Anna Marie De La Fuente

2 weeks ago | variety.com | Anna Marie De La Fuente

Big changes are afoot in Panama’s film industry as a young, dynamic (and mostly female) team backed by its newish President José Raúl Mulino is spearheading new initiatives. Leading the charge is Vice Minister of Culture Arianne Benedetti, a filmmaker and former film commissioner for Panama who helped push for the country’s 2012 film law. “We’re focusing on improving incentives across the board – better incentives for infrastructure, labor, and even cash-back incentives,” said Benedetti.

3 weeks ago | variety.com | Anna Marie De La Fuente

Led by Ana Endara’s widely acclaimed feature debut “Beloved Tropic,” this year’s standouts vying for the Panama Film Festival’s (IFF Panama) Audience Award includes such gems as Guatemalan Jayro Bustamante’s latest opus, “Rita,” Mexico’s Sundance winner, “Sujo,” Berlinale Best Director winner Nelson Carlo de los Santos’ “Pepe,” a smattering of documentaries and more animated features such as “Olivia and the Clouds,” sign of a burgeoning interest in Central America for the genre.

3 weeks ago | variety.com | Anna Marie De La Fuente

In a bid to grab the attention of younger audiences, the 13th Panama International Film Festival (IFF Panama) has included a mélange of comedies, thrillers, animation and genre pics amid the docs, dramas and arthouse fare in its program. “We aim to engage and inspire younger generations to return to the cinema,” said Karla Quintero, who took over festival director duties last year from IFF Panama board president Pituka Ortega-Heilbron who has been focusing on her film projects.

3 weeks ago | variety.com | Anna Marie De La Fuente

Rio de Janeiro-based Habanero Film Sales has snapped up the worldwide sales rights to “The Panama Canal Treaties – Son of Tiger & Mule” (“Hijo de Tigre y Mula”) in advance of its special screening at the Panama International Film Festival (IFF Panama). The topical documentary has been doing gangbusters at the local box office since its theatrical release on March 13, now among the top four highest-grossing films in Panama.

1 month ago | variety.com | Anna Marie De La Fuente

In an exclusive interview with Variety, bestselling author Harlan Coben sat down alongside director-showrunner Miguel Cohan (“No Return”) to drill down on the first Latin American Netflix adaptation of one of his multiple novels, “Caught,” (“Atrapados”). Speaking on Zoom from Buenos Aires, Coben was full of praise for the work Cohan and his team had done on the mini-series adaptation for Netflix, set to debut worldwide on March 26.