Screen International invites you to a virtual FYC screening for the film Plaza Catedral

Official submission | Panama

This screening is open to awards voters and industry professionals and will be available for 24 hours after the start time.

Plaza Catedral (Panama) – Dec 3, 3pm UK time

Panama’s Oscar entry has already been beset by tragedy; the film’s lead actor Fernando Xavier de Casta was killed earlier this year, aged just 15, in reported gang violence. In a haunting echo, Plaza Catedral centres on a woman who, while mourning the loss of her 13-year-old son in an accident, has her life turned upside down when teenager Chief (de Casta) asks her help after being shot in street conflict.

De Casta and Ilse Salas won the best actor and actress awards at Guadalajara Film Festival, where the film debuted in October 2021. Benaim represents Panama for the third time on the Oscar stage, after Ruben Blades Is Not My Name for the 2019 awards and Invasion, the country’s first entry, for 2015.