The 17th Havana Film Festival New York (April 7-15) presents an exceptional program in celebration of the diversity of voices in Cuban and Latin American cinema, featuring stories that challenge and inspire us- expanding our perspectives. Festival highlights include a tribute to critically-acclaimed and publicly-adored Cuban actors Isabel Santos and Enrique Molina; a retrospective commemorating the 20th anniversary of the passing of Tomás Gutiérrez Alea; panels on filmmaking and acting in Cuba; and World, US, and NY premieres of award-winning features by prominent and emerging cinema visionaries from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and US-based Latinos. Thursday, April 7 HFFNY 2016 opens at the Directors Guild Theater with El acompañante / The Companion , the darling of this year’s festival circuit by renowned Cuban director Pavel Giroud (La edad de peseta). April 8-14, screenings take place in Manhattan at the Village East Cinema (2nd Avenue & 12 Street), HFFNY 2016’s main venue, as well as at the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center at NYU and the Instituto Cervantes, and In Queens, at the Museum of the Moving Image. April 15, the festival closes with Oscar-winner Bob Yari’s Papa: Hemingway in Cuba, the first Hollywood film shot in Cuba since 1959 For more information on tickets and films, please visit www.HFFNY.com.

5:00 PM IN MEMORY: CELEBRATING TOMAS GUTIERREZ ALEA’S LEGACY

EL ARTE DEL TABACO/THE ART OF CIGARS (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Cuba, 1974, Doc, 7 min)

TITON, DE LA HABANA A LA GUANTANAMERA (Mirtha Ibarra, Cuba, 2008, Doc, 17 min)

Followed by book presentation: La Biblia del Cinéfilo / A Cinephiles’s Bible. The newest book by film critic and Cuban Film Archives Director, Luciano Castillo. Presented by Michelle Farrell.

7:00 PM PANEL: SHOOTING IN CUBA

In light of the reestablishment of diplomatic ties, US-based filmmakers share their experiences while filming in Cuba. Participants: Bob Yari, director of “PAPA”, NYC-based Cuban director Asori Soto, and Catherine Murphy, American filmmaker, activist, and educator.

Check http://www.hffny.com for more information.

Co-sponsored by Havana Film Festival New York.