Diciembres to reach theaters

The film ’Diciembres’, by Panamanian filmmaker Enrique Castro Ríos is being prepared for screening in national theaters, from December 6th.

This year marks 29 years since that night of December 20, when the US military invasion occurred,  so-called Operation Just Cause,  in the popular neighborhood of El Chorrillo.

Panamanian filmmaker Enrique Castro Ríos , foreseeing the historic anniversary, began working on his film entitled Diciembres , to recreate the horror of the attack on civilians and the aftermath of the war action, with a death toll still uncounted.

Before the commercial premiere  on December 6th in Panamanian cinemas, the film has been touring at festivals: in April, it was at the International Film Festival of Panama (IFF Panama) and also was recently screened at the XVII Independent Film Festival of Rome (Riff) , where he received an honorable mention for his script.

The Riff was held from November 16 to 23, where the jury found that the script had the  "originality to tell the same story from three different perspectives of well-defined characters," highlights the description of the evaluation.

"We expect the support of the Panamanian public, to attend theaters at a time when our film ’Diciembre’ competes on the Hollywood billboard.

In the elaboration of the script the participation of the coeditor César Díaz is also highlighted, as well as the first co-editor Samuel Larson Vega and the editing consultant Fernando Epstein .

The plot of Diciembres revolves around the US invasion of Panama in 1989, and the reconciliation between survivors, a decade later.

The film is developed with documentary resources, but its focus has been from fiction, clarifies Castro Ríos.

"December is a  month for rejoicing the celebration of Christmas and also for reflection because it has been 29 years since the invasion and we still do not know how many people died, what happened with the repairs, why precautions were not  better taken on the day the invasion. There are many unanswered questions and I think it’s time, we put all the parts together and start finding out more," Castro Ríos says.

Within the screening program of the film, there will be public presentations in El Chorrillo, Panama Viejo, Tinajitas, Colón and Paraíso, where most of the scenes were taken for the shooting. The dates are to be announced.

" Diciembres  is a reflection on the images, the personal and historical memory - death and forgiveness", which is why Castro Rios is excited that other groups such as artists and journalists are going to tackle  their versions on the invasion in "dealing with the death of mostly poor and colored people".

In his film, Castro Ríos recognizes the inclusion of his own reflections and those of his family, especially on issues that allude to racism and classism.

The film, thinks the Panamanian filmmaker, generates a great expectation among young generations who still do not know about this part of the country’s recent history.