Hollywood
18th Latin American films to compete in Havana Filmfest in New York
NEW DELHI: Eighteen films will be competing to receive the Havana Star Prize for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay, as well as the Havana Star Prize for Best Documentary at the 16th Havana Film Festival in New York
The awards will be announced at the festival’s Closing Night Ceremony on 17 April at the Directors Guild Theatre. The Festival commences from 9 April.
Prominent members of Latino culture and film industry will choose the winning films. In the fiction category, the jury includes director and screenwriter Alberto Ferreras (HBO’s Habla series, Que Viva la Musica); film producer and director of Festival International del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de la Habana Ivan Giroud; and actress and singer Cristina Morrison.
In the documentary category, the jury will include director and producer Catherine Murphy (Maestra); director and cinematographer German Gutierrez (Coca-Cola Case, Who Shot my Brother) and Assistant Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Fairfield University, Michelle Farell.
The films in competition come from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Many of the filmmakers will be in New York to present their films. A majority of the films will have their American premieres at the Festival.
The films competing for the Havana Star Prize in Fiction are: Refugiado (Diego Lerman, Argentina); Road 47 (Vicente Ferraz, Brazil), Natural Disasters (Bernardo Quesney, Chile), Wasting Time (Alexander Giraldo, Colombia),Boccacio in Havana (Arturo Sotto, Cuba), The Wall Of Words (Fernando Perez, Cuba); His Wedding Dress (Marilyn Solaya, Cuba); Venice (Kiki Alvarez, Cuba – Colombia); Open Cage (Maximiliano Zunino, Mexico); and Kaplan (Alvaro Brencher, Uruguay).
The documentary films competing for the Havana Star Prize in Documentary are: A Matter of Land (Patricia Ayala, Colombia); Omara: Cuba (Lester Hamlet, Cuba); Another Island (Heidi Hassan, Cuba – Switzerland); You and Me (Natalia Cabral and Oriol Estrada, Dominican Republic); All of Me (Arturo Gonzalez Villasenor, Mexico); The Troublemaker, Behind the Scenes of the United Nations (Roberto Salinas, Nicaragua – US – Italy); Havana Curveball (Marcia Jarmel & Ken Schneider, US – Cuba); and The Silence Of The Flies (Eliezer Arias, Venezuela).
HFFNY is made possible with public funds from the NYS Council on the Arts, a state agency, and supported, in part, by public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.
The Havana Film Festival New York is a project of American Friends of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba (AFLFC), a non-profit organization that builds cultural bridges between the U.S. and Cuba through programmes in the arts.
Hollywood
Disney to cut 1,000 jobs in major restructuring drive
Layoffs span ESPN, studios and tech as company pivots to growth
MUMBAI: The magic isn’t disappearing but it is being reorganised. The Walt Disney Company has announced plans to cut around 1,000 jobs as part of a sweeping restructuring effort aimed at sharpening its edge in an increasingly unpredictable entertainment landscape. The move, led by CEO Josh D’Amaro, reflects a broader internal reset as the company rethinks how it operates, allocates resources and competes in a fast-evolving industry. In a memo to employees, D’Amaro acknowledged the difficulty of the decision but framed it as a necessary step to ensure Disney remains “efficient, innovative, and responsive” to rapid shifts in consumer behaviour and technology.
The layoffs will span multiple divisions, including marketing, film and television studios, ESPN, technology teams and corporate functions. Notifications have already begun, signalling that the restructuring is not a distant plan but an active transition underway.
Importantly, the company has clarified that the cuts are not performance-driven. Instead, they form part of a wider transformation strategy aimed at building a leaner, more agile organisation, one better equipped to respond to streaming dynamics, digital disruption and evolving audience expectations.
The timing is telling. The global entertainment industry is in the middle of a structural shift, with traditional television revenues under pressure and box office returns becoming increasingly volatile. Meanwhile, streaming platforms and digital-first competitors continue to redraw the rules of engagement, forcing legacy players to rethink scale, speed and storytelling formats.
For Disney, long synonymous with blockbuster franchises and timeless storytelling, the pivot is both strategic and symbolic. The company is doubling down on technology, direct-to-consumer services and content ecosystems that align with modern viewing habits, where audiences expect immediacy, personalisation and cross-platform experiences.
Even as the restructuring unfolds, D’Amaro struck a note of optimism, reiterating Disney’s commitment to creativity and long-term growth. Support measures for affected employees are expected as part of the transition, though details remain limited.
In essence, this is less about cutting back and more about reshaping forward. As Disney redraws its organisational map, the message is clear, in today’s entertainment world, even the most magical kingdoms must evolve or risk being left behind.
