Dominican Republic Global Film Festival Attendees Awarded at the Oscars
New York. February 27th, 2007.

Four of the films premiered at the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival have been recognized for their achievements at the 79th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

One of the highlights of the evening was Guillermo Navarro’s Oscar for best Cinematography in the film Pan’s Labyrinth. Navarro gave a Master Class on his work at FUNGLODE for the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival, which was presented to an international audience attended by the general public, film producers and writers.

On receiving his Oscar, Navarro stated: “Thank you, thank you so much to the Academy. This is a great honor…The creative freedom that was needed to tell the story, to preserve the integrity of the story and the point of view is what was more important for us in this movie...To my children, to my wife for giving me wings. Thank you very much.”

Pan’s Labyrinth won two more Oscars in the categories of Art Direction and Makeup. The film also received nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, Music Score and Writing (Original Screenplay).

The documentary An Inconvenient Truth was awarded an Oscar for best Documentary Feature and Music (Song) as well as receiving nominations in the category of Film Editing. As part of the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival’s Community Outreach Program, the documentary will soon be shown in local schools and community centers in Santo Domingo as part of GFDD/FUNGLODE’s commitment to enhancing understanding and creating debate in the areas of global warming and climate change.

Babel was also one of the highlights of the awards ceremony. Adriana Barraza, who attended the DRGFF along with her husband Arnaldo Pipke, received a nomination in the category of Actress in a Supporting Role as did her co-star Rinko Kikuchi. The film received nominations in the following categories: Directing, Best Picture and Writing (Original Screenplay) and won an award for best Music Score.

Other films premiered at the Dominican Republic Global Film Festival that were recognized for their achievements are:

The Last King of Scotland; winner for Actor in a Leading Role: Forest Whitaker

Volver; nomination for Actress in a Leading Role: Penelopé Cruz

Water; nomination for Foreign Language Film

A video broadcast of Guillermo Navarro’s master class at FUNGLODE can be found at:
http://www.drglobalfilmfestival.org/videos/scheduleopening.asp