Últimos días en La Habana / Last Days in Havana by Cuban director Fernando Pérez was the top winner at 18th edition of the Havana Film Festival in New York taking home the Havana Star Prize for Best Feature. In Pérez's film, Miguel dreams of fleeing to New York, waiting for a visa that doesn’t arrive. Diego dreams of living. Debilitated by AIDS, he exudes all his energy from the bed of the plot where he lives. A gallery of suggestive characters surrounds the couple of friends. When a surprise visa arrives, the destination will put everyone before an unusual decision.
The award for Best Director was presented to Dominican filmmaker José María Cabral for his film Woodpeckers / Carpinteros, while the Uruguayan-Argentinean co-production The Candidate / El candidato by Daniel Hendler was the winner of the Best Screenplay award. A Special Jury Mention was presented to the documentary film Jeffrey by Dominican director Yanillys Perez. Jorge Martinez and Isabel Santos, protagonists of the Cuban film Not Like Before / Ya no es antes by Lester Hamlet were the winners of the Best Actor and Best Actress awards respectively.
