassion by using the most basic means of transport known to man: a pilgrimage from town to town while they lead by example.

After suffering terrible wounds, disease and food deprivation, they leave with almost half a ton of plastic garbage tied behind their backs, thereby causing a historic ecological revolution at the roof of the world.

SECOND EDITION OF THE DOMINICAN GLOBO VERDE AWARD

The Short Film and Public Service Announcements competition offers filmmakers, students and professionals the opportunity to participate in a discipline which is relatively new in the Dominican Republic: the production of audiovisual material on environmental issues. The winners of the second edition of the competition will be announced during a special program of short films that will be held on Saturday, September 8, at the FUNGLODE headquarters. For more information please visit the website: www.globoverdedominicano.org.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

The Dominican Environmental Film Festival is an initiative of Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) and its sister organization in the United States, the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), in collaboration with: the Ágora Mall; the Alianza NGO; the American School of Santo Domingo; Banco de Reservas; Bepensa; the Dominican Republic Children and Youth Library, of Santo Domingo la Biblioteca Infantil y Juvenil República Dominicana; Centro Cuesta Nacional; the Monina Cámpora Cultural Center; the Narciso González Cultural Center; the Perelló Cultural Center; the León Jiménez Cultural Center; Children International; ECORED; the Propagas Foundation; FUNDAZURZA; the Siempre Más Foundation; Impulsar ORG; INSAPROMA; the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources; Odebrecht; OH! Magazine; Plan Lea; the Puerto Plata Tourism Cluster; Listín Diario; the PUNTACANA RESORT & CLUB; UNAPEC; UNPHU; the Vida Azul Foundation, and Ztadium Studios.

Since 2011, the Dominican Environmental Film Festival has sought to raise awareness and deepen understanding of environmental issues. It also serves as a catalyst for the creation of projects and programs that promote responsible environmental practices as a result of the interaction between young people and the general public with teachers, experts, activists, filmmakers and leaders in the public and private sectors.

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