Leo Silverio presents “Ópera prima”, a work that gathers his experiences and reflections on Dominican cinema

Santo Domingo.– The Dominican filmmaker and writer Leo Silverio presented his book “Ópera prima: apuntes para el cine dominicano” (Debut Film: Notes for Dominican Cinema) this Wednesday, a publication that seeks to contribute to national cinematic thought by compiling knowledge, experiences, and reflections on the development of the seventh art in the country.

During the launch of the work, organized by the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), through the School of Film, Television and Photography of the Faculty of Arts, Silverio shared part of the story that sparked his interest in cinema and led him to train professionally in this discipline.

The author recalled that his approach to a film career arose spontaneously, when he came across a promotion that invited people to study film.

“Transport unionist, today transport entrepreneur, with a sign that said: study film and become famous. […] I went with this gentleman and enrolled in film without knowing that it was going to be my career”, recounted the writer.

Likewise, he highlighted the influence his father had on the birth of his passion for the seventh art. He recalled that, during his childhood, his father used to take him to the movie theaters in his community as a way to introduce him to a reality different from the one they lived in daily.

“My father used to say: “Leo, put on some shoes and a decent shirt and let’s go to the movies”. And we would go to the Ana cinema, which was close to us, about 300 meters away”, he expressed while recalling those first encounters with the films and the theaters that marked an important stage of his life.

Silverio also evoked his time at the UASD Film School, where he had the opportunity to train alongside prominent teachers and professionals of Dominican audiovisual media, including Claudio Chea, Omar Narpier, Humberto Frías, and Wilfredo García.

When explaining the motivations that gave rise to “Ópera prima“, he pointed out that during his training he identified a limited presence of content directly linked to the Dominican cinematographic reality in the study materials.

“We always thought that cinema was heavily nuanced by international influences. The books we had were American, they were books from Spain, they were books from Argentina, and nothing of our own,” he stated.

In that sense, he stated that this concern prompted him to develop didactic material that would respond to the needs of those who study and work in the Dominican audiovisual field, without neglecting the foundations of international cinema.

“That prompted me to create a textbook somewhat aimed at the daily work of Dominican cinema,” the writer maintained, specifying that the publication addresses fundamental aspects of world cinematography, as well as the evolution, experiences, and productions of national cinema.

The work was presented by professor and filmmaker Agustín Cortés Robles, who highlighted its importance as reference material for those beginning their film education and for cinephiles interested in learning about the historical, creative, and technical particularities of this profession.

Silverio is a screenwriter, film and television director, producer, writer, and audiovisual educator, born in Santiago de los Caballeros.

Leo Silverio cinematic works

His cinematic works include the feature film Duarte, traición y gloria, for which he was director and screenwriter, as well as the documentaries Sopla, Tavito, sopla, Caminos de sal and Un siglo de cine.

With this publication, the author is committed to strengthening the documentation and study of Dominican cinematography, providing a tool that allows for a better understanding of its background, comprehension of its present, and support for the development of new generations of filmmakers.

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