Apr 13, 2026 – 12:16 p.m. m.
This Sunday, April 12, at the closing gala of the Panama International Film Festival (IFF Panama)the Panamanian filmmaker Abner Benaim took the Audience Award for his documentary Tropical Paradisea recognition “to the story that managed to connect more deeply with the audience,” the festival noted.
His new production, an investigative psychological docu-thriller, delves into an attack that occurred in 1994 in Panama, where Abner’s uncle was among the victims.
“I am both the director of the film and the subject of it.. It deals with a historical event, but in parallel it also deals with my process of dealing with said event, and I use my experience as an example of the effects that violence and trauma have on life,” said the filmmaker in an interview with THEY days before the premiere of his documentary at the festival, which this year celebrated its fourteenth edition.
The closing gala took place on National theaterwhere Benaim went up to receive the Audience Award from the director of marketing and communications of Copa Airlines, Marco Antonio Ocando.
Filmmaker Abner Benaim received the Audience Award from the marketing and communications director of Copa Airlines, Marco Antonio Ocando, at the closing gala of the fourteenth edition of IFF Panama held at the National Theater. Courtesy IFF Panama
Tropical Paradise will be in theaters in Panama from next April 23.
