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Latin Hollywood Films and Los Angeles Film and Television RD, production houses of Dominican Kiki Meléndez, received the tax incentive certificate granted by the General Directorate of Cinema (DGCINE) for the production of the audiovisual Children of Heaven , which will document the stories of orphaned and homeless children in the Dominican Republic and the five main Latin American capitals that currently have the largest number of orphaned children.
The project stems from the desire of Manuel De la Cruz Silvestre, president of the Girls and Boys of Christ Foundation, who believes that the best way to help these children is to tell their stories, especially considering that in the Dominican Republic, 20.4% of girls under 19 are mothers, and one in five children is homeless. Furthermore, every 17 hours, the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI) provides shelter to an abandoned child. Both statistics are disconcerting and generate concern in society.
In the words of the project’s screenwriter and director, Kiki Meléndez: “From the beginning, Children of Heaven has been a project that has generated a lot of passion among the entire production team due to its impact and the significance of the subject matter it addresses. Therefore, the proceeds from its screening will go to the orphanages whose stories are told,” she said.
The creative and production team is made up of Meiling Macias-Toro, who has long volunteered with orphanages in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Mexico, and who emphasizes the importance of bringing these stories to the international spotlight: “They are sure to raise awareness, inspire, and motivate action on behalf of this needy population. We want to draw attention to this problem in the hope that this reality can generate positive change for the future of our children,” she emphasized. She is joined by Julia Carias-Linares, Alfonso Rodríguez, Luis Beauchamp Sr., Luis Beauchamp Jr., Efrén García, Laura Peiter, and Giancarlo Bonnelly.
Dominican-Venezuelan actress Emily Tosta ( Mayan MC , Willy’s Wonderland , and How the Gringo Stole Christmas ) will be the voice of the documentary. Other celebrities who have shown special interest and contributed to its development include René Rosado, Marta González, Solly Durán, Jessica Camacho, Douglas Santiago, and Juan Fernández.
The DGCINE approved a budget of US$500,000 for the production and execution of the aforementioned documentary, approximately 80% of which will be filmed in the Dominican Republic. This will boost the national economy by creating jobs.
The executives of the audiovisual project, which is expected to reach audiences around the world, invite companies and institutions interested in supporting this cause to join through financing, which includes the tax incentives provided by Film Law 108-10.
About Latin Hollywood Films. It is a film and television production company founded in April 2000. It has launched major projects with Univision/Galavision, FYI Networks, Showtime Networks, Estrella TV, Peacock NBC, Glewed TV Tubi, Amazon Prime, and the BBC, among others. One of these, Journey of a Female Comic, qualified for the 2015 Oscars. Los Angeles Film and Television RD is its subsidiary for the Caribbean.
About the General Directorate of Cinema (DGCINE). A decentralized institution of the Dominican State, with legal personality and administrative, financial and technical autonomy, attached to the Ministry of Culture. It emerged from the promulgation of Law No. 108-10, with the purpose of promoting and incentivizing the development of a national film industry and administering the tax incentives created by the aforementioned law, positioning the country as a destination for locations for foreign productions.