One of the main axes of baseball in Latin America for decades has been the Dominican RepublicThat is why, as the third decade of the 21st century elapsed, a group of former baseball players, filmmakers and fans of the game have taken the courage to take to the cinema how such a small country can produce so many players in never-told stories.
In a discussion exclusively with Nelson Gonzalez, general producer of the documentary ‘The Republic of the Ball’, together with the current affairs and opinion writer for El Fildeo, Carlos Moreta, tells us today the story of the birth of this documentary, participation of long-standing figures in Dominican baseball, until the resolution of the cameras.
The Ball Republic, it will be a documentary that will lead to the cinema cHow are ball stars born in the Dominican Republic?, narrated by former Major League Baseball players Carlos Pena Y Placido Polanco, in addition to participation from instructors, historians and the Dominican baseball press.
The documentary will be directed by the film star of the Caribbean country Jose Maria Cabral; Nelson Gonzalez Y Andres van der Host general producers; former major league Carlos Pena executive producer, as well as a coaching staff of great professionals, but above all baseball lovers.
Conversation
Questions: Carlos Moreta
Interviewed: Nelson González, general producer of the ‘Republica de la Pelota’
How much does baseball mean to the designers of this behind-the-scenes project?
“All of us involved in the project are baseball lovers, that was the main reason for developing and designing the project. Fans of different levels, I (Nelson González) and Andrés van der Host, we are the general producers; Carlos Peña executive producer and a successful career in MLB. We understand the importance of baseball for the country and the Dominicans, so we understood the need to create a high-quality document on how the Dominican (Republic) produces baseball, ”he said.
“In addition to that, we took care of forming a group that were passionate about baseball to tell the stories correctly. José María Cabral, who is the director of the project, is passionate about the game and a strong fan of the Boston Red Sox and Pedro Martínez, ”he added.
Where does the inspiration come from to capture Dominican baseball in a documentary?
“I (Nelson) have a career in creative advertising, a few years ago I made the decision to found an agency dedicated to brand building and content creation around sport, within that search to generate entertainment and quality content emerged the idea of this project. As well as this we have generated ideas and projects related to sport; But we understood that a document with the necessary quality had not been made to count our baseball; that was the main reason ”, he explained.
What will this film bring to the viewer that has not been seen before in the Dominican film industry?
“We are offering a broader view, it is a project with a country brand perspective, where we seek to get to know the Dominican culture through baseball. We are telling stories that most fans do not know; all those stories that make up the complete set of how we produce baseball in our country, but at the same time within those stories we see many things that have to do with our culture ”; I reveal.
What exactly is ‘La Republica de la Pelota’ about? Birth and development of our baseball in general?
“The documentary deals in general with how baseball is produced in the Dominican Republic, telling it through those anonymous stories around the game, from a coach, scout; family of players, and all those cultural elements that influence our players, in order to explain how a country as small as ours produces so many baseball stars, “he said.
How many baseball figures have been invited to parade through the cameras of this documentary?
“More than 20 personalities participate in the project, including former players, leaders, sports leaders, sports commentators and historians,” he revealed.
Is the ‘Republica de la Pelota’ just the work and direction of José María Cabral or does it have others in pencil?
“Behind the documentary there is a long team of great professionals, Nelson González is the producer of the project, also the creator; José María Cabral is the director, Franki Báez is the director of photography, Miguel Yarull is the scriptwriter, Andrés Farias, the first assistant director; Carlos German, line manager; and countless other professionals, luckily we have the opportunity to work with a first-rate group ”, he said.
To conclude the discussion, Nelson Gonzalez He told us about the release dates and importance for High Score Media, which is the company behind the documentary project of ‘The Republic of the Ball’.
“Definitely for High Score Media so far it is the most important project that it develops,” he said.
“The project will be released at the beginning of next year (2022), we are just in the production stage of the project. At the national level (Dominican Republic) it will be screened in movie theaters, then we wait to see what happens at the international level, we bet on the greatest of it ”, he concluded.
Follow Carlos Moreta on Twitter: @ CarlosMoreta01
Instagram: @ carlosmoreta01
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