Dominican Republic Poised to Become the New 'Hollywood' of Latin America

Dominican Republic Poised to Become the New 'Hollywood' of Latin America

'The Lost Survivors' Telenovela Scheduled to Begin Production

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- 1394 Productions, Inc., a prestigious South Florida-based film/television production and marketing company, has begun production on a marketing video and multimedia DVD in the Dominican Republic this week as part of the country's efforts to attract filmmakers and television producers from around the world to their shores. Under an exclusive multi-year marketing and production agreement with the Dominican government, 1394 partners Drew Cummings and Randall DeWitt will work closely with Dominican Republic President Lionel Fernandez and Jose Rafael Lantigua, the Dominican Republic's Secretary of State for Culture, as part of President Fernandez's continued effort to boost the economy of the Dominican Republic and expand international trade. 1394 Productions, Inc. will exclusively represent the Dominican Republic Film Commission worldwide in all areas of film and television production.

1394 is also in pre-production on the first telenovela series entitled "The Lost Survivors," which will be produced in both Spanish and English, and shot entirely in the Dominican Republic. Production of the 130-episode telenovela series "The Lost Survivors" will commence in June 2006, with casting in Miami and Los Angeles scheduled in late April. DeWitt and Cummings will executive produce, with Cummings sharing in the writing and directing of the series. "The Lost Survivors" will be privately funded by an investment group brought together by Cummings and DeWitt, and comprised of both international investors and Dominican business and financial leaders.

"The Lost Survivors," which has a series commitment and will be produced in HDTV, will be offered to both English and Spanish-speaking networks around the world.

Award-winning television and film producer/director Drew Cummings and partner Randall DeWitt have been working with government officials and private sector business leaders over the last 18 months to establish new financial incentives and laws that will attract filmmakers and television producers from around the world, in addition to identifying and developing the labor and infrastructure capabilities that will support the industry.

Cummings says, "The Dominican Republic is a filmmaker's dream come true, and until now one of the best kept secrets in the Caribbean and Latin America. It has all of the natural settings and locations a production company could ask for, with its beaches, mountains, jungles, rivers, ranches, lakes, country settings, cosmopolitan cities, resorts, casinos, and historical and architectural settings that date back to the 1400s. The technical infrastructure, labor pool, post production facilities and sound stages that exist, rival top studio and network facilities in the United States. There is no doubt in my mind that network-quality television series with high production values can be achived at a fraction of the cost of projects produced in the U.S. or other Latin American countries."

Initial collaborative efforts over the last six months between 1394 and the newly formed Dominican Film Commission to attract filmmakers to the Dominican Republic has already proved successful, with the filming of the Robert De Niro directed "The Good Shepherd," starring Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, and Joe Pesci, and "Miami Vice," directed by Michael Mann, which stars Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx.

DeWitt adds, "It is expected that southern Florida, and specifically Miami, will also benefit from the Dominican Republic's development of the film and television industry. It is anticipated that talent, production facilities, services, and manpower from the Miami area will be in constant demand to augment the production efforts and anticipated increase in production services as the industry develops. We also anticipate that new business opportunities in the Dominican Republic will evolve for a variety of film and television support businesses that are looking to expand."

http://www.1394productions.com/

Source: 1394 Productions, Inc.

CONTACT: Max Borges, Max Borges Marketing Solutions, Inc.,
+1-305-576-1171, or max@maxborges.com, for 1394; or Randall DeWitt,
rdewitt@1394productions.com, or Drew Cummings, dcummings@1394productions.com,
both of 1394 Productions, Inc.

Web site: http://www.1394productions.com/

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