Panama, March 30, 2025 - The Ministry of Culture welcomed the award of the 2024 National Cortometrics Competition, an event that aims to promote and strengthen the Panamanian film industry.

The initiative, organized by the National Cinema Office, awarded a total of $80,000 in prizes distributed into three categories: fiction, animation and documentary.

The contest, which had its first edition this year, was created by Executive Decree No. 3 of May 23, 2024 and established that it will be held every year. with a significant participation of national audiovisual creators, competition allowed to highlight the emerging and established talent of the country.

In the category Animation short film production, the winner was:

• "La Capería" by Laureano Moran.

For the category production of documentary short films, the projects awarded were:

• "The Nicolás pacheco School" by Abraham Hidalgo.
• "The Guardian of Water" by Nayelis Miranda.
• "Pepas & Gitter" by Ricardo Connolly.
• "More than a Pearl" by Ana Laura Samaniego.
• "The Art We Saved Life" by Elmer González.

In the production category Fictional short film, the winners were:

• "MP3" by Javier Nicanor Mendieta.
• Helen Miranda's "The Missing Flowers."
• Carmen Halphen's "Children's Game."
• "Roots" from Bianca Abril.
• "Mira Rejo" by Miguel Batista.

The award ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister Arianne Benedetti, National Director of Cinema Sheila González and representatives of film associations such as Procinema, Associne and Redcrea.

The projects were evaluated by a jury of leading industry professionals, such as production company Alejandra Vargas Carballo, production company and production company Diego Cañizal and director and writers Rossana Díaz Costa. Each of them emphasized the quality and creativity of the production production, and emphasized the potential of Panamanian cinema on the international stage.

The Ministry of Culture announced that the next call for the 2025 National Cortometry Competition will be apprised and will encourage national filmmakers to continue to develop innovative and high-impact projects.