MiCultura Highlights the development of Panama's film industry at Cultural and Technology Forum
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Panama, April 15, 2026. - During the Panel on Culture and Technology organized by the Dominican Republic Embassy in Panama, the Minister of Culture, María Eugenia Herrera, presented Panama's advances in strengthening the film industry, with 18 international production and an investment of $6.25 million during the first quarter of 2026. He also held a bilateral meeting with his Dominican counterpart, Roberto Salcedo.
During his intervention at the Forum, Herrera explained that the strategic integration between culture and technological tools allows to transform creative talent into an engine for sustainable economic development and direct employment generation into sectors such as hotels, transport and technical services.
The Minister emphasized that this development relies on a structural vision where technology operates as a bridge to democratization of access to cultural supply and to activate local content consumption.
) The impact of public policies such as an economic return or cashback incentive of up to 25% was emphasized as far as the competitiveness of the country as a destination for large production, as was the Fondo Cine of about $3 million an year for strengthening national production.
Herrera noted that these mechanisms, coupled with the work of the Panama Film Commission and the National Audiovisual and Cinematography Council, have generated the confidence necessary to attract foreign investment and reached a total of 32 production with an investment of 25 million dollars by 2025.
Finally, the Forum served as an analysis of the role of artificial intelligence and digital platforms in redefining editing and after production processes, tools that are currently being used in Panama to optimize resources and to expand creative capabilities.
Minister María Eugenia Herrera emphasized the opportunity to set up regional alliances with the Dominican Republic to promote co-production and exchange technical talent and to place the region as a unified and eligible offer to international festival markets such as Cannes, Toronto and San Sebastian.
The bilateral meeting established a work path linking common processes and objectives, enabling them to enrich their cultural agenda and an invitation to have Panama be the guest country at the International Book Fair at Santo Domingo in September 2026.
