Dominican Film Agency Unveils Workforce Study, Program Success

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – The Dominican Republic's General Directorate of Cinema (DGCINE) recently unveiled the findings of its 2025 Sectoral Human Capital Survey (LSCH) and progress on its "My First Job in Cinema" program to key educational and industry stakeholders.

During the presentation, DGCINE officials highlighted a 36% increase in survey participation from producers, line producers, and departmental managers compared to the previous year. This rise signals a stronger industry commitment to strategic planning and evaluation, opening new training avenues for emerging talent.

Conducted annually since 2021, the LSCH identifies positions with shortages of qualified personnel across various cinematic fields. It also establishes a baseline for assessing the perceived quality of human capital, providing crucial data to design training programs that align with the real demands of the Dominican audiovisual industry.

Marianna Vargas Gurilieva, director general of DGCINE, led the meeting. Its primary goal was to share the study's insights and foster inter-institutional collaboration for planning the 2026 training curriculum, coordinated by the institution's Training and Development Department.

The survey data consistently shows a highly positive and stable perception of the quality of Dominican film crews, solidifying the local talent's reputation as a cornerstone of the industry. It also pinpointed areas ripe for improvement and positions experiencing high labor demand, offering essential guidance for continuously updating educational offerings.

Workforce Development Initiatives

DGCINE also presented the results of its "My First Job in Cinema" program, an initiative launched in 2022 to facilitate job placement for new talent in high-demand areas identified by the LSCH.

In adherence to Article 34 of Law 108-10, the program authorizes up to four interns per production. Since its inception, it has successfully integrated 87 graduates or final-year students into 38 film projects. These placements span areas such as props, art, continuity, production, locations, camera, sound, electricity, transportation, casting, and wardrobe, contributing significantly to the professional development of students and graduates in film and audiovisual careers.

The institution further reported the achievements of its broader training programs, which engaged more than 2,380 participants in 2025 through 61 distinct activities. These included 31 talks and panels, 20 workshops and courses, two idea and project development labs, four masterclasses, three Fonprocine mentorships (for short films, animation, and script rewriting), and one ABC project development residency. These initiatives were developed in collaboration with partners like Infotep, Chavón The School of Design, Unibe, PUCUMM, and the French Embassy in the Dominican Republic, among others.

Strategic agreements were also announced, including "Marianne for Dominican Culture," an initiative with the French Embassy and other government entities. During the Malaga Festival, DGCINE formalized partnerships with the Barcelona Film School (Escac) and Stage 32, a U.S.-based training and networking platform.

Representatives from various entities attended the gathering, including Infotep, UASD, PUCMM, Chavón The School of Design, Unibe, the Cultural Center of Spain in the Dominican Republic (Aecid), the Dominican Association of Film Industry Professionals (Adocine), Caribbean Film Training (ECC-RD), and the Global Institute of Higher Social Sciences Studies (Iglobal).

The event concluded with a plenary session where participants jointly reviewed the findings and established coordinated actions to construct the 2026 training curriculum. This collaborative effort reaffirms DGCINE's and the educational institutions' commitment to professionalizing Dominican audiovisual talent and strengthening the national film industry.