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A Unique Latin American Experience
Cinematography was born with the documentary. “Workers leaving
the Lumiere factory” exhibited in December of 1895 by the Lumiere
brothers, was a documentary.
During its early years, cinematography was primarily expressed through
the documentary, until commercial aspect of the new art was developed,
through fiction, with stories and special effects that won the public´s
attention.
At present the documentary has been practically eliminated from the programming
of commercial theaters, not only in the Dominican
Republic, but also in a large part of the world.
The thematic space of the documentary has been limited, in general, to
scientific and/or academic subjects, and its presentation has been limited
to universities classrooms or the empty spaces they need to fill in the
programming of television stations. Its length, by force of use, has also
been established at a half hour to an hour, in contrast to the commercially
accepted 90 minutes.
The production of full-length documentaries over one hour in length ,
is a limited practice in this part of the world, including those countries
with an important cinematographic tradition.
The exhibition of full-length documentaries in commercial movei theaters
, is almost non-existent in Latin America; nevertheless, there exist isolated
and sporadic experiences in several of our countries.
What are the characteristics of René Fortunato’s documentaries,
that make them a unique experience in Latin America?
They are full-length documentaries shown in commercial movie theaters.
The majority of René Fortunato’s documentaries have premiered
in more than five movie theaters simultaneously, competing with million-dollar
North American movie productions and in several cases exceeding them in
ticket sales and in favorable reveiws.
It uses film language in video format.
The appropriate use of the expressive film codes (the art of images in
movement) in the production of full-length documentaries production in
video.
The Drama of the documentary.
The production of a dramatic structure on the basis of historical events,
images of the era, recordings and sounds effects, which allow it to hold
the audience´s attention throughout the entire film without causing
boredom.
Systematization in the documentary production.
Over a period of more than fifteen years, René Fortunato has produced
six full-length documentaries, and all with extraordinary success with
both the public and the critics, during its exhibition in movie theaters.
His documentaries are widely known in the Dominican Republic and also
in several other countries, as they have been extensively distributed
through the VHS home video format. In the last fifteen years Fortunato
has produced the following full-length documentaries:
-1988- APRIL:
The Trench of Honor (90 minutes).
-1991- TRUJILLO:
The Power of the Generalissimo– First Part – (75 minutes).
-1994- TRUJILLO:
The Power of the Generalissimo – Second Part
(95 minutes).
-1996- TRUJILLO: The Power of the Generalissimo – Third Part (80
minutes).
-1998- BALAGUER:
The Legacy of the Tyrant (90 minutes).
-2003- THE VIOLENCE OF POWER:
The twelve years of Balaguer (125 Min.)We do not find any precedents in
the cinematography of Latih America for a documentary production with
the characteristics of the Dominican documentary production; for that
reason we declare that René Fortunato’s documentaries constitute
a unique experience in Latin America and in other parts of the world.
Internationals awards and distinctions given to René Fortunato
and his documentaries.
Pitírre Award to the best documentary in the Caribbean region,
in the II Festival de Cinesan Juan, San Juan Puerto Rico, for his documentary
“APRIL: The Trench of Honor,” in October of 1990.
-LASA FILM AWARDS’ 95,
awarded by the United States Latin American Studies Association –
LASA – to the documentary “TRUJILLO: The Power of the Generalissimo
II” for considering it to be one of the best documentaries made
in America. The distinction was granted in September of 1995 in Washingto,
D.C., during the XIXth LASA International Congress.
- Honorary Mention in the Ibero-American Festival of Independent Documentary
Video – “Against the silence of all the voices” for
his documentary “APRIL: The Trench of Honor,” held in Mexico
City in June of 2000.
- For more information about Fortunato´s work, photos, posters,
data, articles, interviews, etc., visit on the Intenret: y
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