Alexis Triana, president of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC)

Havana, Dec 24 (RHC) The president of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), Alexis Triana, praised the enriching meeting held with the General Directorate of Cinema (DGC) of the Dominican Republic.

In statements to Prensa Latina, Triana said that he spoke with its general director, Mariana Vargas, and with other executives of the institution, about the current state of the cinematography of both countries and the transcendence that a greater bilateral rapprochement could have.

In this regard, he advanced the possibility that a delegation from the DGC will visit Havana next March to share its experience of more than a decade on the national film law and what it has meant for national production.

Also, to present a sample of the films made in this Caribbean nation.

He said that any kind of copy is a disaster, but considered interesting how Dominicans adapted international experiences to their reality and created a new law to stimulate local production and, among other objectives, to encourage the shooting of foreign films.

It is worthy of attention as an experience, he said, a law that establishes that whoever films in Santo Domingo must first be in front of a national producer, that taxes serve to mobilize resources and that tax incentives allow to continue investing in the sector.

I think it is up to Cuba, in the midst of the current debate on how to make a better cinema, to study this practice, to define what may or may not be valid in our reality, and that benefits national production.

He pointed out that today between 15 and 20 films a year are made in Santo Domingo with foreign capital and there is a commitment to at least three national productions. Instead of competing, he said, we can complement each other.

Triana explained that he visited film sets and other places related to audiovisual creation. It was very significant, he said, to see the rigor with which they work in the studios, to find that warmth in the Dominican treatment, that respect for Cuba and the film industry, he said. (Source: Prensa Latina)