Rafi Mercado

The 19th Havana Film Festival NY announced theHavana Star Prize Winners during its Closing Night Ceremony at the New York Directors Guild Theatre in Manhattan. Joaquim by Marcelo Gomes (Brazil) won the Havana Star Prize for Best Feature as well as Best Director. Best Screenplay went to Ernesto Daranas and Martha Daranas for Sergio & Sergei (Cuba), Best Actor to Argentinean marvel Miguel Solá for The Last Suit (El Último Traje), and Best Actress to Antonia Zegers for Los Perros (Chile). Special Jury Mentions went to feature film The Desert Bride by Valeria Pivato and Cecilia Atan (Argentina) and to the documentary Severo Secreto by Cuban filmmakers Gustavo Perez and Oneyda Gonzalez. Best Documentary went to Filiberto directed by Freddie Marrero (Puerto Rico). The jury in the fiction category included director Rafi Mercado, actors Laura Gomez and Sebastian Ospina, while the jury in the documentary category consisted of Cuban film critic Luciano Castillo and director Julian Troksberg.