In recent years, social networks have become the digital space in which many young people meet to convey their reality through audiovisuals, in which they themselves star in the drama.
In the Dominican Republic, the young people Nany Flow, Jeyco José and Maridid del Carmen, are dedicated to producing short films in order to bring a positive message to those who live in the sphere of the internet.
Yeiny de Jesus, known as Nany Flow, is a young woman from the municipal district of La Caleta, Boca Chica, who through her short films seeks to convey a different, positive message of love and humility.
De Jesús has almost a million followers on YouTube, and two million on the TikTok platform, but this success has not been sudden.
The 25-year-old told journalists from Listín Diario that she had to travel a remote path to get to where she is.
At the age of eight, Yeini de Jesús indicated that she traveled a distance of approximately two kilometers with her brother selling homemade ice cream, they also sold copper and aluminum, this with the purpose of helping their parents with household expenses.
“It’s just that there was nothing, no computer, no cell phone, the only television there was a black and white one,” Yeini said, recalling her beginnings in audiovisuals.
The young woman reported that she comes from a humble home where there were not enough resources to buy professional equipment to record her videos, however, this was not an obstacle to giving up her dreams.
Nany narrated that since she was little she has been a lover of the seventh art, and that both she and her brother imagined that they were inside a movie while playing.
In his adolescence he used to participate in castings for movies and other works, but this was never chosen, which caused him anguish because he did not find an opportunity in what he loved so much.
Her brother, Jesus Aristy, observing her crestfallen, recommends that she start her own project, create short videos where Nany was the main actress.
The siblings were motivated, but they did not have the financial resources to purchase the equipment, since their parents’ income was only enough to support the home.
As they expressed, their project started when their mother gave them a camera for Yeiny’s 15th birthday. That instrument was used to record the first video of him.
Although they had achieved the essentials, they needed a microphone, lights and a tripod, but this would uncover the ingenuity and imagination of the brothers, who decided to make their own equipment.
Drainage pipes attached with adhesive tape would make up what is a tripod or stabilizer and a cardboard box lined with aluminum foil and with a light bulb in the center, would play the role of lights.
This is how the brothers’ project started, where Yeini de Jesús gave life to the characters, while her brother was in charge of recording and directing the videos. Yeini stated that they started making parody videos with clean content, but that he was always in his mind to create stories that resemble the reality that people live, where the public can capture a life lesson.
Referring to the reasons that led her to create dramas that motivate society, de Jesús asserted that it is something that she and her brother have grown up with, since their parents have instilled in them values
“Since we were little, two things were instilled in us: the first is fear and respect for God, and the second, many values,” said the young woman with a smile.
She also alleged that her parents are responsible for the fact that she and her brother have made the decision not to make vulgar content, but to contribute to society.
“Our main objective is to continue sowing good things so that forgiveness, love, empathy continue to be promoted…”, Yeiny assured.
The pair of brothers said they were inspired by real life situations, to capture them in their videos and through these they teach their followers to practice kindness and above all to fight for what they want without fear of being wrong.
The results have been positive for Nany Flow. She reflected the happiness she felt when a mother told her that her daughter had copied one of the good deeds that she portrays in one of her videos.
“It’s a video about Fifi, a character of a girl who sells lemonade and saves money to buy a gift for her mother, and one day a mother told us that her daughter had seen the video and immediately went to pick some mangoes from He kills her at home and put them in a bucket in front of his house to sell. The girl told her mother that she was doing it to help her as she had seen it in the video, ”was the anecdote that the brothers told about the message left by her audiovisuals on social networks.
Studies
In an interview offered to this newspaper, Nany Flow stated that she enrolled in the university with the purpose of studying law, her studies were paid for from her own income by working as a temporary teacher in a school.
After completing a year at the university, Nany was forced to have to do without her studies, after losing her job and having no one to take care of her expenses.
Some time later, he decided to venture into acting courses to prepare for his project.
Lack of early support
Both brothers highlighted that at the beginning of their project they received little support. “Nobody
I believed in them.”
“Maybe they didn’t do it with bad intentions, just what I saw as a dream or what I wanted to achieve, they understood that I was wasting my time,” said Nany Flow.
Given this, the lady explained that many people told her that she was wasting her time and even stopped talking to her, because they were ashamed of what she was doing.
Dealing with negative comments was a difficult stage that he managed to overcome.
Jeyco José – Jey Gomez Films
His name is José Alberto Fernández, but since some friends used to nickname him Jeyco, he adopted the name for artistic purposes. This young man also seeks to promote values through his audiovisual work, with a five or seven minute video where he tells a story from his imagination not far from a real setting.
Although he was born in Santo Domingo, at the age of 17 he moved to Santiago de los Caballeros to try to sow life there.
Not only does he work with audiovisuals, José Alberto claimed that his main job is to be a chef, but although he loves cooking, his passion is cinema.
Fernández told Listín Diario that he has been developing his project for a long time, since it began in 2014.
About his inclusion in the short films, he said that when he saw an announcement of a casting on Facebook, where he attended without hesitation. After this, he was summoned to participate in a short film.
His financial resources were limited, so when recording his first video he used an Iphone 4 cell phone, where they recorded sounds from YouTube and then edited it to the work they had done.
The 30-year-old assured that he had never studied acting, and that for reasons beyond his control, he was forced to drop out of high school.
Alberto Fernández records the videos using his cell phone, together with several colleagues, who as a team develop the ideas, record and give life to the characters of each story.
In relation to the message behind his mini novels, José Alberto said he seeks to bring the message to all kinds of audiences, using his latest production as an example, where he portrays a brief story of a young woman who, blinded by love, falls into the trap of a man who abducts her in a house far from the city.
“There I was referring to youth, mainly girls, not trusting everyone,” he said.
His motivation to continue with healthy content, he blames on the customs and manners instilled in his upbringing.
Despite the fact that he loves what he does, José declared that he has thought of giving up on several occasions, because when he does not feel the support of his colleagues, he usually gets discouraged.
“I have been about to throw in the towel, but then I say, now is that we are going to give it to that”, indicated Fernández.
Likewise, he told of the detractors he has had along the way, assuring that he did not receive support from his relatives when he decided to turn to short films, since they alleged that in the Dominican Republic, acting is not profitable.
“Some people blocked me when I sent them the link. Really, the ones who supported me the most were the ones who weren’t mine at all,” she declared.
Reflective Stories
Maridid Del Carmen, is a young native of Venezuela who settled for
several years in the Dominican Republic.
As she expressed, since her childhood she has liked cinema, but in the Dominican territory is where her project “Reflective Stories” was born, where in allusion to the name, she makes short films that leave some kind of reflection in people.
Del Carmen expressed that she not only seeks to entertain with her content, she also seeks to portray life situations that people live in different types of environments, claiming that stories that have been recorded are experiences that she has lived as a woman.
“The main message is that, that people become aware and even if they see that they are short films, they can be careful about many things,” said the 27-year-old.
The lady narrated that her first opportunity in that world was obtained through a producer, who are dedicated to making a similar type of content.
After participating with the company, he made the decision to undertake.
Maridid claimed that she seeks to do something different from others, so that inspires her to create content that makes the viewer think beyond just seeing an empty story.
“I like to go more for the formal and not for the common. What represents me is doing good, carrying a positive message and seeking to make people aware, ”was Maridid’s response, regarding why he did not decide to lean towards another type of more informal content.
When citing one of her productions, where she plays a young woman who abandons her boyfriend for another more wealthy one, but who in the end ends up regretting when she realizes that a man who used to sell himself as a millionaire had only deluded her, Maridid says that it is a situation that happens many women, where sometimes they fall seduced by vanity and do not usually value who truly loves them.
With almost half a million followers on her Tik Tok account, the lady’s wishes for the future are to take her content to other platforms such as YouTube.
He also indicated that he has not been professionally trained in acting, but that his dream is to train and continue to grow.