Acclaimed filmmakers Victoria Linares Villegas (Ramona) and Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias (Pepe) participated in the panel "In Celebration of Dominican Cinema!" at New York University’s Production Lab in New York City on April 4. The conversation was moderated by Dominican singer-songwriter and writer Rita Indiana.
Presented by the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, the Undergraduate Program in Film and Television at NYU, and the Media & Communication Arts Department at City College, the panel celebrated the rapid growth of Dominican cinema in recent years, highlighting recent achievements in contemporary Dominican arthouse cinema.
The discussion explored the filmmakers' experiences as leading figures in this new wave of Dominican cinema—from their personal stories and motivations as filmmakers to their shared use of unconventional storytelling that blends fiction with documentary in their respective work. Cinema Tropical is thrilled to share the full panel discussion.
Linares Villegas is an award-winning queer Dominican filmmaker whose work focuses on themes of transgenerational trauma and sociopolitical oppression. Her debut non-fiction film It Runs in the Family / Lo que se hereda has been an official selection at True/False, BFI Flare, BAFICI, Outfest LA, DOC NYC, Festival de Málaga, among many others. She has also directed short films such as Stay Quiet / Cállate niña and My Mother Resents Me / Mi madre me tiene rabia. Her latest film, Ramona, had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival and has been featured at numerous international film festivals. In 2023, Linares Villegas received the True Vision Award from the True/False film festival.
De los Santos Arias studied film in Buenos Aires and Edinburgh and holds an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. His first short film, SheSaid HeWalks HeSaid SheWalks, won a BAFTA Scotland in 2009, while his documentary You Look Like a Carriage… was part of a major Latin American art exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. His graduation film Santa Teresa & Other Stories won the Prix Georges De Beauregard at FIDMarseille, and Cocote won the Signs of Life Award at Locarno. His most recent feature film, Pepe, had its world premiere in the official competition at the Berlin Film Festival, where he made history as the first Latin American filmmaker to win the Silver Bear for Best Director.
Watch the conversation:
