Panama has selected Chichero, directed by Arturo Montenegro and Aarón Bromley, as its official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards. The film will also represent the Central American country in the Best Ibero-American Film category at Spain’s 41st Goya Awards.
Set against the backdrop of Peru’s internal armed conflict during the 1980s, Chichero follows Josué (Júnior Béjar Roca), a young Quechua man who flees Peru and migrates to Panama in search of a better future. Struggling to make a living by selling chicha and empanadas on the streets, he holds onto his dream of becoming a boxing champion. His path crosses with Gaby, a young woman facing struggles of her own, as the two find an unexpected source of hope in each other while confronting displacement, precarity, and the sacrifices demanded by their ambitions.
A story of migration, love, and resilience, the film stars Júnior Béjar Roca alongside Andrea Pérez Meana, Mafe Achurra, Gaby Gnazzo, Diego de Obaldía, Domil Leira, Elmis Castillo, and Mayra Hurley.
Chichero was a winner of Panama’s 2023 Fondo Cine competition, receiving support in the feature fiction and animation category. The film is scheduled to open theatrically in Panama later this September.
The selection marks the third time a film directed by Montenegro has been chosen to represent Panama at the Academy Awards. His Everybody Changes / Todos cambiamos was the country’s submission for the 92nd Academy Awards, while Birthday Boy / Cumpleañero represented Panama at the 95th Academy Awards. Chichero marks Bromley’s first film selected as Panama’s Oscar submission.
Panama has yet to receive a nomination for Best International Feature Film, but came closest with Abner Benaim’s acclaimed Plaza Catedral, which made the 15-film shortlist for the 94th Academy Awards in 2022—the first Panamanian film to advance to the category’s shortlist.
The shortlist for the 99th Academy Awards will be announced on December 15, with nominations to follow on January 21, 2027. The 99th Oscars will take place on March 14, 2027.
