Films from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico,  U.S.  will honor the rich diversity of cultures, languages and stories of The Americas

Screenings and panels are free and open to the public

 

All foreign language films are subtitled in English

 

New York, June 10, 2015-- The second edition of The Americas Film Festival of New York (TAFFNY), June 22-26, 2015, showcases feature films in fiction and documentary as well as shorts and animations that represent the rich diversity of cultures, languages and stories of the Americas.  The Festival begins Monday June 22nd, 6:30pm, at the Instituto Cervantes with the New York premiere of box office hit Ocho Apellidos Vascos (Spanish Affair) directed by Emilio Martinez Lázaro.  The evening wraps up with a cocktail reception at the courtyard of Instituto Cervantes (211 East 49th Street, bet. 2& 3 Aves.)

 

About the festival, Dr. Juan Carlos Mercado, Dean of CWE, explains: “Last year the Americas Film Festival of New York (TAFFNY) was an extraordinary success. TAFFNY aims to create a new culture of cinematography appreciation by providing a dynamic space for the public and artists to meet, reflect on multiculturalism and diversity in our society, while promoting the work of new and emerging filmmakers. This year TAFFNY has added more venues and days and, as last year, we will have the short films competition in four categories with a record of movies participants.”

 

Opening night film, Spanish Affair (Ocho Apellidos Vascos) is a comedy film that six weeks after its release became the second biggest box office hit ever in Spain (after Avatar).  The movie tells the story of Rafael, a Seville citizen who has never left the Spanish region of Andalucia and decides to follow to the Basque country Amaia, a Basque girl unlike other women he has known.

 

The festival closes on Friday June 26th, at 6pm with the awards ceremony of The Americas Short Films Competition at the National Museum of the American Indian, followed by the New York premiere of The Embargo Project, an anthology of five short films by Canadian Indigenous women. Participating in a collective process, each director created a film under restrictions imposed on them by their peers, to push each artist into new creative territory.

 

The Americas Panorama is an exciting program that will bring the richness of the cultures of The Americas through award winning films in fiction and documentary.  From Tuesday June 23 to Thursday June 25, more than 13 feature films, many of them in their NY and U.S premieres, will be present at the following venues: Auditorium of CWE (25 Broadway, 7th Floor), City College’s Aaron Davis Hall (160 Convent Ave. Bet 135-136 St.), Instituto Cervantes, at Shirley Fitterman Art Center at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), Floor 13th, 81 Barclay Street, NYU’s King Juan Carlos of Spain Center. The program is curated by film curator Diana Vargas.

 

The Americas Short Film Competition is exclusively dedicated to the promotion and exhibition of short-length audiovisual works by emerging filmmakers. The Festival’s competition will showcase films that will be both competitive and informative.  For more information and a complete schedule visit www.taffny.com

TAFFNY is a cultural project of the Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Center for Worker Education of City College of New York (CUNY), in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, The Instituto Cervantes NY, BMCC Borough of Manhattan Community College, the CCNY Division of Humanities and the Arts, The Frances S. Patai Program, M. A. in the Study of the Americas, QUEST Community for lifelong learning, The Rifkind Center for the Humanities and Arts and the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.

 

TAFFNY is made possible with the generous support of its sponsors: Telemundo, Goya, Santander, LUSTAU, Ines Rosales, Castillo de Canena, Despaña, Catalán Gourmet, Consulate General of Perú in New York, Consulate General of México in New York, Consulate General and Promotion Center of Argentine Republic New York, Consulate General of Spain in New York, NYU King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, GFDD FUNGLODE and Tortas de Aceite de Castilleja de la Cuesta.

 

For TAFFNY information and schedule visit www.taffny.com

For screeners, interviews with directors and photos in high resolution please contact Gabriela Vazquez and Sandra Perez at taffny11@gmail.com / 917-653-1015 or Elena Romero at eromero@ccny.cuny.edu.