7 Best Movies from Panama to Watch First

7 Essential Films from Panama

Ranked native cinema in Panama’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. Invasion

   Invasión · 2014

   Using the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama as its starting point, this documentary explores how a nation remembers, reshapes, and sometimes forgets its own history. A thoughtful meditation on collective memory.

2. 

   2. Beloved Tropic

   Querido Trópico · 2024

   In Panama City, a Colombian immigrant working as a home aide and harboring a secret forms a deep, unexpected bond with the strong-willed wealthy woman she cares for as dementia takes hold. A tender drama.

3. 

   3. Causa Justa

   Operación Causa Justa · 2019

   Interlocking stories unfold during the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama — a disillusioned soldier betrayed by his superiors, a young man trying to keep his friends out of the fighting, a fisherman on a grim errand. A dramatic mosaic of a nation under attack.

4. 

   4. Plaza Catedral

   2021

   A grief-stricken, withdrawn woman in Panama City has her closed-off world upended when a wounded teenage boy who watches cars in her neighborhood stumbles bleeding into her home. A tense, moving drama.

5. 

   5. Beyond Brotherhood

   Más que hermanos · 2017

   Two young siblings end up living on the streets of Panama with nothing but each other, in a story of survival, fragile second chances, and an unexpected turn. A Panamanian drama.

6. 

   6. Chac: Dios de la lluvia

   1975

   When a drought grips their village, the people turn to a mysterious mountain diviner and undertake a mythic journey to summon the rain god. A striking drama performed in Mayan languages, filmed in Central America.

7. 

   7. The Real Miyagi

   2015

   This documentary profiles Fumio Demura, the legendary karate master who inspired the Mr. Miyagi character and shaped a generation of martial artists. A tribute to a quiet giant of the art.