Dominican Republic, protagonist of Latin American Focus, receives the Biznaga of Honor Award
The Caribbean country has promoted its tax advantages and facilities for the audiovisual industry and participated in a comprehensive networking programme.
The Vice-Minister of Creativity and Popular Participation of the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic, Amaury Sánchez, received the Biznaga of Honor of the Festival de Málaga from Francisco de la Torre, Mayor of Malaga, in the Mirror Room of the City Hall.
The event was opened by the Mayor, who highlighted the excellent work being done in the country to promote audiovisuals and that the award would serve as an incentive to continue in this direction.
For his part, the Deputy Minister expressed his gratitude and noted that this recognition represented the efforts of the country's film industry. He wished to share it with "all those who work hard to make films".
The brief ceremony at the City Hall was the culmination of a day in which the large delegation from the guest country at Latin American Focus enjoyed an extensive programme of activities during their stay in the city.
The main event was the talk "The Dominican Republic has it all: the film hub in the Caribbean". The director general of the Dominican Republic's Directorate General of Cinema, Marianna Vargas, defined "the Dominican formula", i.e. the combination of institutional support, natural spaces, business fabric to provide service to filming and a human capital of more than 4,000 technicians. She also described the country's competitive tax incentives and the production and co-production aid managed by the organisation.
Audiences in Malaga were also able to enjoy the latest Dominican film productions: Sugar Island by Johanné Gómez Terrero in the Feature Films Official Selection; and Olivia y las nubes by Tomás Pichardo Espaillat in Zonzine, as well as films from Focus Dominican Republic.
Regarding MAFIZ, Dominican professionals have had the opportunity to participate in a series of private meetings with the industry to promote international co-productions. They have been present at MAFF with the projects El Gagá de la ceja, Jeissy Trompiz and Maguana Racing, Juliano Kunnert; at Málaga WIP with Fragancia tropical / Tropical Fragance, by Alexander Viola and Primu, by Taba Blanchard and at Mercadoc.0 with El Último Relato / The Untold Story, de Isabella Breton Bonilla. Finally, the producers Patricia Pepén and Roberta Seravalle and the young filmmaker Isaac Morantus in Málaga Talent have been selected in Warmi Lab and Málaga Talent respectively.
