IFF Panama's Primera Mirada Fund Selects Four Finalists for 10th Edition

The International Film Festival of Panama (IFF Panama) announced the four finalists for its Primera Mirada fund in its 10th edition. The fund received 13 submissions, from which the finalists were selected by industry coordinator Cat Caballero and festival executive director Karla Quintero.

The projects will be screened in invitation-only sessions on April 10-11, allowing participants to meet with the jury.

The jury consists of Carlos Gutierrez, co-founder and executive director of Cinema Tropical; David Hernandez Palmar, a Colombian Indigenous filmmaker and programmer; and Kerry Swanson, executive director of Canada's Indigenous Screen Office. Cat Caballero stated that the selections reflect themes of introspection and identity. She noted a common thread related to human limits.

The finalists include two documentaries and two narrative films.

, is an intimate documentary following a young woman navigating memory, identity, and emotional inheritance within her family. -based Rada Studio, and is currently in the editing phase. Yangüez described it as an immersive experience where memory and emotion shape the narrative structure, moving between the intimate and the collective.

The second documentary, "The Language of Water," addresses Indigenous identity and language in Venezuela. It follows Jofris, the last speaker of the Añuu language from the Sinamaica Lagoon community. The project highlights a language on the verge of extinction.

"Love is the Monster" ("El amor es el monstruo"), directed by Neto Villalobos from Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Chile, and Mexico, is a dystopian thriller with an all-female cast. It follows a grandmother's mission to rescue her kidnapped granddaughter.

The film stars Paulina García, known for "Gloria," and is a co-production involving Expansiva Cine (Panama), Chile's Clara Films, and Mexico's Liminal Estudio.

" Villalobos described it as a slow-burning exploration of love, despair, and moral limits.

supports socially engaged, auteur-driven cinema through funding and international co-production opportunities.

The program focuses on projects from Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Caballero noted that "Cuscú" addresses Afro-descendant identity in Panama, including topics like racism and curly hair, amid ongoing school conflicts involving students with afro hairstyles.

> "There’s a strong sense of introspection and identity – there’s even something symbolic, like seeing it through something as simple as a grain of wheat.

" — Cat Caballero (Variety) The winner will receive $15,000, to be announced at the festival's closing ceremony on April 12. This edition underscores ongoing discussions on identity in the region, affecting filmmakers, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, and cultural preservation efforts. Future editions may continue to highlight such themes based on submission trends.