A documentary being filmed in the Dominican Republic about the famous Mirabal Sisters is slated for showing on the Discovery Channel. Las Mirabal are three sisters killed on November 25, 1959 for their open and vocal opposition to the dictator Rafael Trujillo. They became a focus of outrage against the Trujillo regime and a symbol of anti-Trujillo resistance. The "docu-fiction" (a mixture of documentary and dramatic recreation of events) is entitled "El Triunfo de la Mariposas" ("Triumph of the Butterflies") and has been produced by Accent Media and directed by Chilean Cecilia Domeyko, who also wrote the script. One third of the film’s funding is provided by the Organization of American States (OAS), one third by Accent Media and the final third by the DR’s Department for the Promotion of Women (DGPM). The film will be released to movie theaters across the DR on November 25, 1999, the 40th anniversary of the sisters’ assassination. It will also show on the Discovery Channel, and DGPM has the national rights to the film and plans to eventually distribute it in VHS tape form to all schools as educational material.
