The Dominican filmmaker Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 74th Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) for his film “Pepe,” the last dead hippopotamus in America, which tells his story of how he ended up in Pablo Escobar's zoo in Colombia.
The award represents a historic milestone in the cinema of the Dominican Republic, as it is the first Creole film to take part in the festival, considered one of the most important in the world.
The 38-year-old director studied film in Buenos Aires and then at the Edinburgh School of Art in Scotland, where he began making experimental short films.
The film also won the George de Beauregard International Award at the FidMarseille (Marseille Film Festival) and Best Latin American Film at the Mar de Plata International Film Festival.
Message from the General Directorate of Cinema (DGCINE), the umbrella organization of the film industry in the Dominican Republic, on the occasion of the achievement of Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias:
Let's relive the historic moment when, for the first time, a Dominican won the Berlin Bear for Best Director in the official competition.
We congratulate Nelson Carlo De los Santos Arias, his producers Tanya Valette and Pablo Lozano, and the entire cast and crew who so worthy represented us.
The Republic of Cinema!
Technical data sheet “Pepe”:
DIRECTOR
Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias
SCRIPT
Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias
MANUFACTURER
Pablo Lozano, Tanya Valette, Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias
CO-PRODUCERS
Andrea Queralt, Mani Mortazavi, Christoph Friedel, Claudia Steffen, Joel Haikali, Sophie Haikali
CO-PRODUCTION
4 A 4 Productions, Paris Pandora Film, Cologne Joe's Vision, Windhoek
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Camilo Soratti, Román Lechapelier, Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias
EDITION
Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias
MUSIC
Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias
AUDIO DESIGN
Nahuel Palenque, Nelson Carlo De Los Santos
SOUND
Nahuel Palenque
PRODUCT DESIGN
Daniel Rincon, Melania Freires
COSTUMES
Laura Guerrero, Erik Paredes
FORM
Mariana Correa, Nancy Rodriguez
POUR
Laura Cano, Sara Vergara, Kulan Ganes, Karel Solei
ANIMATION
Erwin Jiménez, Manuel Barenboim