HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 10. The Cuban film ‘Boleto al paraiso’ (Ticket to Paradise), by filmmaker Gerardo Chijona, has been nominated for the 26th Goya Awards in the category of Best Ibero American Film.

Inspired by the book ‘Sida: confesiones a un medico’ (AIDS: Confessions to a Physician) by Jorge Perez, the story narrates the journey of a young adolescent from her provincial hometown to Havana, during which she falls in love and gets infected with HIV.

The movie won the People’s Award of the 33rd International Festival of New Latin American Cinema of Havana in 2011, and it has received eight different awards in festivals in Europe, the United States, and Latin America.

Its cast includes Jorge Perugorría (Strawberry and Chocolate), Alberto Pujol, Ariadna Nuñez, Blanca Rosa Blanco, Hector Medina and Saray Vargas, among others.

The other movies competing for Best Ibero American Film are ‘Miss Bala’, by Gerardo Naranjo (Mexico); ‘Un cuento chino’, by Sebastian Borensztein (Argentina) and ‘Violeta se fue a los cielos’, by Andres Wood (Chile).

Pedro Almodovar’s most recent film ‘La piel que habito’ (The Skin I live in), is the front runner for the Goya Awards this year with a total of 16 nominations, closely followed by ‘No habrá paz para los malvados’ by Enrique Urbizu, with 14 nominations.

The Goya Awards will be announced next February in Madrid. (acn)