Jessy Terrero of Cinema Giants is Honored with “National Pride” Award at Dominican Film Festival

Filmmaker and Cinema Giants founder and president Jessy Terrero was honored Wednesday with the Camilo Carrau award at the 12th annual Dominican Global Film Festival, arguably the most important _lm event in the Caribbean.

Named after the Dominican Republic’s most important early cinematographer, the recognition goes to someone who bestows the country with “national pride in cinema,” said festival director Omar de la Cruz.

Terrero is known for the vibrant music videos he directs and produces for a number of famous artists, including Maluma, Nicky Jam, Steve Aoki, Jennifer Lopez, Ozuna, J Balvin, Snoop Dogg and Daddy Yankee. He’s also directed two full length feature movies Soul Plane with Kevin Hart, which he also produced, and Freelancers with Curtis "50 Cent” Jackson and Robert DeNiro.

His most recent international acclaim came with his groundbreaking biopic series, “Nicky Jam: El Ganador,” an original Net_ix production released in November.

"Jessy has always been a friend of our festival but above all he is a pride for Dominicans to know that his talent and work has served to promote Latin American culture and Latin American stories,” de la Cruz said. “Jessy has shown that our contributions are valuable and that the audience likes them.

“With people like Jessy in the _lm industry, we win -- the Dominicans, the Latin Americans win and the seventh art wins,” de la Cruz added.

Terrero joined other honorees, including American actor Vin Diesel, known for the performance of Dominic Toretto in the _lm saga The Fast and the Furious and the role of Richard B. Riddick in the trilogy The Chronicles of Riddick, and American director John Singleton, also from The Fast and the Furious franchise.

“It is such an honor to have the cinema lovers in my homeland give me this recognition,” Terrero said. “I just want to tell authentic stories. Stories about our people, our culture, our lives -- because they are compelling stories that need to be told.” The Festival, which runs until February 6 with more than 80 _lms, was inaugurated Wednesday night during a gala at the Carlos Piantini hall of the National Theater.