
Not available for screening anymore
Jean Gentil
Directed by
Dominican Republic, Mexico, Germany
2010
84 min
- Spanish
Drama
Venice IFF: Orizzonti
A morning at Santo Domingo begins for Jean, a middle-aged Haitian professor on an increasingly desperate journey to find his place in the world or a reason to live. The man disappears into the reality that surrounds him. The bloom of the island’s landscape can’t hide the worries of its inhabitants.
Awards
- Orizzonti Special Mention, Venice IFF
- Bronze Alexander, Thessaloniki IFF
- Special Jury Prize, Guadalajara IFF
- Grand Prize Winner, International Competition, Jeonju IFF
- Special Jury Prize, Lima IFF
- Best Narrative Feature, Trinidad +Tobago FF
Credits
- Cast
- Jean Remy Genty
- Yanmarco King Encarnación
- Paul Henri Presumé
- Nadal Walcott
- Lys Ambroise
- Screenplay
- Israel Cárdenas
- Laura A. Guzmán
- Cinematography
- Israel Cárdenas
- Laura A. Guzmán
- Editing
- Israel Cárdenas
- Music
- Ramón Cordero
- Ictus
Director's Statement
We want to give time and space to the character, so that in Jean’s transit, we are able to recognize the changing scenery as a character and the narrative conductor of the story; to sense the contrast between a growing city and the “tranquility” of the countryside and coasts that are about to disappear, and feel man in his actions of construction and destruction, human development against the personal development of many like Jean Gentil.
- Production
- AURORA DOMINICANA
- Production
- CANANA
Press
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Documentary-like in its attention to quotidian detail and shot in impeccably composed images by the multihyphenate filmmakers

Laura Amelia Guzmán
Dominican Republic
Our experience in cinema has helped us understand human relations and their complexities; how fragile or strong we can become.
Scriptwriter, producer and director Laura Amelia Guzmán was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 1980 and attended the International Film School in Cuba. Since 2004 she lives between Dominican Republic and Mexico. She forms a directorial duo with her husband Israel Cárdenas. Together they run their production company Aurora Dominicana. Their latest film HOLY BEASTS (2019) premiered at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for two Panorama Audience Awards and a Teddy (Best Feature Film).
Selected Filmography

Israel Cárdenas
Mexico
Our experience in cinema has helped us understand human relations and their complexities; how fragile or strong we can become.
Israel Cárdenas (1980, Mexico) produced several projects, ranging from music videos and TV spots, to documentaries and short films. He forms a directorial duo with his wife Laura Amelia Guzmán. Together they run their production company Aurora Dominicana. Their latest film HOLY BEASTS (2019) premiered at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for two Panorama Audience Awards and a Teddy (Best Feature Film).