After careful consideration of the fifteen selected fiction films, the jury concluded: “As jurors, we’ve been able to see filmmakers that are determined to tell their own stories and to define personal styles and aesthetics that made our job all the more interesting and challenging.”
More info.
Boleto al paraíso & Operation Peter Pan: Flying Back to Cuba winners of the
Havana Star Prize for Best Film & Best Documentary.
Fabian Hofman receives the Award for Best Director for Te extraño.
Best Screenplay Ex Aequo for Te extraño & Diana Cardozo for Viaje redondo.
Los colores de la montaña & Robatierra receive Special Jury Mentions.
The HFFNY enters its 12th year with a program of award-winning films, panel discussions, and Q&A sessions with distinguished international directors, actors, and producers.
Over 50 highly anticipated and influential films from 18 countries. They span a variety of genres and themes, ranging from comedy, thrillers, action, drama, documentaries and children’s tales.
HFFNY will also show film series from and about indigenous peoples from Guatemala (Mayans), Mexico (Totonacas, Tarahumaras), Colombia (Nascas) and Chile (Mapuches) and as well as films by and about gays and lesbians. More info.
OPENING NIGHT CEREMONY
Thursday, April 7th, at 6:30 pm
at NY Directors Guild Theatre
Private Screening by invitation only.
HFFNY is part of ¡Sí Cuba! Festival, a New York celebration of Cuban arts and culture. From March to June, fourteen New York institutions convene to celebrate the rich artistic vitality of Cuba with screenings of award-winning films; lively concerts of son, rumba, hip-hop, and more; intimate discussions with Cuban writers, musicians, and thinkers; dance performances, from the classical to contemporary; compelling visual art exhibitions; and much more.
For the complete line-up, please visit SiCuba.org.
Born in Havana in 1949, Chijona is a graduate of the University of Havana, where he majored in English and American literature. He worked in the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC) as a film critic and assistant director in fiction films, working with some of the most important directors of Cuban cinema. In 1984, he was promoted to directing documentaries, obtaining many awards in the most important festivals of the world. In 1992, he finished his first feature film: Adorable Lies, which he developed at the Sundance Institute by attending screenwriting and directing labs. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and was a finalist in the Camera d’Or in Cannes. His two following features, A paradise under the stars (1999) and Love by Mistake (2004), also premiered at Sundance. His works have received many awards in numerous national and international film festivals. He regularly offers screenwriting and directing workshops at the Cuban International Film School at San Antonio de los Baños.
BOLETO AL PARAÍSO / TICKET TO PARADISE
Gerardo Chijona. 2010.
Cuba/Spain/Venezuela. Drama. 88 min. NY Premiere
Film in Competition.
Eucine is a teenager running away from her father´s sexual abuse. On the road, she connects with Alejandro, a young boy who escapes to Havana after robbing a pharmacy. Together, they will search for a paradise that will change their lives.
FESTIVALS/AWARDS
Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival 2011, USA
32th International Festival of New Latin American Cinema 2010, Cuba.
TRIBUTE TO GERARDO CHIJONA
QUAD CINEMA, Friday April 8, 9:00 pm - Q&A with Director Buy Tickets
QUAD CINEMA, Saturday April 9, 1:00 pm - Q&A with Director Buy Tickets
A young man with dreams of becoming a screenwriter and film director seeks the attention of the beautiful Sissy by pretending to be a film director looking for a non-professional actress. Thus begins a relationship where the two act not as they really are but how they want to be.
FESTIVALS/AWARDS
Coral & Quijote Awards, XIII International Festival of New Latin American Cinema 1991, Cuba.
Best Direction & Script, Film, Radio & TV UNEAC Festival 1991, Cuba.
Colón de Oro (ex aequo), Huelva Iberoamerican Film Festival 1992, Cuba.
APCLAI Award to Best Script and Best Scenography, VII Trieste Latinoamerican Film Festival 1992, Italy.
TRIBUTE TO GERARDO CHIJONA
King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, Wednesday April 13, 7:30 pm - Q&A with Director - FREE & Open to the Public
KID CHOCOLATE
Gerardo Chijona. 1987.
Cuba. Documentary. 20 min.
A portrait of the famous Cuban boxer Kid Chocolate, Cuba’s first boxing world champion. Through interviews with him and people who met him the film reflects on his professional career as a sporting celebrity and other aspects of his life.
FESTIVALS/AWARDS
Special Mention, Latino Festival of New York 1789, USA.
Gold Mikeldi, Documentary and Short Film International Competition of Bilbao 1987, Spain.
Bronze Tatú, International Film Festival of Bahía 1987, Brasil.
Historic Award: Press Award, JIFAS in Annecy 1988, France.
TRIBUTE TO GERARDO CHIJONA
King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, Wednesday April 13, 7:30 pm - Q&A with Director - FREE & Open to the Public
PERFECTO AMOR EQUIVOCADO/ LOVE BY MISTAKE
Gerardo Chijona. 2004.
Cuba. Drama. 94 min.
As he approaches middle age, successful writer Julio del Toro’s peaceful life spins out of control when the women in his life begin to make decisions that talke his all of their lives in unexpected directions.
UNA VIDA PARA DOS / A LIFE FOR TWO
Gerardo Chijona. 1984.
Cuba. Documentary. 18 min.
A pair of internationalist veterans, united by a beautiful, strong, and emotional relationship for 56 years, retell their experiences during the fight against Fascism during the Spanish Civil War and World War Two.
FESTIVALS/AWARDS
Documentary Direction Award, UNEAC Film Festival 1985, Cuba.
Coral Award for Best Documentary, 6th Annual International Film of New Latin American Cinema 1984, Cuba.
TRIBUTE TO GERARDO CHIJONA
QUAD CINEMA, Monday April 11, 5:00 pm - U.S. Premiere Buy Tickets
CLOSING NIGHT CEREMONY HAVANA STAR PRIZE
DEL AMOR Y OTROS DEMONIOS/ OF LOVE AND OTHER DEMONS
Hilda Hidalgo. 2009.
Costa Rica/Colombia. Fiction. 97 min. NY Premiere.
Based on the eponymous novel by García Márquez, the film tells the story of Sierva María. When a rabid dog bites her, the bishop declares she is possessed and orders her exorcism, but the priest and the girl find themselves seduced by a demon more powerful than faith and reason.
FESTIVALS/AWARDS
Third Coral at Festival del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano, Cuba
Best Art Direction at Ceara Film Festival, Brazil
Costa Rica’s Submission for the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film 2010, U.S.A.
HILDA HIDALGO
Hilda Hidalgo (Costa Rica) graduated as director at the International Film and Television School in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba. She has written and directed half a dozen short films and documentaries and her films have been shown at film festivals in Turkey, Cuba, Cartagena, Amsterdam and San Francisco, among others. Together with producer Laura Pacheco, Hidalgo funded the Costa Rican based production company, Alicia Films, where she works as scriptwriter, director and producer.
NY Directors Guild Theater, Friday April 15, 8:00 pm - N.Y. Premiere
Closing Night Ceremony - Q&A with Director - Buy Tickets
