Chile’s Paulina García, winner of the Berlinale Silver Bear for her turn in Sebastián Lelio’s “Gloria,” is teaming up once more with Panamanian filmmaker Ana Endara following their success in “Beloved Tropic,” which has won a clutch of awards worldwide.
Their next project together, “Victoria in the Clouds” (“Victoria en las nubes”), participates in the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum at the upcoming San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain where “Beloved Tropic” vied for the Horizontes Latinos Award last year.
García plays 65-year-old coffee grower Victoria who challenges a real estate project that encroaches on her land and disrupts her life. Growing friction with her long-time employee reveals a world in flux. As changes swirl around her, she’s compelled to question the privileges that have long sustained her comfortable way of life.
“Following ‘Beloved Tropic,’ this new film unfolds in the lush coffee landscapes of Panama. We are thrilled to reunite with cinematographer Nicolás Wong, whose visual sensibility will once again bring depth and beauty to the story,” said producer Isabella Gálvez of Expansiva Cine.
Wong was recently named among Variety’s Five Costa Rican Below-the-Line Talents to Track. His notable credits include “Beloved Tropic,” Jayro Bustamante’s “La Llorona” and “Mistura” by Peru’s Ricardo de Montreuil, starring Barbara Mori.
“Victoria…” would be the second fiction feature from Endara, who made a name for herself as a documentary filmmaker before making “Beloved Tropic.” She co-wrote “Victoria…” with producing partner Pilar Morena. Their Mansa Productora is focused on intimate, reflective storytelling and has produced award-winning documentaries and fiction films.
Endara is among the burgeoning crop of talented filmmakers emerging from Central America, many of them women, led by Costa Rica’s Antonella Sudasassi, whose “Memories of a Burning Body” won at the Berlinale, and Nathalie Alvarez Mesén (“Clara Sola”) as well as Panama’s Ana Elena Tejera (“Panquiaco”) and Arianne Benedetti (“Despíerta, Mamá”).
Mansa Productora produces ‘Victoria …’ alongside Panama-based Expansiva Cine, Chile’s Mimbre Films and Respiro Productions (France).
Founded by Galvez, Expansiva Cine develops and produces auteur-driven fiction and documentary films through international co-productions rooted in Panama.
The drama’s development trajectory has included participations in the Tres Puertos Project Development Lab, Bal-Lab (Festival Biarritz Amérique Latine) and the Oxbelly Retreat. It has the support of Panama’s Film Production Fund.
Principal photography is slated for the last quarter of 2026.
The 73rd San Sebastian Film Festival runs over Sept. 19 – 27.