Cinema in the Dominican Republic: More than RD$3 billion in filming permits
After the implementation of a tax reform that contemplated the elimination or modification of some articles of the legislation promoting the film industry (Law 108-10) was repealed, uncertainty arose in the film industry and among companies that invest in Dominican films.
In order to know details about how smoothly the filming of national and international audiovisual productions is going, Diario Libre requested data from the General Directorate of Cinema ( Dgcine ), the governing body of the sector.
According to the information provided, between January and May, seven audiovisual productions were filmed under Article 34 (incentive for Dominican cinema ), while four were filmed under Article 36 (promotion of foreign investment in cinema ).
On the subject, the actor and producer, the current president of the Dominican Association of Film Professionals (Adocine), Danilo Reynoso , stated his position on the impact that the failed tax reform project had on the development of the film industry in the Dominican Republic .
"I must tell you that until April 30, we were in the process of supporting the formal delivery of these loans to investors . At the end of last year and until the beginning of this one, we were, let's say, managing the delivery of new provisional film certificates, that is, what are called CPND for film production, because in some way the projection issue was being adjusted, both by the financial authorities, namely the Ministry of Finance, the General Directorate of Internal Revenue and the General Directorate of Cinema ( Dgcine )," he asserted.
He recalled that this action is a practice that has been going on for some time. " It wasn't a coincidence with the issue of when the reform was rejected, but other administrations did it differently. The thing is, we currently have a lawyer as director of Dgcine , and what should have been a formal resolution for the entire industry, she submitted," he added.
From the impactDanilo Reynoso acknowledged that the government's initiative seeking approval of new tax rules affected the film industry , but he said he is currently in the process of reactivating the industry.
"We cannot deny that the reform situation not only affected the film industry , but all industries and all investments in the Dominican Republic . Why? Because in every business, and among them the film industry , legal guarantees are needed, firmness, responsibility and coherence are needed in the things that are proposed, much less with the laws. Imagine, they tried to touch tourism; there are large tourism projects, large multi-million dollar investments that counted on the benefits it would bring," he said.
He added: "So, suddenly, this was played with, and it generated a lot of uncertainty. The same thing happened in cinema , both nationally and internationally. I confess that, in a very particular way, we were at that time, both the former president Hans García, myself, and Evelyna Rodríguez, my partner, in Spain, at IBER Series Platino, which is the market, right? We were promoting the industry, talking about the benefits of the film law, and this falls on us."
"We had projects, which thank God we've been able to recover, that faltered, because they said: wait, how is this? Did we have this guaranteed? So, it's always good, in a country, for legal guarantees and legal coherence from the State and from the industry to prevail. Did it affect us? We can't say no, but we are in the process of recovery."
- On that point, Danilo, what response have you received from the authorities? I mean, it's not the same as a producer developing a project and suddenly coming to me and saying, " Look , what happened is that I was informed by the Treasury or some other entity that they were going to repeal that law, and then I didn't receive any official information after that."
- He maintained that there is currently a slowdown in the development of some projects due to the awaiting the delivery of tax credits to investors to reinvest in other projects. "It's a natural process. The processes begin in May. There are already several Dominican films being filmed, and I know that some others will start soon. I know of international projects from major studios," he commented.
"Between January 1 and May 9, 2025, seven (7) national audiovisual productions have been filmed under the incentive of art. 34. In addition to these seven (7) filming permits, two (2) additional Single Filming Permits (PUR) have been issued for projects approved under the same article, which have not yet started filming," the document states.
International projectsIn the case of international productions , the productions are from Romania, Mexico, Slovakia, Turkey, Spain, the United States and Russia.
The Single Filming Permits (Pur) that have been granted, protected by article 39, amount to RD$2,700,968,138.80.
"The total amount of the Single Filming Permits (PUR) corresponding to four (4) international productions benefiting from the incentive of Article 39 , which have been filmed between January 1 and May 9, 2025, amounts to RD$2,702,968,138.80," according to the data.
To date, all projects covered by Article 39 have filmed or are currently filming.
The nationalsThe total amount of the Single Filming Permits (PUR) corresponding to seven (7) national productions covered by the incentive of Article 34 , which have been filmed between January 1 and May 9, 2025, amounts to RD$375,996,673.04.
Likewise, they highlighted that two national productions that benefited from the incentives and have not yet begun filming totaled RD$47,815,928.10.
Jennifer Lopez
Although Dgcine has not provided official information, American singer and actress Jennifer Lopez was in the country filming some scenes for her new movie, Office Romance , which will be shown on the Netflix platform.
The total amount of the Single Filming Permits (PUR) corresponding to seven national productions benefiting from the Article 34 incentive and filmed between January 1 and May 9, 2025, amounts to 375,996,673.04 pesos. Similarly, they highlighted that two national productions that benefited from the incentives, and have not yet begun filming, total 47,815,928.10 pesos. Although the Dgcine has not provided official information, American singer and actress Jennifer Lopez filmed some scenes for her film "Office Romance" in Samaná, which will be shown on the Netflix platform.
Under threat
No sooner had the film sector recovered from the attempt to modify or possibly eliminate film incentives than US President Donald Trump announced he would impose 100% tariffs on international productions. This new international landscape, coupled with internal threats to local incentives, would place Dominican cinema in a vulnerable position and hinder its growth. Therefore, it is crucial to strengthen state support, diversify markets, and improve quality to face these external and internal challenges.
Since the approval of the Film Law in 2010, the Dominican Republic has experienced a dynamic increase in the number of national proposals, positively impacting the national film industry.
Likewise, the creation of film studies programs at universities is noteworthy, as is the establishment of local film studios, at least one foreign one, and the start-up of post-production offices.
The country has been attended by great figures from the world film industry , such as Brad Pitt, Vin Diesel, Channing Tatum, Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Lopez , Josh Duhamel, Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor McGregor, Daniel Radcliffe, Dylan Sprouse, Jackson Rathbone and Álvaro Morte.
Likewise, foreign productions have selected the Dominican Republic as an ideal film destination: Something in the Water, Road House, The Resort, The Best Man, Saint X, Nyad, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Lost City, The Killer, Narco-Saints, Boundless, Old and Shotgun Wedding.
Other notable films include The Black Demon, Arthur the King, Survivor, 47 Meters Down, Are You the One?, The I-Land, and XXX: The Return of Xander Cage, as well as Arthur, starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by Simon Cellan Jones.
Big boomThe Dominican film industry generated RD$10.197 billion (about US$175.8 million at the current exchange rate) in 2023, according to data from the General Directorate of Film ( Dgcine ), which highlighted the "significant economic impact " of that sector on the country.
The funds were generated through 120 productions, including 75 national and 45 foreign productions.
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