The Havana Film Festival in New York, which celebrates its 26th anniversary this year, will begin next May 1 with more than 30 films from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Latinos in the United States, featuring the opening presentation of the political thriller Aún es de noche en Caracas.

A total of 19 of these films, in the categories of fiction and documentary, are competing for the Havana Star Prize, alongside a selection from Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, and Colombia that explores migration, memory, and identity, complemented by discussion forums, according to a press release.

The release highlights that the festival brings the best of Latin American cinema to New York during a week of powerful stories, unforgettable talent, and a dynamic cultural exchange, starting this Friday with the film by Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugás, based on the novel La hija de la española by Karina Sainz Borgo, which portrays a vision of Venezuela through its crisis.

The film is co-produced by Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramírez, who has a career in Hollywood (Che, 2008 or Emilia Pérez, 2003) and also appears in a supporting role in the film.

The festival will pay tribute to the late Argentine novelist, playwright, poet, and film director Manuel Antín (1926-2024) with the screening of the recently restored Circe (1964), based on a short story by the Argentine author Julio Cortázar (1914-1984).

This year's program seeks not only to present some of the most relevant and award-winning films but also to open spaces for dialogue. Programs such as 'Cinema of Belonging' and 'Jewish Stories from Latin America' bring together stories from filmmakers of Jewish heritage from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, and Latino-Jewish communities in the US, reflecting on identity, memory, and belonging, stated Diana Vargas, the festival's artistic director, in the release.

Likewise, she added that Ella en el lente (Her through the Lens) proposes, through female directors and women's stories, an urgent conversation about the feminine—that which defines us, questions us, and also assaults us.

The Havana Star Awards, which have been granted since 2010 and recognize Best Film, Direction, Screenplay, Documentary, Actress, and Actor, will be announced on the closing night, May 7, when the event concludes with My Cuban Dream, which celebrates dance, resilience, and the legacy of the Lizt Alfonso Dance Company of Cuba.