Dominican Republic at Berlinale 2024

Dominican Republic at Berlinale 2024 Who is Who

Learn more about DR Check our coproduction guide

Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias Director “Pepe”, Competition Berlinale 2024

Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias (Dominican Republic, 1984) studied cinematography in Buenos Aires and at the Edinburgh College of Art. He later earned his MFA in Film and Video from CalArts. His thesis, the feature-length essay film "Santa Teresa & Other Stories" (2015), had its world premiere at FIDMarseille. The film won the Georges de Beauregard Award, after which it was selected for many other film festivals. His feature film "Cocote" (2017) won the Best Film award in the Signs of Life section at the Locarno International Film Festival.

Tanya Valette

Producer – Monte y Culebra / “Pepe”, Competition Berlinale 2024 She belongs to the first generation of graduates from the International School of Film and Television of Cuba (EICTV) and was its seventh director. She lived for twelve years in France, where she began developing authorial projects. She has coordinated Training Workshops for the Ibermedia Program and was General Producer of the VI edition of the DOCTV Program. Latin America. Artistic director and programmer of the IBAFF Festival, in Murcia from 2013 to 2015. In February 2016, she designed and, since then, directed the Chavón film career | The School of Design. She is the founding manager of Monte y Culebra SRL.

Pablo Lozano

Producer – Monte y Culebra / “Pepe”, Competition Berlinale 2024 Filmmaker and professor. He graduated from the International Film and Television School (EICTV) in Cuba and earned a Master's degree from the School of Cinema and Audiovisuals of Catalonia (ESCAC) in Barcelona. He has produced: "Todos Somos Marineros" (IFFR, FIPRESCI award at Cinélatino Toulouse), "Candela" (La Fabrique 2018, Sundance Script Residency 2016, Edit Residency 2019, and Music Residency 2019 at Skywalker Studios, won the Jury Prize at the Biarritz Film Festival 2021), "SAFARI", "Books and Drinks" and "Pepe," winner of the Hubert Bals Scriptwriting Award (Netherlands), FONPROCINE development (Dominican Republic), IBERMEDIA development, World Cinema Fund Classic + ACP (Germany), and the French national prize for CNC production. Winner of the FONPROCINE 2021 award. To be premiered in the official competition of Berlinale 2024.

Erwin Jiménez

VFX Artist “Pepe”, Competition Berlinale 2024 Visual Effects Artist, 2D/3D Animator, Motion Graphics Specialist, and Post-Production Director. Graduated from UNIBE in Advertising Communication in 2005, with a master's degree in Visual Effects from Escuela Trazos in Madrid, Spain. He returned to the country in 2006 to join the Post-Production team at Suiche Machete Productions, working on projects for national and international brands and overseeing hundreds of Visual Effects productions. In 2011, he started his personal project with Cuadra Post-Production Studio, where he has been serving as General Director to date, working with important clients from the region, United States, and Europe.

Laura Gomez

Actress “La Cocina”, Competition Berlinale 2024

She is mostly known for portraying the character Blanca Flores in the popular Netflix series "Orange is the New Black." After a prolific career in the United States, Laura has resumed a professional path in Latin America and Spain.

Recent international projects include the Goya and Independent Spirit Awards-nominated film "Upon Entry" (Spain) and "La Cocina" (Mexico), directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios and starring Rooney Mara. The film is having its World Premiere at the Berlinale in 2024. She is in the process of writing for a series conceived by the renowned Mexican screenwriter Gibrán Portela (known for "Güeros" and "La Jaula de Oro"). Meanwhile, she is preparing to produce and star in her first feature film, which is also of her own authorship.

Leticia Brea

Producer – Menos es Más

Graduated in Film Production from the International Film and TV School (EICTV) of Cuba. General Producer of “AIRE; Just Breathe”, a Sci-Fi directed by Leticia Tonos that will have the World Premiere in the Big Screen Competition of the International Film Festival of Rotterdam; Fantastic Latido Award in the framework of the Marché du Film in Cannes 2023, among others. In Work In Progress are: "Au Revoir" by director Ronni Castillo, filmed between France/DR; “Nou Pat Nan Dieu” by director Francisco Vargas (Certain Regard winner at Cannes + 3 Ariel awards), DR/Haiti; “Jonás” by director Josia Domínguez, Morocco/DR

Natalia Cabral Producer – Faula Films

Natalia Cabral is a Dominican film director, screenwriter, and producer. She studied film in Cuba at the International School of Film and Television in San Antonio de los Baños (EICTV) and later completed a Master's in Literary Creation at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. Alongside fellow filmmaker Oriol Estrada (Capellades, Catalonia), they have created award-winning cinema that blurs the lines between fiction and non-fiction. They founded the production company Faula Films in 2012 with the goal of providing a creative platform for the development and production of independent cinema in the Dominican Republic. Together, they have directed and produced documentaries such as "You and Me" (2014), "The Site of Sites" (2016), and fictional films like "Miriam Lies" (2018) and "A Film About Couples" (2021). Their work has been showcased at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the Cinemateca de Bogotá, the Anthology Film Archives, Cineteca Madrid, the Filmoteca de Catalunya, and selected for significant international festivals including Visions du Réel, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, IDFA, Málaga, Biarritz, Huelva, Chicago, Cartagena, Gijón, Havana, Guadalajara, among others.

Wendy Espinal Producer – CC81

Dominican creative producer and documentary filmmaker. She's a member of EURODOC network and her film work has been supported by World Cinema Fund, Sundance Documentary Fund, Chicken & Egg, Locarno Open Doors, Visions Sud'Est, DEENTAL ACP - CNC / Cannes Marché du Film Producers on the Spotlight, IBERMEDIA, ArteKino, Berlinale Talents, FONPROCINE, ICAA, ICEC, among others. She is currently a producer of the following projects: NIETA DE MI ABUELA (Dominican Republic) *Chicken & Egg Development Grant, Fonprocine; TRES BALAS (Dominican Republic, Spain) *WCF Audience Design Award, Locarno Open Doors, Visions Sud'Est Grant, ArteKino Award, Su Mirada IFFP, Fonprocine, Ibermedia, ICAA, Canary Islands Development; VINIMOS TODOS EN EL MISMO BOTE (Dominican Republic, Haiti) *Eurodoc Network, DEENTAL ACP Network; ANNA BORGES DO SACRAMENTO Brazil, Spain) *Sundance Documentary Fund; NO TODAS LAS NIÑAS (Spain, Chile, France) *ICEC Catalunya Development Fund.

Lei González Producer - Tavab

Lei González is an Afro-Caribbean producer and writer from the Dominican Republic. She's passionate about personal, vulnerable, and bold stories. She produced the short documentary “Fronterizas”, finalist at the Sundance Short Film Challenge (2014); the animated short film “I Said I would never talk about Politics”, official selection of Zinebi (2015), Zinemira section in San Sebastian Film Festival (2015) and was preselected for the Goya Awards (2016). Alumni of Eurodoc (2022), CNC DEENTAL (2022), and EFM toolbox program (2023).

Participant of the UNESCO Transcultura program and Australab – Tres Puertos.

Lei has been line producer and production manager for more than 12 films. In 2021 she started her own production company, Media Jíbara, through which she produced the short film "Sirena" and is co-producing documentaries "Colosal" and "Yubarta" and the fiction film "Sofia".

Karlina Veras

Director and Producer – Koeia Films Karlina Veras, filmmaker and writer from the Dominican Republic, is the CEO and head producer of Koeïa Films, a film production company with a focus on telling universal stories from a unique Caribbean perspective in its language, tonal elements and universal values. In 2022, her short film Pretty Fly for a Doña won the Best First-Time Director award at the Dreamer’s Short Film Festival (Romania) and was selected at the Latina Independent Film Festival (Italy). With her film project in development La Mansa, inspired in her novel with the same title, she was selected in the XI Laboratory of the DGCINE, the I Residencia de Cine de Extremadura and in the co-production market of the Festival de Huelva and at the JIIF Film lab 2024.

Jalsen Santana

Actor and Producer – Menos es Más Producer/Actor of “AIRE; Just Breathe”, a Sci-Fi directed by Leticia Tonos that had the World Premiere in the Big Screen Competition of the International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2024; Fantastic Latido Award in the framework of the Marché du Film in Cannes 2023, among others.

Also as Producer/Actor has in Work In Progress are: "Au Revoir" by director Ronni Castillo, filmed between France/DR; “Nou Pat Nan Dieu” by director Francisco Vargas (Certain Regard winner at Cannes + 3 Ariel awards), DR/Haiti; “Jonás” by director Josia Domínguez, Morocco/DR. Jalsen has released another 17 films in Dominican Republic.

Claudia Moncada Producer – Mare Films

Claudia Moncada, a prominent Dominican creative producer, possesses a broad and diversified portfolio that includes commercials, music videos, documentaries, reality shows, feature films, independent cinema, live broadcasts, photographic projects, among others. Her source of inspiration lies in close collaboration with directors and producers, standing out for her intuitive ability to design and execute comprehensive, efficient, and independent production plans for each project. Currently, she leads her production company Mare Films, where she offers production services to national and international clients looking to film in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean. She also represents technical artists in the industry in the national and international market.

Belle Guzmán

Producer – Cronos Films

Belle Guzmán, actress, screenwriter and producer. Bachelor of Business Administration at PUCMM. Master in Microfinance and Social Development, Alcalá de Henares University. Master's Degree in Film Production at the Madrid Film Institute. She is working on the final stage of the development of "Beyond the Mist", a project that won the FONPROCINE, Fondo Público 2021 and IBERMEDIA co-development category 2023. She is also working on the development of the documentary "Negro". Since 2023 he has taken documentary film workshops with Carles Bosch at the Cultural Center of Spain and Accounting Production with Martin Cook and NFTS. Participation in the EURODOC 2023 Creative Production Workshop in the Caribbean.

Daysi Cruz

Director of Business Development at Morgana Studios, Madrid.

Graduated in Social Communication, with over 10 years of experience in Audiovisual Production. She leads the Business Development, Production, and Marketing team, merging her experience and passion for innovation to drive the creation of high-quality audiovisual content. Her career reflects a constant commitment to excellence and creativity in every project, establishing Morgana Studios as a reference in the 3D Animation and Visual Effects industry at an international level.

Alfonsina Bencosme Actress

Dominican actress residing in Germany. Graduated in Social Communication (Film Production). Passionate about film festivals, of which she has been a part for several years: Filmfest München, LAFITA (Latin American Film Festival in Munich), and FilmschoolFest. As an actress, she has worked in Dominican, Spanish productions, and recently for Netflix Germany. She dreams of returning to make films in her country, telling emotionally charged stories through the characters.