Dina 2017
Previous FilmsDina, an outspoken and eccentric 49-year-old in suburban Philadelphia, invites her fiancé Scott, a Walmart door greeter, to move in with her. Having grown up neurologically diverse in a world blind to the value of their experience, the two are head-over-heels for one another, but shacking up poses new challengeS.
Filmmakers Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini construct seamless vérité scenes that lovingly frame Dina and Scott’s vulnerable yet matter-of-fact romance. Whether at the local nail salon, the warm beaches of Ocean City, Dina’s racy bachelorette party, or on honeymoon in the Poconos, DINA captures the cadences and candid conversations of a relationship that reexamines the notion of love on screen.
The Filmmakers
Antonio Santini, Director + Producer
Antonio Santini is a Puerto Rican and Dominican director and producer. His first film, Mala Mala, premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, receiving an Audience Award, and was later distributed by Strand Releasing. His second feature, Dina, premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, receiving the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary, and was released by The Orchard in North America and globally by Dogwoof in October 2017.
Dan Sickles, Director + Producer
Dan Sickles is an American filmmaker, writer, and actor living between New York City and Paris, France.
He received the 2017 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for his film DINA, and an audience award at the 2014 TriBeCa Film Festival for his directorial debut, MALA MALA.
As an actor, he is known for his for his theatrical work, most notably as Hamlet in the 2011 production at Theater 80 in downtown Manhattan, and Konstantin Treplev in The Seagull at Columbia Graduate.
He is the recipient of the PEEK Award and the ARC Alliance Community Service Award for his work within neurodiverse communities, and his production company, El Peligro, has been honored by the Social Media Impact Awards and Amnesty International for their approach at socially-conscious storytelling.