21st Havana Film Festival NY Announces Havana Star Prize Winners At Packed Closing Night Ceremony

The 21st Havana Film Festival NY announced the Havana Star Prize Winners during its Closing Night Ceremony at the Village East Cinema in Manhattan.

El Olvido Que Seremos by Fernando Trueba (Colombia) won the Havana Star Prize for Best Feature. Best Screenplay went to Ana Katz and Gonzalo Delgado for El Perro Que No Calla / The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet (Argentina); Best Director went to Ángeles Cruz (Nudo Mixteco, Mexico), Best Actor to Eduardo Cabrera for 1991 (Guatemala) and Best Actress to Gabriela Ramos for ¿Eres Tú, Papá? (United Kingdom). Best Documentary went to Cuban Dancer by Roberto Salinas (Chile). Special Jury Mentions went to feature film Las Mejores Familias by Javier Fuentes-León (Peru, Colombia) and A Media Voz / In A Whisper by Heidi Hassan and Patricia Pérez Fernández (Spain, France, Switzerland, Cuba). The jury in the documentary category included Spanish producer Marina Fernandez Ferri, professor of political science Joe Rollins and Cuban filmmaker and film critic Carlos Barba, and in the Fiction category included Cuban producer Ivonne Cotorruelo, Colombian animator/director Miguel Rueda and NY-based artist and filmmaker Willard Morgan.

"For a production of enormous dimensions rendered with the tropes of truly epic cinematic storytelling, we, the jury, agree to concede the Havana Star Prize for Best Film to El Olvido Que Seremos by Fernando Trueba" stated the jury when handing the prize to Trueba.

For Cuban Dancer, the jury stated, "For creating a polished, radiant story that is, indeed moving. The film shows us the beauty and power of bodies in motion, making art, through movement that transcends both time and space. The prize for best documentary goes to Roberto Salinas for Cuban Dancer."

A full house attended the Awards Presentation, followed by the New York premiere of Maixabel by director Iciar Bollaín (Spain), Irizar Award for Best Basque Film and SIGNIS Award winner at San Sebastián International Film Festival.

Detailed information of the winners is available at www.hffny.com.

The Havana Film Festival New York is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature and supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support provided by: New York University's King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, Ideal Glass Studios, Ron Barceló, Buenos Aires Restaurant, Baby Brasa, Amigos by Nai, Latin Culture New York, The National Arts Club, Consulate General of Peru in New York, Consulate General of Guatemala in New York, Consulate General of Spain in New York, Consulate General of Argentina in New York, Consulate of Colombia in New York, Publimax, Copacabana Bar & Grill, Ícaro Film Festival NY, Casa Comal, Dariobol, GioQuinche Graphics.

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 since the year 2000.