GFDD Presents LUIS during New York Cine Latino Film Festival

During the 2017 New York Cine Latino Film Festival’s Dominican Night, held this past Friday, October 13th, the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister organization in the Dominican Republic, Funglode, presented Archie Lopez’s LUIS (2017) to a full house of cinema enthusiasts.

With a
runtime of 98 minutes, LUIS tells the story of how life changes for a father, Colonel Rosario, an exemplary and heroic policeman, when his son Luis commits a crime. It has received wide acclaim from the public, and was called a “Banner and road sign of a (type of) cinema that fills us with pride“ by Acento.

Prior to the screening, the Festival’s Program Director, Diana Vargas along with Festival founder Calixto Chinchilla gave a warm welcome to everyone present and introduced the audience to Alfonso Rodríguez, the actor who played Colonel Rosario, and Rafael de Marchena, Executive Producer for LUIS.

After the screening, both Rodríguez and de Marchena discussed their experiences during the
film’s production and then exchanged a few stories with the audience. Rodríguez spoke of his connection to the Dominican Air Force, given his father’s service in the branch, and how he felt at home with the role that he played in LUIS. He and de Marchena then detailed the difficulties encountered during one stage of production, which found the team filming eight days in a Dominican prison alongside actual, currently incarcerated, members of society.
Due to numerous concerns, only the main actors filmed their scenes at the prison compound.

On behalf of GFDD/Funglode, Omar de la Cruz, Director of Funglode’s Global Dominican Film Festival and Yamile Eusebio Paulino, Acting Co-Executive Director of GFDD were on the scene to liaise with audience members about the work that their institutions conduct to promote projects in the Dominican Republic, the United States, and Latin America.

About Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD):
The Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), sister organization of Funglode in the United States, is a non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of collaboration between organizations in the United States and the Dominican Republic in order to conduct research, enhance public debate, design public policy, propose strategies and provide training to
facilitate change in crucial areas of the social, economic and democratic development of the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean and Latin America.

About the Global Dominican Film Festival:
The Global Dominican Film Festival presents a selection of the best international documentary and feature films, enriches the Dominican Republic’s film culture, and aspires to bring the seventh art to all sectors of Dominican society. In telling
stories about the people and events that have left a mark on our lives, the Festival contributes to a greater awareness and understanding of global issues. It promotes and encourages the discussion of social, political, and economic issues through the lens of cinematography.

More Information:
www.festivaldecineglobal.org/