Panama Film Revisits Canal Zone Occupation's Scars

Panamanian director Ana Elena Tejera is producing her new fiction film, "Culebra Cut" ("Corte Culebra"). Set in the year 2000, the movie revisits the pivotal moment of the Canal Zone's return to Panama. It examines the enduring impact of nearly 100 years of U.S. occupation.

The film follows Panamanian soldiers entering the former Canal Zone for the first time. Among them is Ernesto, a young soldier ordered to clear an area near a military school. This site is adjacent to a lake that submerged communities for the Canal's construction.

Ernesto senses strange occurrences and encounters a mysterious woman, leader of a community hiding in bunkers. This encounter forces him to confront personal and national wounds. Director Tejera draws from her childhood experience of crossing into the occupied territory, questioning how to reclaim land and confront legacies of military bases and minefields.

Tejera notes the site's current use as a U.S. training center, alongside other geopolitical events like U.S. naval activity and Venezuelan oil transit. She emphasizes that the film's conflict mirrors Ernesto's struggle with identity and belonging in a fractured territory. This urgency, she states, makes the film's creation essential now.

"Culebra Cut" is an international co-production between Panama, France, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands. It has secured funding from major international film foundations and was developed at prominent industry platforms. The film's themes resonate with current geopolitical discussions, including past U.S. interest in controlling the Canal.