New York, United States.- Four Cuban fiction movies will be competing at the Havana Film Festival of New York that will also dedicate special sessions to screen anthological films and recent productions of the island.

‘The Extraordinary Voyage of Celeste Garcia’ (2018), one of the films competing for the Havana Star Prize, has been chosen for the opening gala next April 9 at the SVA Theater. The movie that marks Arturo Infante’s debut as filmmaker is a hilarious tale of a retired teacher who leaves her job at the Havana Planetarium in search of a new life among aliens.

‘Nest of Mantis’ (2018), of Arturo Sotto, is another Cuban film that will be competing at the New York City festival.

The Sotto’s work goes back to 1994 Cuba, at times of economic and international political tension. At a small town a young lady is charged with murder and in a desperate attempt to prove her innocence she ends up involved in a stormy web of love, jealousy and betrayal.

‘Innocence’ (2018), of Alejandro Gil, is also in competition. The film recreates a historical event in Cuba: the sentencing to death of eight medicine students in 1870 during the Spanish colonial rule in the island.

The fourth film in competition is ‘The Return’ (2018). It is a police thriller, the first work of Cuban actress Blanca Rosa Blanco. It entertains a complex plot of love, mystery and courage.