The Ministry of Culture, through the National Cinema Board, officially announced the opening of the call for the Fondo Cine 2024 National Competition. The contest will be held from January 13, 2025 at 8: 00 a.m. to February 12, 2025 at 4: 00 p.m..
Minister María Eugenia Herrera and deputy ministers Arianne Benedetti and national film director Sheila González emphasized the importance of this initiative, and this year includes four new categories designed to strengthen the national film industry..
"The Fondo Cine competition is a platform that promotes and celebrates the talent of our filmmakers. That initiative reflects the State's commitment to the cultural and film development of the country, with a budget of 2.3 million dollars to reward winners," she said.
For its part, Sheila González presented the new categories included in this edition:
First production length: Support for emerging developers.
Minority co-productions for fiction and animation.
Minority co-production for documentaries.
Series development: Fostering the creation of television and digital platform content.
The contest also aims to promote the generation of direct and indirect jobs in areas such as production, performance, script and technical services and to contribute to other economic sectors such as tourism, hotels and logistics.
"Fostering the film industry is one of the main challenges of the Ministry of Culture. Through this contest, we promote innovation and the growth of creative and cultural industries and consolidate Panama as a regional reference point in the film field," concluded the institution's manager.
The Fondo Cine 2024 contest strengthens the state's commitment to place national cinema as a tool to preserve and promote cultural identity, highlighting Panama at the international level.