New York, NY (PRWEB) April 7, 2004
In its 5th edition, Havana Film Festival in New York (HFFNY) presents 40 films including U.S and N.Y. premieres in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx. HFFNY will showcase visions of Latin American culture through cutting edge narrative, documentary, short films and classics from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, all of which have English subtitles. Films by and about Latinos in the U.S. will also be featured this year. Festival attendees will have opportunities to attend panel discussions with directors, producers and actors and enjoy Latin American music from local and international talent at nightclubs including Babalú, Copacabana, Nell’s, China Club, Lotus, and SOB’s.
Thursday, April 22, HFFNY launches the week-long festivities by honoring Jacobo Morales at Hostos Center for Arts and Culture (450 Grand Concourse at 149th St. Bronx) with screenings of Linda Sara at 12:30 pm and Lo que le pasó a Santiago at 7 pm. There will be a reception at 5:30 pm and a discussion with the director following each screening. From April 23 to 29, screenings will be held at the Quad Cinema (34 W. 13 St.). Friday, April 23, the N.Y. premiere of Suite Habana opens the festival with screenings at 5 and 7 pm followed by A Havana Night Gala at Babalú (323 West 44 St.) with dinner and live music. Thursday, April 29, the festival closes with the N. Y. premiere of El Carro by Colombian director, Luis Orjuela at 7 pm followed by a closing night party. In Queens, classic Latin American films will be exhibited at the American Museum of the Moving Image (35th Ave at 36th St. Astoria).
Saturday, April 24 there is a reception at 5:30 pm and screening of Quilombo by Brazilian Director Carlos Diegues at 6:30 pm. A post-screening Brazilian Party at Clic (32-04 Broadway at 32nd St. Astoria) is hosted by Bavaria Beer at 9 pm. Sunday, April 25 a Cuban classic, Los Sobrevivientes by acclaimed Director Tomás Gutierrez Alea, screens at 6:30 pm. This year HFFNY celebrates the work of two influential filmmakers: Fernando Pérez and Jacobo Morales. Pérez, one of the most important directors and screenwriters working in cinema today, has astonished audiences worldwide with his innovative and enduring narratives and images.
Each film planned for the retrospective–Madagascar, Hello Hemingway, Omara, La Isla del Tesoro Azul (The Island of Blue Treasure), La Vida es Silbar (Life Is To Whistle), and his latest film, Suite Habana–is a testament to his unusual talent. Jacobo Morales is one of the most influential artists in Puerto Rico. After a successful career in Hollywood, he relocated to Puerto Rico, dedicating himself to the creation of a national film identity. He became a legend when his movie, Lo que le paso a Santiago (Whatever Happened to Santiago), was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film. A central goal of the festival is to showcase both new and classic films and, to that end, HFFNY will premiere features by: Miguel Coyula (Red Cockaroaches, Cuba); Rigoberto Lopez (Scent of Oak, Cuba); Alejandro Chomski (Today and Tomorrow, Argentina), selected to participate at Cannes Film festival’s prestigious program, “Un Certain Regard”; Marcel Sisniega (One or the Other, Mexico); Carlos Gerbase (Tolerance, Brazil); Jorge Furtado (The Man Who Copied, Brazil), awarded the Grand Coral for Best Actor (Lazaro Ramos) at the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana in 2003; Ignacio Ortiz (Bedtime Fairy Tales for Crocodiles, Mexico), winner of 7 Mexican Ariel Awards in 2002; and Elias Jimenez (The House In Front, Guatemala). HFFNY 2004 also provides a rare opportunity for audiences to see new and classic documentaries from and about Latin America, including The Supreme Uneasiness by Luis Ospina (Colombia), I don’t know what your eyes have done to me by Sergio Wolf and Lorena Muñoz (Argentina), winner of the Coral in Havana, and two seminal films by Fernando Birri, Throw a Dime and Flooded Out.
Finally, HFFNY 2004 will showcase several documentaries on Latin American music: I Am From Son to Salsa, Black Tears, and Cuba: Island of Music. Special guests at the festival include Sandra Bilicich, Fernando Birri, Alejandro Chomski, Miguel Coyula, Alejandro Fernandez, Elias Jimenez, Mercedes Jimenez, Pedro Jimenez, Gary Keys, Fernando Lopez, Rigoberto Lopez, Jacobo Morales, Luis Orjuela, Luis Ospina, Fernando Pérez, Patricia Riggen, and Sergio Wolf.Once again, The New York Times is the Presenting Sponsor of the Havana Film Festival in New York and NYS Council on the Arts (NYSCA) provided funding.
Co-sponsors include Babalu, Chatham Imports, Copacabana, Delta Airlines, Divane Restaurant, Heavy Light Digital, Hoy, Il Buco, L’Express, Marazul Charters,NBC-Telemundo, The National Arts Club, RockAmerica, Roger Smith Hotel, SOB’s, and Xael Charters.HFFNY is a project of American Friends of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba (AFLFC), a non-profit organization building cultural bridges between the U.S. and Cuba through exchange programs in the arts. The festival is chaired by Carole Rosenberg, President of AFLFC and coordinated by an executive committee, advisors, a small devoted staff and volunteers, as well as sponsors.For further info contact Diana Vargas, Public and Media Relations at 718-478-1015, and press@dianavargas.com
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