Panama has become the second Latin American country to select its candidate for the Best International Film competition at the 93rd edition of the Academy Awards, choosing the drama Just Cause / Causa justa by Luis Franco Brantley and Luis Pacheco.
Based on real events and set in 1989 during the U.S. invasion of Panama, the debut film by Brantley and Pacheco tells the story of a military officer, a fisherman, an American businessman, a prostitute and a young man trying to keep his friends from joining the fighting, that experience the invasion—named Operation Just Cause—in a central district in Panama City.
Starring Arian Abadi, Anthony Anel, Patricia de León, and Aaron Zebede, the film had its commercial release a year ago in the Central American country. Co-director Pacheco has produced numerous films including th 2018 documentary feature Panama, and the 2014 film Escobar: Paradise Lost.
