Plaza Catedral

After the personal tragedy, 40-year-old Alicia lives an isolated life of desperation and grief. One evening she gets challenged by a teenage parking attendant, who works outside her apartment.

Alicia's perfect life is destroyed when her relationship falls apart after the death of her son. Despite her desperation, she makes brave choices that may cost her even more. Plaza Catedral depicts a Panama City of great contrasts, where one part of society lives in financial security behind heavily guarded doors, while the other part must fight to survive on the streets right outside those doors.

Socio-economic injustice meets great personal tragedy in Abner Benaim's powerful film, which is the first film from Panama shortlisted for the Oscars. The film is dedicated to all the victims of systemic problems, and shows great empathy for their broken dreams and ruined lives, something that sadly became even more relevant after the film’s star Fernando Xavier De Casta passed away after a shooting right before the film’s premiere.

Maka Dolidze

Director

Abner Benaim (1971) is a Panamanian film director, producer and screenwriter with a degree in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and film studies from the Camera Obscura film school in Tel Aviv. He debuted with documentaries, and films have been selected and nominated for awards at major international film festivals, among others the Berlinale and Sundance. His work depicts broad social problems through very personal and touching stories.

This film is part of