Havana Film Festival New York
The Havana Film Festival New York (HFFNY) celebrates excellence in Latin American cinema. It partners with Havana, Cuba’s International Festival of New Latin American Cinema to showcase Latin filmmakers and films.
The Festival screens premieres and retrospectives, and presents panels and Q&As where fans can speak with filmmakers. It is produced by the American Friends of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba (AFLFC).
Fiction and Documentary winners are awarded the Havana Star Prize.
Many of the films are in Spanish with English subtitles.
19th Havana Film Festival 2018
The Festival is at AMC Loews 34th St and other venues in Manhattan, Queens, and The Bronx from April 6 – 17, 2018. The Festival’s opening night celebration is Wednesday, April 11.
Opening Night
Sergio y Sergei (Cuban, 2017)
Directed by Ernesto Daranas Serrano
AMC Loews 34th St 14
Chelsea, Manhattan
Wednesday, April 11 at 6 pm
Q&A with the director
Closing Night
Cuban Food Stories (2018 documentary)
Directed by Asori Soto
Directors Guild Theatre
Midtown, Manhattan
Tuesday, April 17 at 6:30 pm
Followed by a closing night party at 9:30 pm
Havana Film Festival 2018 Films
Fourteen films compete for the Havana Star Prize.
Argentine Film
- La novia del desierto (The Desert Bride)
- El último traje (The Last Suit)
- Ata tu arado a una estrella (Tie your Plow to a Star)
Brazilian Film
- O gata de havana (The Cat from Havana)
- Joaquim
Chilean Film
- Los Perros (The Dogs)
Colombian Film
Mata a Jesus (Killing Jesus, 2017)
Directed by Laura Mora.
Screening at AMC Loews 34th St:
- April 12 at 1 pm
- April 16 at 7 pm, director Laura Mora present for Q&A
Cuban Films
- Los Buenos Demonios (The Good Demons)
- Sergio y Sergei
- Severo Secreto
Paraguayan Film
- Los Buscadores (The Gold Seekers)
Puerto Rican Film
Filiberto (2017, documentary)
Director Freddie Marrero Alfonso tells the story of Puerto Rican independence fighter Filiberto Ojeda Ríos.
AMC Loews 34th St
- April 13 at 1 pm
- April 14 at 2:25 pm. Q&A with the director
Spanish Film
Indestructible, el alma de la Salsa (Indestructible, the Soul of Salsa, 2017 documentary)
Directed by David Pareja.
Spanish Flamenco legend Diego el Cigala pays tribute to the tropical music that is a little bit of all of us, la Salsa.
AMC Loews 34th St
- Wednesday, April 11 at 3:40 pm
- Friday, April 13 at 6:50 pm. Q&A with the director.
United States Film
- BX3M
Havana Film Festival 2018 Tributes
Senel Paz
Senel Paz is a Cuban screenwriter. He wrote El lobo, el bosque y el hombre nuevo (The Wolf, the Forest, and the New Man) which he later adapted as Fresa y chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate).
Paz is considered to be one of the best Latin American teachers of cinema. He currently lives and works in Havana.
Paz will be present at these screenings:
- Tire Die (Throw me a Dime)
Martin E. Segal Theatre Center
Monday, April 11 at 4 pm
Free - Una Novia Para David (A Girlfriend for David)
Columbia University International Affairs Building
Wednesday, April 13 at 5 pm
Free - Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate)
AMC Loews 34th St
Thursday, April 14 at 4:30 pm
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea was a Cuban filmmaker (Havana, 1928 – 1996). He worked with the revolutionary regime and is considered to be Cuba’s best director.
Gutiérrez Alea is remembered for Memories of Underdevelopment and Strawberry and Chocolate.
Memories of Underdevelopment (1968) was about an intellectual trying to fit into post-revolutionary Cuba.
Strawberry and Chocolate (1993) was the first Cuban film in which the main character was openly gay. It was nominated for a 1995 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and did well internationally.
The Festival is screening:
- Una pelea Cubana contra los demonios (A Cuban fight against the demons, 1972)
AMC Loews 34th St
Friday, April 13 at 4:20 pm - Los sobrevivientes (The Survivors, 1979)
Museum of the Moving Image
Sunday, April 8 at 2 pm - Fresa y chocolate (1993)
Q&A with Senel Paz, Mirtha Ibarra and Jorge Perugorria
AMC Loews 34th St
April 14 at 4:30 pm
Fernando Birri
Fernando Birri (Santa Fe, Argentina, 1925 ~ Rome, Italy, 2017) was an Argentine filmmaker who is considered the father of new Latin American Cinema.
He learned his craft in Rome, Italy in the 1950s. Birri then founded the Documentary School of Santa Fe which schooled many Latin American filmmakers in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1986, Birri founded the International School of Film and Television in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba.
He is remembered for La primera fundación de Buenos Aires (1959), Tire dié (Toss Me a Dime, 1960) and Los inundados (Flooded Out, 1962).
Havana Film Festival 2018 Juries
Fiction Jury
Laura Gómez
Dominican – American TV, Film, Stage and Voice Actress-Director
Rafi Mercado
Puerto Rican, production and costume Designer – Director – Producer
Sebastian Ospina
Colombian theater and film Actor – Screenwriter
Documentary Jury
Julián Troksberg
Argentine Director – Screenwriter – Writer
Luciano Castillo
Cuban Film Critic
Havana Film Festival 2018 Tickets
Single films: $15
Seniors/Students: $10
Pricing may vary by venue.
Festival Passes
- All Access (adds parties): $350
- Festival Pass: $175
- Weekday Pass (Monday – Friday daytime screenings): $50
Havana Film Festival 2018 Venues
The 2018 Havana Film Festival is in Manhattan, Queens, and The Bronx.
AMC Loews 34th St
312 West 34th St, New York, NY 10001
Chelsea, Manhattan
Bronx Museum of the Arts
1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10456
Fleetwood – Concourse Village, The Bronx
Columbia University International Affairs Building
420 West 118th St, New York, NY 10027
Morningside Heights, Manhattan
Directors Guild Theatre
110 West 57th St, New York, NY 10019
Midtown, Manhattan
King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center (NYU)
53 Washington Square S, New York, NY 10012
Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Martin E. Segal Theatre Center
The Graduate Center, CUNY
365 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10016
Murray Hill, Manhattan
Museum of the Moving Image
36-01 35th Ave, Queens, NY 11106
Astoria, Queens
SVA Amphitheater
209 East 23rd St, New York, NY 10010
Chelsea, Manhattan
For more information, visit www.hffny.com