Havana Film Festival

The Havana Film Festival New York (HFFNY) is an internationally recognized film festival celebrating Latin American cinema. In its 24th anniversary the Festival features over 30 films that demonstrate the richness of Latin American culture and its effects on global filmmaking, including NY, US and World Premieres of contemporary cinema from the region; award-winning documentaries that explore iconic Latinx literary, cinematic, and musical figures; and retrospectives of remastered classic films that have left an indelible mark on cinematic production around the world. Special events include panels on alternative film markets and indie filmmaking in the U.S. and Latin America, presentations and masterclasses by some of Latin America’s most celebrated artistic figures, roundtable discussions with industry professionals, networking receptions, parties, and more!

Schedule of Events:

1:00 PM - 3:10 PM: Los Sobrevivientes / The Survivors

Part of Laughing through Rebellion: The Cine Libre of Tomás Gutiérrez Alea

A showcase of six iconic films, newly restored by the Academy Film Archive and presented in collaboration with the Cohen Film Collection

Film is subtitled in English and will be preceded by an introduction by Luciano Castillo, Director of the Cuban Film Archive (Cinemateca de Cuba)

Los Sobrevivientes / The Survivors
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea | Cuba | Fiction | 1979 | 130 min

A bourgeois Cuban family of aristocratic origin locks itself into its mansion when the Cuban Revolution comes to power, waiting for the new regime to be overthrown. As time passes, they regress to older and older systems of political order, from capitalism to feudalism to “primitive savagery.”

3:30 PM - 5:15 PM: Retorno
Blanca Rosa Blanco |Cuba | Documentary | 2023 | 52 min | US Premiere

Followed by a Q&A with director Blanca Rosa Blanco

The documentary delves into the origins of the Fiesta de los Indianos, celebrated on the Island of La Palma, Spain. Through invaluable testimonies, it narrates the significance of the immigration of the island's population to Cuba from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Over the years, the Fiesta de los Indianos has evolved into a cultural and tourist phenomenon, attracting up to 80,000 participants in Santa Cruz de la Palma.

4:50 PM - 6:50 PM: Memento Mori
Fernando López Cardona | Colombia-Germany | Fiction | 2023  | 112 min | NY Premiere

A fisherman discovers the body of a headless man in the Magdalena River and bury it the cemetery as N.N. (John Doe), like others that have been found. In the port, people have started to adopt this corpses, they take the dead with no name as if they were their own, so they can replace the grief they feel for their own missing relatives. However, the "headless man" generates fear among the locals. The Animero, the man who takes care of the souls in the cemetery, approaches the crypt, he prays to him and marks the grave with the word: "Chosen". Only he, the great oracle, dares to adopt the beheaded man with the promise from him will find the head and return dignity to the body. It's a covenant that will take him to deep hell.

7:00 PM - 8:50 PM: La Hija De Lázaro / Lazaro’s Daughter
Gustavo Fallas | Costa Rica-Spain | Fiction | 2023| 90 min | NY Premiere

Followed by a Q&A with director Gustavo Fallas

Costa Rican journalist Ana Casasola investigates her father's death in a terrorist attack. Following a potential witness, Ana travels to the location near the Nicaraguan border. There, she discovers personal significance in this mysterious man.

9:00 PM - 10:45 PM: Transfariana
Joris Lachaise | Colombia - France | Documentary | 100 min | US Premiere

In a high-security prison south of Bogotá, the marriage of a FARC leader to a former transgender sex worker first caused a scandal and then led to a shift in opinion. The film seeks the signs that precede the changes in society.

Buy Tickets