Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

New York's First Dominican Film Festval Kicks Off in Washington Heights

By Carla Zanoni | March 10, 2011 1:18pm

By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — When Armando Guareño first envisioned places to screen his Dominican Film Festival, his initial thought was of theaters downtown.

But he soon came to his senses.

"I thought, 'why?' We have a theater right here on 181st Street and that's where the Dominican people are going to see films," he said. "Washington Heights is the heart of the Dominican community."

And so, the city's first Dominican Film Festival kicks off tonight at Coliseum Cinemas at West 181st Street, the same site of Guareño's KidCinemaFest, a film festival for children each October that he began three years ago.

This film festival, though, touches on issues of politics and sex, as well as the Dominican diaspora.

The first night kicks off with "Hermafrodita," a film about about a hermaphrodtie's struggle with sexuality and love in her small town in the Dominican Republic.

The last screening of the festival, the documentary "Sol Caribe," takes a look at the history and culture of Dominican music.

"These filmmaking works, with rich and peculiar images, with new voices and diverse stories, represent part of the life and cultures of the Dominican immigrants who reside on these lands," reads a message from the organizers on the festival's website.

"We are creating a cultural bridge between the Dominican Republic and New York City," Guareño said.

For a schedule of screenings for the Dominican Film Festival of New York at Coliseum Cinemas at 701 W. 181st St., visit www.dffny.com or call 212-740-1545. The festival runs from March 10 through Thursday, March 17.