Wake Up Mom / Despierta mamá, the action-thriller directed, written, produced, and starred by Arianne Benedetti (Beyond Brotherhood), has been announced as Panama’s official entry in the Best International Feature competition for the 97th Academy Awards.
The sophomore film from award-winning director Benedetti focuses on the odyssey a mother undertakes when her daughter mysteriously disappears, after suffering an accident in the town where they live. The rest of the cast features Erick Elías, Mila Romedetti, Ana Alejandra Carrizo, Abraham Pino, Chris Oberto, Ingrid De Ycaza, Andrés Morales, and Caio Mena.
In addition to her filmmaking career, Benedetti has served as Panama's former Film Commissioner, as a senator in the local congress where she helped pass the new Film Law, and was recently appointed Vice Minister of Culture in the new federal administration.
Wake Up Mom is Panama's 11th entry for the Academy Awards. While Abner Benaim's drama Plaza Catedral reached the shortlist in 2021, the Central American nation has yet to secure a nomination.
