Dominican sci-fi film ‘Aire’ selected for Rotterdam Film Festival

Santo Domingo.-The Dominican science fiction film ‘Aire’, directed by Leticia Tonos, is set to make its world premiere as part of the Big Screen Competition at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR), taking place from January 25 to February 4, 2024, in the Netherlands. This inclusion marks a significant milestone for the film and the Dominican film industry.

‘Aire’ offers a thought-provoking exploration of themes such as solitude, technology, and the fragile relationship between industrialized society and nature. Vanja Kaludjercic, the director of the Festival, praised the film for its cinematic experience and its capacity to stimulate reflection on these pertinent issues.

For Leticia Tonos, being part of the Rotterdam Film Festival, an event she has long admired, is a dream come true. She expressed her satisfaction and professional pride in ‘Aire’ being an official selection, especially in the science fiction genre, which is traditionally unexpected in Caribbean cinema. Tonos sees this as an encouragement to continue creating unique stories and considers it another achievement for the industry.

The film is a collaborative production involving Producciones Línea Espiral, Menos es Más Producciones, Lantica Media, and the Spanish production house Contrasentido. It features French-Mexican actress Sophie Gaëlle Gómez and the renowned Dominican actor Jalsen Santana, with special participation from Spanish actress Paz Vega.

Distributed by Latido Films, a leading sales agent for Spanish-language cinema, ‘Aire’ is set in the year 2147. The storyline unfolds in a world devastated by environmental pollution resulting from a chemical war, which drastically reduces the global population, pushing it towards the brink of extinction. The selection of ‘Aire’ for the Rotterdam Film Festival signifies an important step for Dominican cinema in gaining recognition on the international stage.