PANAMÁ
Director: Javier Izquierdo
Ecuador, 2019 | Spanish with English subtitles | 75 min | Rated PG
Q&A with director Javier Izquierdo, cinematographer Tomás Astudillo, and some of the members of the VLAFF Youth Jury: Watch on VLAFF’s Facebook
View IN-PERSON at The Cinematheque: Saturday, Aug 29, 7:00pm
Two Ecuadorian twenty-six-year-olds, former high school classmates, run into each other by coincidence in Panama City in 1985. They haven’t seen each other since their graduation and, although quite close at that time, have followed opposite paths: Esteban works as a banker in Ecuador and is there for business, not always legitimate. José Luis presents himself as a journalist, but is really living clandestinely while preparing a new militant action in Ecuador. Inspired by a true story.
Dos ecuatorianos de veintiséis años, ex compañeros de secundaria, se encuentran por coincidencia en la ciudad de Panamá en 1985. No se han visto desde su graduación y, aunque eran bastante cercanos en ese momento, han seguido caminos opuestos: Esteban trabaja como banquero en Ecuador y está ahí por negocios, que no son siempre legítimos. José Luis se presenta como periodista, pero en realidad es miembro del grupo guerrillero Alfaro Vive Carajo, viviendo clandestinamente mientras prepara una nueva acción en Ecuador: el secuestro de un banquero. Inspirado en una historia real.
Javier Izquierdo 
was born in Quito, Ecuador. He studied in several universities in Quito, as well as the Griffith Academy in Rome, and the ESCAC in Barcelona. He has worked as a scriptwriter, director, festival programmer and university professor. He wrote the Chilean short Una cama and the documentary Instantes de campaña, the latter of which premiered in Visions du Reel, 2015. His film, Un secreto en la caja (A Secret in the Box), a false documentary about the non-existent Ecuadorian writer Marcelo Chiriboga, won the FIPRESCI Jury prize at BAFICI in 2017. Panamá is his first fiction film.
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