Freddy is a biographical film about the life of Dominican TV producer and philanthropist Freddy Beras-Goico, directed by Giancarlo Beras-Goico
Freddy, a biographical film about the life of Dominican TV producer and philanthropist Freddy Beras-Goico, directed by Giancarlo Beras-Goico (CEO and Film Director of TimeCode Films), is being distributed by Spanglish Movies and debuts this week in Puerto Rico. The film premiered in the Dominican Republic in November 2023, in the U.S. last November, and was also featured at Spain’s Fitur festival earlier this year.
Freddy Beras-Goico passed away on November 18, 2010, leaving behind a television legacy spanning over 50 years and impacting thousands of families in need. With shows like El Gordo de la Semana, El Show del Mediodía, and Punto Final, he cemented his place in Dominican entertainment history.
Giancarlo Beras-Goico, Freddy’s son, shared that the project began in 2012 with the scriptwriting process. “We decided to make a biopic. The script took us seven years to complete because my father’s life was so rich and intense, with many facets in television,” he said.
The film was shot in 2019 but was delayed due to the pandemic. “Every cloud has a silver lining, and we worked extensively on post-production because this is a historical period film,” the director explained.
Two actors portray Freddy in the movie: Luis José Germán covers the years from 1959 to the late ’80s, while Augusto Feria plays Freddy from the 1990s until his passing.
“This film is told very much through my eyes,” said Beras-Goico. “Freddy was widely known for his humor and his comedic presence on television. But I wanted to show his more human side and reveal family moments that weren’t as public. We faced assassination attempts due to his denunciations of drug trafficking. I also include political conversations he had—though he was never a politician, most Presidents sought him out as a potential Vice President because of what he represented. He rejected all those offers, and I reveal certain scenes with former Presidents in the film. It’s a biopic drama, but it still retains the humor people loved about him,” he noted.
Giancarlo Beras-Goico mentioned that there are plans to bring the film to a streaming platform like Netflix or Amazon, with Spanglish Movies handling the negotiations.
“At Spanglish, we are immensely proud to premiere Freddy in theaters and collaborate with Giancarlo Beras-Goico to bring this moving story about his father, a Dominican legend, to the big screen,” said Gustavo Aparicio, CEO of Spanglish Movies.
“We are also planning to air it on national television in the Dominican Republic by the end of this year so that everyone can enjoy it,” Beras-Goico added.
“Spanglish Movies, Gustavo, and the entire team have made sure the film reaches the audience we wanted. I wanted it to be shown in the U.S. so that the Dominican community there could enjoy it. There was strong demand in New York, Miami, New Jersey, and Boston. It was amazing to be in the theater, hiding in the back, and hearing people’s reactions. Many shared touching anecdotes after the screening. Spanglish has done an outstanding job. I’m especially grateful for the respect and dignity with which they’ve treated this project—it means a lot because of what it represents,” he concluded.
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