17th HAVANA FILM FESTIVAL NEW YORK Set for This April

The 17th Havana Film Festival New York presents an exceptional program in celebration of the diversity of voices found today in Cuban and Latin American cinema and the inspirational stories they tell. Festival highlights include a tribute to the highly acclaimed and well-loved Cuban actors Isabel Santos (Vestido de novia, Cuba Libre) and Enrique Molina (La cosa humana); a retrospective commemorating the 20th anniversary of the late Tomás Gutierrez Alea, one of the most influential filmmakers of the last century; panels about filming and acting in Cuba; a special presentation of short documentaries about Cuban music; and World, U.S., and N.Y. premieres of award-winning features from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and U.S. Latinos. Havana Film Festival New York, a project of The American Friends of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba (AFLFC) takes place April 7-15, 2016.

"I applaud HFFNY, its organizers, and supporters for fostering cross-cultural exchange and advancing the film industry here in our city and beyond," says Mayor Bill de Blasio in his letter to HFFNY.

Our main venue this year is Village East Cinema, with other screenings and events taking place at the Directors Guild Theater (DGA), King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center at NYU (KJCC), and Instituto Cervantes in Manhattan; the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens; and The Bronx Museum of the Arts in the Bronx. All foreign language films are subtitled in English.

HFFNY starts with our ever-popular kick-off event First Fridays! at The Bronx Museum of the Arts, April 1st at 6pm with a free screening of Oliver Hill's La rumba me llama / Rumba Calling, the story of the rumba, from its roots to today, followed by a live performance with Cuban singer Melvis Santa.

Thurs. April 7 starting at 5:30pm at the DGA Theater, HFFNY rolls out the red carpet to officially launch its 17th edition with the N.Y. premiere of the critically acclaimed, independent Cuban drama

El acompañante / The Companion, set during the AIDS epidemic in late 1980s Havana. Pavel Giroud (La edad de peseta, Omertá), one of Latin America's most influential directors, will be at the screening presenting the film alongside Orishas front man and leading actor Yotuel Romero.

Fri. April 15 at 6pm the festival closes with the Havana Star Prize ceremony followed by the N.Y. premiere of Papa, the first Hollywood picture filmed in Cuba since 1959. The film tells the story of a young journalist who becomes friendly with Ernest and Mary Hemingway and witnesses Hemingway's decline with the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution. Director Bob Yari will be presenting the film, followed by a Q&A and A Latin Night Party.

"No doubt Latin American cinema is having an extraordinary moment. Its strength comes from not only the fresh cinematic forms found in these movies, but the audacity and boldness of their filmmakers," says Diana Vargas, artistic director of HFFNY, who adds "In our 2016 line-up, we offer a raw worldly view of intimate stories and national histories that challenge us to expand our perspectives."

18 films are in competition for Havana Star Prizes: Best Film, Director, Screenplay, Actor, Actress and Documentary.

Fiction Competition: La patota / Paulina (Santiago Mitre, Argentina), Zoom (Pedro Morelli, Brazil),

El bosque de Karadima / The Church of Karadima (Matias Lira, Chile), Magallanes (Salvador del Solar, Peru-Colombia), El acompañante / The Companion (Pavel Giroud, Cuba), Bailando con Margot / Dancing with Margot (Arturo Santana, Cuba), Cuba Libre (Jorge Luis Sanchez, Cuba), Eva no duerme / Eva Doesn't Sleep (Pablo Agüero, Argentina), Mi amiga del parque / My Friend from the Park (Ana Katz, Argentina), La Gunguna (Ernesto Alemany, Dominican Republic) and Presos / Imprisoned (Esteban Ramirez, Costa Rica).

Documentary Competition: Allende, mi abuelo Allende / Beyond my Grandfather Allende (Marcia Tambutti, Chile), El tren de la línea norte / The Train on the Northern Railway (Marcelo Martin, Cuba), Paciente / Patient (Jorge Caballero, Colombia), Made in Bangkok (Flavio Florencio, Mexico), Tiempo suspendido / Time Suspended (Natalia Bruschtein, Mexico), La prenda / The Pawn (Jean-Cosme Delaloye, Guatemala), El cuarto de los huesos / THE ROOM of Bones (Marcela Zamora, El Salvador).

Special presentations will include Paddy Breathnach's Viva, Ireland's Oscar submission for best foreign language film and Ernesto Padrón's film for children Meñique / Tom Little and the Magic Mirror.

Queens joins HFFNY with screenings at Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI). Fri. April 8, 7pm, from executive producer Benicio del Toro comes Viva, the story of a young man struggling to decide whether to pursue his dreams of performing in drag or repair his relationship with his father. Sat. April 9, 1:30 pm, a film for all ages, Meñique / Tom Little and the Magic Mirror, by Ernesto Padrón based on emblematic Cuban writer Jose Martí's story for children, this film follows Tom Little, a peasant who rescues his family from poverty. 4pm, MoMI hosts the N.Y. premiere of Brazilian Pedro Morelli's Zoom, a multi-dimensional interface between a comic book artist, a novelist, and a film director. 7pm, MoMI screens Pavel Giroud's El acompañante / The Companion wherein an unknown destiny awaits two men who find themselves confined behind a wall due to an epidemic.

Featured films screening at the Village East Cinema: Fri. April 8, 3pm HFFNY welcomes Mexican film Made in Bangkok by Flavio Florencio, an award-winning documentary about the sex transformation of a Mexican opera singer. Saturday, April 9, 7:30pm, Chilean Marcia Tambutti Allende's documentary about her grandfather, Salvador Allende, in Allende, mi abuelo Allende / Beyond my Grandfather Allende.

Sun. April 10, 7pm, Argentina's Sundance award winning film, Mi amiga del parque / My Friend from the Park, a quirky, provocative story of a mother struggling to adjust to her new life as a stay-at-home mom, presented by director Ana Katz, followed by a Q&A. 9pm, Cuban film Bailando con Margot / Dancing with Margot has its U.S. premiere, followed by a Q&A with its director, Arturo Santana. Mon. April 11, 7:10pm, Paciente / Patient, director Jorge Caballero's monumental indictment of the barbaric bureaucracy controlling the Colombian health care system told through the story of a mother fighting for the life of her daughter. Tues. April 12, 7pm, Dominican box office hit La Gunguna, a highly-stylized portrait of Santo Domingo's seedy underbelly is presented by its director, Ernesto Alemany.

Wed. April 13, 6:45pm, Costa Rican director Esteban Ramirez's story of FORBIDDEN love Presos / Imprisoned, screens. Thurs. April 14, 7pm, El bosque de Karadima / The Church of Karadima, a Chilean box office hit based on true events surrounding the pedophilia SCANDAL of a powerful Catholic priest. 9:15pm, HFFNY honors actor Enrique Molina, a longtime friend, with the U.S. premiere of La cosa humana / The Human Thing in which the actor plays a boss mob turned antihero literary agent. Followed by Q&A with director Gerardo Chijona. Presented in association with Tribeca Film Festival.

Highlights of HFFNY 2016 include the world premieres of La Ballerine, by Miguel Rueda- an animated short inspired by an urban legend of a ghost sighting at the Elizabeth Theater in New Jersey and La rueda de la vida / The Wheel of Life by Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider, which follows one of the founders of Casino- the Cuban dance that launched salsa.

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