The Dominican film in modern times

Take a computer, a considerable amount of internet, a dose of few resources, a spoonful of wishes of success and finally add a good movie or documentary.

With these ingredients you will get the potion to attract an audience hungry for cinema.

In Dominican Republic the seventh art is not exempt from the wonders of the web, today the filmmakers use this to show his work to the world. On this occasion, four film directors offer their views and experiences on this phenomenon

Cooking 2.0
filmmaker René Fortunato has a website which promotes and sells his documentaries to all persons interested in acquiring them.

According to his words at this time is more than important, crucial to use the internet for their jobs, "because in the early 1970s a filmmaker to promote his film had to send the rolls by postal mail, spend much" u000a"money and wait months for an answer".

In videocinepalau.com, Fortunato offers to the audience their contact, biography, reviews for the documentaries he has done, useful links, new productions and presented two options to the public to acquire their "products": through "pay pal" or direct purchase or by a list of establishments where to buy them. "Now from the Office, with a dvd and an electronic private e-mail account, you can participate in the festivals of the world." "For me this facility has been wonderful," says Fortunato.

The documentary points out the benefits of this tool, first in the promotion and then in the sale: "the latest documentary I Bosch rule sent it to several festivals, e.g. in Houston Texas, where we beat the second place, Viña del Mar, where placed in the official selection and even what we sent to China to a documentary film festival".

On sale u000aFortunato says it has eight productions on DVD and that via the 'paypal' reach places such as China or Africa where a person can put money in your account and buy the video.

"I think I'm the only film director who uses this system of payment and I sold to people of Germany, France, Japan and Chile from the Office without leaving me my seat," emphasizes.

As Fortunato, Director Leticia tones used the internet in their favor. If it served to promote his movie "Natural child". "Independent films have the challenge of the limitation of the pre budget that makes the internet an essential means to promote our work." "The daughter Natural" we use social networks like facebook and above all the bulk mail focused to make publicly available information we wanted to reach. This helped us to talk about the film people Festival of Cannes u000aand in addition we could use contacts from your database. "That way we could send it to specific people", stressed tones.

Other
ingredients to create an internet Bladimir Abud, director of "The struggle of Ana", page decided to use facebook to promote his film.

"So used because almost everyone has an account there." That was my primary motivation. We also create a channel on youtube that received 20,000 visits in two weeks. "We have also link to other pages and climbed all the stories that make us in other ways," says Abud.

Abud said that Hollywood makes the most of social networking and the internet and ensures that other countries already measured the impact of a movie by the amount of followers who has accounts on facebook and twitter.

"YouTube upload a video that is a kind of preview and is a way to carry the message to the public." Put you music and to the u000apeople liked. "The struggle of Ana has created an expectation with this tool," stresses.

Like Abud, filmmaker and producer Abel Rodríguez, creator of the "Women in shorts" festival, used facebook to promote activity and believes that the internet has become the means of communication faster, accessible and direct to publicize a product or an event.

"We decided to create a page with photos and comments of all the activities that took place at the event in facebook portal." The result was immediate, recalls.

Rodríguez ensures that people have actually responded to such an extent that increasingly more people know the festival in the world and follow him and await you.

"Created the 'Vista shorts' group on facebook for all the directors, actors and talent who are professionals or are in training in the Dominican film." There are promoted, arman film forums and discussions of u000a"anyone who presents his short film," says Rodríguez.

Although the director considers that the web is a double-edged sword that one hand can market effectively talent, but can also condemn sales but used controls in what it promotes.

"Don't want to see a future without a theatre or cinema saying because the movies look better on a computer", points out.

Poor
limitation of receive budget for their works, prevents that managers are conecnten more to do with your audience. "We would have liked to do more promotion and have more presence in the nets but one clothes until arrive you where the Savannah and are satisfied with the work we do and the response of the public".

A look that says ringtones lies in that the potential of networks are not used effectively: "we limit ourselves to the information is there and not to be interactive, what" u000aIt would be more effective. I think that not we're pulling 15% of what you can achieve with these means. "It would be interesting that people can vote for an actor".

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For those who do first steps
the future of cinema in Dominican Republic maintained in expectation to anyone you want to the country holding it more than comedies banal.

In the case of managers who receive little support from sponsors as his films as "non-commercial", the internet can be the start of something big.

René Fortunato recommends that young people make a short film and upload it to youtube: "then they can send the link by massive post office critics and film festivals where it can be taken into account".

An example of what drew the documentalist note shorts the young José María Cabral, "A million per Sobeida" and "Mirrors for gold" that generated the attention of users and u000athey reached hundreds of followers in video like youtube accounts. Thus Cabral gave to its work.

"There is also a page called withoutabox.com where can register and obtain information of the festivals where his work qualifies for example if you do a comedy say you all the film festivals of comedy, the requirements to participate, the date of delivery, the number of festivals such that there is and mucos other data of value." "I would have loved that when I first started they were my best all these facilities," advised Fortunato.

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