HFFNY Announces The Line-Up Of 16 Films Competing To Receive The Havana Star Prize 2019

By: Stephi Wild Mar. 10, 2019

The Havana Film Festival NY (www.HFFNY.com), project of The American Friends of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba (AFLFC), announced the sixteen films competing to receive the Havana Star Prize for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Documentary, which will be awarded on Monday, April 15 at the AMC Loews 34th Street, 7:30 pm. The Festival takes place April 5-16 in venues throughout the city, including Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. All foreign language films are subtitled in English.

The 16 selected films reflect three necessary trends in contemporary filmmaking: "The first is a new twist on the classic coming-of-age story, wherein young adults IN SEARCH OF their own identity begin to question the social and cultural stereotypes that defined their childhood and continue to structure their environment, be it within an indigenous community or societies guided by machismo and racism," says Artistic Director Diana Vargas, "the second is an attempt to reconcile current anxieties with the injustices of the past, leading filmmakers to call for a more TRANSPARENT social and political future. Lastly, the program is a celebration of the female directors who, from behind the camera, are carving out a space for their own often overlooked stories of resilience and determination, as well as those of future generations."

The 16 films selected come from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Spain, and the United States, and four of them from a first-time filmmaker. Many of these filmmakers will be in New York to present their films.

HFFNY Venues
ID Studio at the Bronx: April 5
The NY Institute of Technology: April 6 & 8
Museum of the Moving Image: April 7 & 14
SVA Theatre: April 9
AMC Lodews at 34th St: April 10-15
DGA: April 16

This year HFFNY turns 20, MAKING IT the longest-running and most established festival celebrating Latin American cinema in the New York tri-state area. HFFNY 2019 will run April 9-16 with special events April 5-8, featuring award-winning films from Cuba and Latin America, many World, US, and NY premieres, accompanied by panel discussions, Q&A sessions, and other special events hosted by leading figures in Latin American cinema.

20th Havana Film Festival New York (HFFNY) showcases the diversity of Latino voices and stories in a program that includes over 35 films. This year, HFFNY pays homage to one of Cuba's most celebrated storytellers, Fernando Pérez, with screenings of his most seminal works plus a special centerpiece presentation of his newest historical drama, INSUMISAS. The Festival furthermore remembers late Cuban director Rigoberto López with a showing of his classic YO SOY DEL SON A LA SALSA, treats NYC to the history of the city of Havana with a cinematic retrospective focused on the vibrant capital's architecture in honor of its 500th anniversary. Also included in the Festival's 20th anniversary is a program of shorts in cross-Caribbean conversation, featuring voices from New Yorkers in Havana, and Latinos in NYC.

HFFNY 2019 sponsors are: El Diario NY, Remezcla, ID Studio, New York Institute of Technology, the National Arts Club, the Copacabana Times Square, Aguijón Films, DGCine, Funglode, the Consulate General of Argentina in New York, Barceló, Café la Llave, Havana Music Tours, the American Chai Foundation, the Consulate General of Peru, Publimax, Bach Media, and IKAIKAKI Productions. HFFNY is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the Honorable Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York State legislators and supported, in part, by public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in collaboration with the City Council.

The Havana Film Festival New York is a project of American Friends of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba (AFLFC), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization building cultural bridges between the U.S. and Cuba through programs in the arts.

For more information on the Havana Film Festival New York, including its full schedule and list of venues, visit www.HFFNY.com.

Comments

To post a comment, you must register and login.

Videos


News on your favorite shows, specials & more!