Panama Film Has Chance at Spanish Goya Awards

Chance, the movie from Panamanian director Abner Benaim, is in the running for the Best Spanish-language foreign film at the 2011 Goya Awards, the Spanish equivalent of the U.S. Oscars.

“It’s a good feeling to be pre qualified for the Goya,” Benaim told The Panama Digest from New York City, where the film is being screened tonight at the African Diaspora International Film Festival. ”In practical terms it puts Panama on the map as a filmmaking place because it’s a very high profile event covered by the World media.”

The dark comedy about two mistreated live-in housekeepers who hold their employers hostage is up against nine other movies, and the winner will be decided February 13 after a January 11 first round selection.

Chance has traveled to Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Canada, Cuba, Spain, India, Russia, Cairo and the United States since its release early this year.  The film will be available on DVD in Panama in a few weeks.

Screenshot from Chance the movie