GFDD and DREFF Celebrate World Turtle Day with a Special Screening of “Cacú: Un cambio por la vida” at the United Nations

As a fundamental piece of implementing best practices to protect the endangered species, the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), celebrated World Turtle Day with a special screening of the Dominican documentary “Cacú: Un cambio por la vida” (A Change for Life), at the United Nations Headquarters, followed by a discussion with the film director, Marvin del
Cid, and Dominican marine biologist, Omar Shamir Reynoso.

This Dominican film, which premiered globally in March 2018 at the DC Environmental Film Festival (DCEFF) thanks to GFDD/DREFF, shows how five fishermen from Manresa, a poor neighborhood to the West of Santo Domingo, transitioned from sea turtle nest predators to conservationists of the species. Their 4-year transformative process was documented by marine biologist Omar Shamir Reynoso, who implemented a
one-of-a-kind plan in the Dominican Republic that involves fishermen and communities alike in conservation efforts.

The screening at the UN had the support
of Diario Libre, one of the most important Dominican newspapers, and its Deputy Director, Inés Aizpún, was present at the event as a special guest. The showing was also attended by members of the Dominican community in New York City, local authorities, and friends and family of the film’s director and of GFDD.

About Marvin del Cid
Marvin del Cid, originally from Guatemala, holds a degree in Communication Sciences and has extensive
experience in the visual and multimedia area. He has worked for several media outlets in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. Currently, he is working as an editor at Grupo Diario Libre in the Dominican Republic. He has exhibited his photographic work on many occasions, both individually and on group shows. He has won several prizes for photography in the Dominican Republic as well as abroad, including special mention in the Epifanio Lantigua Tourism Award in 2013 for his work in Dominican
Treasures; several times winner of Epifanio Lantigua journalism award (2014, 2016, 2017) in the category of Sustainable Tourism, and winner of the EWEA (Europe) Photography award in the Americas category. He is the director of the film ͞Biodiversity in the Dominican Republic. Marvin is also a member of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF)’s Advisory Committee.

The attendees welcomed and showed appreciation for the continued effort
of GFDD supporting this kind of initiatives. They asked to get involved and share such an experience among the Dominican community in New York.